I realize there are several posts on this as I have read every thread. However, no one seems to have given a reason for what is causing the problem. I have called several Toyota dealers as well asking about it and they have no idea what I'm talking about. The smell is the "horse" smell others have described. I don't know if it is a horse or straw smell, but, it smells like a horse stall. The smell permeates my wife's clothes and she is not enjoying the car for this reason. Has anyone found the cause and solution for this problem?
I and my wife are very sensitive to chemical smells. Therefore I always buy used cars without new car smell. Recently we purchased 2008 Prius. When I test drove the vehicle the windows were open, I did notice the smell but it was not strong. But when we travel long distances and windows are closed the smell is unbearable. I called Toyota, they ignored the problem. Such a pity. Apart from the smell it is a nice car. Feel free to contact me at [email protected]. I am trying to get a group together.
I must admit I'm not sure I would recognize the smell of mold if it is present. I do, however, know that my wife prefers to have the windows down instead of the AC. I do not think it is coming from the AC. However, I may look into it just for eliminating the possibility. The smell is very intense; almost overpowering.
When I purchased my 2006 Prius a couple months ago, I complained about the smell inside the car. I thought it smelled of a dead rodent. There where no evidents of them being in the car however. Checked out the climate filter and other areas, but nothing. In the end they set off a ozone canister in the car and ran it with the climate control on max. recirculating the air thru the car for 20 min. before allowing anyone in the car. So far the smell has not returned. I am not sure what this product was or the name of it. They had it on hand at the dealer, so this must be a common problem with the Prius?H
i have an 08, purchased new in fall of 07. no smells whatsoever. i wonder if something happened to these cars along the way? definately check the cabin filter.
Perhaps you could PM me with the contact info for your dealer. I would like to contact them to purchase one of the ozone canisters and get their instructions on how to use in the prius. It's worth a shot.
Hi jdlynch: Phoned Castlegar Toyota where I purchased the car,but they would not divulge the name of the product. They said products like this are available for the general public at auto parts stores, but the kind they use is not. What it is is a canister about half the size of a can of pop. You break a seal and it lets off a chemical into the car while the car is running with the climate control on full blast for 20 min. The product can do you harm if not used with the correct procedures. See what you can find in your area and if you don't have any luck I will look into it next time I go to Castlegar. It is a 100 kilometer from my home. H
Thanks so much Hal for your efforts. This morning I checked the cabin filter and the outside intake vents and all were as clean as new. The cabin filter was new (the selling Toyota dealer "claimed" to have done this); guess the stealer is somewhat trustworthy. I let the car air out with the doors open for a few hours and poked my nose around trying to find the source of the odor. It is not coming from the AC vents at all. The smell is strongest and appears to be coming from the battery intake vent near the back seat. If it is in fact the batteries causing the odor why don't all Prius' have this odor? Does it indicate a problem with the batteries?
Bingo! See http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...oubleshooting/81094-battery-smell-solved.html Good luck!
Its best to drive around in this car with the ac on and in recirc. Then the air is filtered and more importantly the cabin is kept cool and dry and the traction battery remains happy. When you constantly drive with the windows down you have alot of humid air in the cabin. That will eventually corrode electrical connections in the cabin and you already have some natural electrolysis going on in the traction battery mains connections so humid air will just accelerate that.Cool & dry is best around electronics. Besides why drive around with the windows down as its not very healthy? Pollen is really bad this year and unless you live out in the country there's alot of air pollution too. And unlike other cars there is a very minor mph hit on ac use. I'm not going to buy a $25K car and drive around in the heat. And as far as the ozone canister I think what your refering to is the standard dealer fix for mold in the ac e-coil which are cars have a particular problem with. The kit comes as 2 spray cans and one can has a special hose. That hose is hooked to the e-coil ac condensate drip hose under the car and the entire contents of one pressurized can is injected into the e-coil box under the dash. The contents are microidial detergents. The same stuff you can buy at Home Depot to spray in your home ac unit. This foam fills up the ac box killing all the mold and then drips back out the drip hose as liquid. The car smells great when performed and it lasts about a year if you observe strict recirc/venting procedure. And the other can of the 2 parts kit is for lack of a better term a perfume fogger that's supposed to be sprayed in the cowl vent at the base of the windshield. It is very very strong and is basicly perfume. You will not be able to drive the car for a while if you use that can its so intense. I found just the detergent was enough. The kit costs $25 and my dealer would have done it for free if under 5,000 miles on the car. Otherwise its $100. At least thats what my dealer quoted. I did it myself. If further interested search back on my previous posts as there's an indepth discussion about it and the exact procedure to perform this cleaning and more importanrtly to abate the Prius moldy ac issue.
