Mildew Smell

Found this in the TSB section:

T-SB-0261-09 August 6, 2009 HVAC Odor - Toyota Forums :: Toyota Nation

 

No problem. I had the same issue. Search my back posts as there's an easier fix.

The dealer fix is to spray a can of bio foamy cleaner up the evap drip hose. I bought that kit for $25 and did it myself and it works great. Car has been stink free for more than a year.
But bare in mind even if they repalce that evap core you will still have to change your driving style. There's few things you will need to do religously or the car will quickly stink again. Again search my old posts for complete disertation.

Bottomline I shudder at the thought of how much damage the dealer can and will do to the dash board of my car replacing that core.
The dash will never be the same again. Creaking.... squeeking....rattles. Forget it.
My dash doesn't make a sound now..

I much prefer to spend $25 a year.

 

We buy this stuff:



Spray it in and around the AC lines & the cabin filter. It lasts for a good 6 months. Haven't been able to find it in the U.S. so shipping will take a while. comes from the UK. Why they don't sell it here (as far as I can tell) I'll never know.

.

 

Mine has never stunk...and I don't do anything special to it.

 

Thank you!!

And your right on too. The kit is pretty easy and works very well. Be aware that second can will gas it up pretty good with strong perfume but subsides after about 1/2 an hour.

Here's the deal. And after many complaints here many posters told me this and it is correct. This procedure works.

This car unlike alot of say Ford's has a strick fresh air/re-circ control. There is no blending like alot of other cars.

When in fresh air it of course lets in fesh air...when in
re-circ it recircs only cabin air. The problem with re-circ is the outside air vent door is shut. If you park it with a soaking wet evap coil again and again it will soon develope mold.

Alot of cars like Fords for instance have a forced blend. The outside air is always opened/blended to some degree always allowing some fresh air in and more importantly for it to breath when parked.
Thats why alot of american cars don't suffer from this problem.

But you cannot blend and have a cabin filter. Whats the point?


Personally I drive in re-circ only and the air is always on. Why not? Thats why there's a cabin filter. There's nothing but dust and allergens out there when you drive with the windows open. I don't smoke and have allergies.

All you have to do is before you arrive at your destination is flip it to fresh air intake. But most importantly never park it with re-circ on. Always always park it with fresh air selection. That way the vent door is open and the evap coil will dry out.

I hardly every remember to switch it before I reach my destination but always without fail open the vent door when I get ready to shutdown and I have been happily pretty much mold free ever since.

Lately I have just started to smell a little somethin somethin gym socks so I bought the "kit" a month ago and will get it soon.

Good Luck!!!

 

The fresh air intake is located below the windshield wiper arms, within the cowl that runs across the back of the engine compartment. If you remove the two-piece black plastic cover under the wiper arms, you'll see the bulkhead holes that provide the air intake into the passenger compartment.

I agree with Ed that parking the car with the air vent left open is an important practice to discourage the formation of mold.

 

Your welcome.

I think I will actually skip that second can. Its just really intense perfume. I smelled the car after the foamy cleaner did its thing and its smelled quite nice and bio soapy. Not disagreeable at all.
That second can is just strong car deodorizer so the customer gets in and thinks they got there monies worth.

But please be aware if you do not garage the car and park under tree's at all it is very possible to clog that front air intake dam that Patrick just referred too.

That front air intake dam under the windshield collects water and dumps it out 2 vents. One right behind each front wheel.
To check get a garden hose with a controllable sprayer.
Spray water only in the front dam no where else. Fill up the front dam to the rim with water. You should see a nice strong stream of water coming out behind each front wheel.

If not the dam may be clogged by leaf debris in the inner vent tube that Patrick referred too.

That is usually characterized by funky smell when you are in FRESH AIR in.

My car is garaged at home and work so I have no issue but I sometimes will force spray that dam just to check.

I am lucky I have access to compressed air at work. I get on the air blower nozzle and routinely blow out all the dust and leaf debris the air intake dam and around the engine and radiator. A leaf blower works good too.
Good Luck!

 

I have used the EvapFresh on not only my Prius but also on my FJ. Oddly enough, my FJ developed a smell a lot quicker than my Prius did, and yes there is also a TSB for the FJ

I spray the EvapFresh at the start of the cooling season here. No smell whatsoever

 

I was reading this great thread and wanted to make sure I understood the process. Let me see if I can get this straight. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

If you buy the kit from the dealer you get two cans. One is sprayed up the A/C drain tube and the other is sprayed into the fresh air intake.

It sounds from the thread that the fresh air intake is under the windshield wipers and has two drains - one behind each front tire.

Where is the A/C drain tube?

Thanks for the great thread. My wife will be thrilled when this smell goes away (me too).

 

Yep - that's why I recommended DM-1 in post #6. It's not a perfume mask.

 

I changed my oil filter this weekend and since I had it up on the j stands and I had bought the AC kit I did it also. The last treatment lasted about 13 months. And as you stated that tube is not easy to see unless your right under it. The front end both sides must be up on a ramp pretty high and you have to lay right under it and look up. Think directly down from the glove compartment. Its a hard rubber tube about 3 inches long at a 45 degree angle. The cool thing is with the AC kit comes a really nice applicator on a long tube. Its got a special spearhead looking tip that you just push that tip into the drip hose and it will stay there. Then you just hold the spray button down until you no longer see foam going up the rubber hose. Let it sit there a while soaking and if you go back you'll find there's some more srapy left in the can after you thought it was empty. Let it sit there soaking a while but be aware when you pull that applicator out of the hose there's a lot of liquid that will pump out. Its the faomy cleaner liquified.
I did not use the second perfume can. And now have a blessed clean smelling mold free car.

Its alot of work and if the dealer only wants likw $59 to do it thats not a bad deal. I happened to have the car up on stands for the oil filter,checked the cvt fluid, lubricated some stuff, spray boot protectant on the inner and outer cv boots and got to notice that at 27,000 both my front struts are leaking oil pretty good.

 

I'm sorry but you can spray whatever you want into the filter and around the ac lines whatever that means and it will do nothing but mask the smell. That stuff is the same as that Ozium crap. The only way to fix the issue is to apply anti microidal cleaner designed to use on the evap core directly on the evap core itself.

Just like you must do on your home unit.

You are satisfied because like alot of people you do not have the issue. Those that do usually use the ac non stop and mostly in re-circ. And will tell you the smell is strong and awful.

 

Sounds like a dealer service visit is in order, if you can get the struts replaced under the 3 year / 36K mile warranty that would be good.