Wierd A/C Smell

is it that kinda ozone type of smell??

dont think you can get rid of that. i know when my Prius is hot, it has a slight odor. but its been a while since i have been in hot weather so it may have faded by now. just turning the air conditioning on eliminated the odor so i never paid much atttention to it.

only other thing i can think of to do might be to clean the filter (if it can be cleaned, check your manual first) does the smell happen with fresh air setting and recirculation? might be something outside you are smelling too.

 

Change the cabin filter? I would try that first because I can do that. Sometimes mold gets on the evaporator there is a product that you can get that you spray in to clean that as well. It foams up and drains out through the drain vent for the A/C water that accumulates normally.

 

oh oh... i see someone like Glade marketing a spray that you spray over the filter once a week or so to give your car that "fresh spring mountain" air smell...

 

actually there is a product to kill mould and mildew in A/C systems, other than Lysol which advertised it's self as being usefull for that purpose. Maybe the product that I'm thinking of was just rebadged Lysol. Haven't seen it in a while but dont' go to the auto parts store very often owning a Prius. Will try and find out if it's still available.

 

That funk probably never happens in a hot dry climate, but in a very damp climate where you seem to always need the A/C, it can be a big problem.

There are spray products that can be used to disinfect the evaporator. It's also important to make sure the evaporator drain tube isn't plugged with nasty s***.

FWIW the local Toyota dealer should have this product to service your evaporator funk. But it would probably be much cheaper to do it yourself, if you feel comfortable doing that sort of thing.

How often you have to do this depends on the climate. Maybe as often as every 3-4 months, maybe only once every 2-3 years.

For the Bryant cased A/C evaporator at my hobby farm, it's very easy to open the access door and check everything over. Bryant was smart to have a drip pan that is sloped to the tube and also to make that drip pan out of polyethylene.

On a nice warm day I just put a little bleach in there and leave the windows open for 2-3 hours. Have only had to do that once, there was a tiny bit of buildup in the pan.

One way to minimize or prevent this problem is to manually turn off the A/C but leave the blower on for a couple of minutes before shutting down. This helps dry off the evaporator to prevent standing water in the drip pan and drain tube. Most folks would find that procedure a PITA.

 

I get that funk too. However the evaporator material is supposed to be impregnated with stuff to prevent microbial growth.

 

I get that smell/funk as well. Just got the car last August - can't believe there is THAT much mold growing in there. Also, if it were mold, why would the smell go away after running the AC for a few minutes? One would presume that as long as the mold was there, the smell would be there?

So I can confirm that (1) there is a particular smell when you first run the AC (2) it seems to be related to having run the AC the last time the car was shut down (3) the smell quickly disappears after running the AC a few minutes.

I'm just doubting it is a rampant microbial/fungal infestation causing it.

I could be wrong.

 

With either a home system or a car A/C system, that funk isn't there all the time unless the evaporator drain tube is plugged.

If I remember to turn off the A/C compressor and just run the fan for a few minutes before shutting down, the next morning the smell is greatly diminished.

Even if the drain tube isn't plugged, when you shut down there will be condensation on the evaporator and the housing.

 

I guess the question is, on the 2004 Prius, where is the drain plug ?

 

If I recall, late last fall when I had to use the A/C for a few muggy days, the A/C was dripping near the right front tire. Without crawling underneath to find the exit for the drain tube, I can't be more specific.

The new cars are a lot better, the drain tube rarely plugs. It does happen though.

With temps so far only up to +24 C, I don't run the A/C. I really like warm weather, back in Utah I would never turn on the A/C until the temps went over +85 F.

 

I'm wondering if anyone ever got to the bottom of this issue... my A/C just started smelling, too! And like others, it only lasts for the first 30-60 seconds the A/C is on, so I'm wondering if the drain is really plugged or if something else is going on. I'm going to have to check it out and see if it's still dripping... I hope this is covered under the warranty.

And you know? The smell doesn't exactly smell moldy... it almost smells somewhat chemical/petroleum related. Definately not gasoline or exhuast, though. I usually keep the A/C on recirculate... I wonder if that has anything to do with it. Hmmm...

 

An a/c system can produce many smells. Some of those smells indicate a polluted evaporator, but usually that isn't the case.

The glues, adhesives and plastics used in the assembly of the air handling system under the dash are the most likely culprits, especially if the smell occurs at startup and dissipates quickly after the fan starts to blow. These items, but especially the adhesives, are generally somewhat temperature sensitive and will emit odors if there is a sudden temperature change. As soon as the ductwork attains the operating temperature of the a/c system, the smell will go away.

 

I thought I was the only one who experienced that I was getting an initial blast of what smelled a great deal like BO. As I was fairly certain it wasn't me, I mentioned this to the Toyota service person when I went in for my 5,000 mile service. He sprayed something in the vents, which did seem to help, but suggested that it might help to run the system in the "outside air" as opposed to the "recirculate" mode to help keep the mold or mildew from becoming a problem. I now make sure to have the AC on outside air, at least some of the time, and it has improved considerably.

Just a thought.

 

i agree with this. i've had a/c odor problems and i figured it must be the filter being damp. i turn off the recirculate mode whenever i get home to allow air to enter while parked. never got that odor again. though, i'd check the filter for mold/dirt, just in case...

 

Smelly AC is just a part of using AC. It helps a LOT to run air-only as you get near your destination, to let the filter dry out. Otherwise you'll get that dog-butt smell lol.

 

Thank goodness, I thought it was just me (you know only your BEST friends will tell you!!!! )

Almost a rotten egg smell, but not quite that bad, only after car has been shut up in a hot environment for a little while and goes away after 60 seconds or so...

 

I've got it too. Checked the evaporator drain, and it's dribbling just fine. I question the "use outside air" advice. Here in FL, with the outside air being 50% water, it would seem to make more sense to recirculate cabin air, theoretically further dehumidifying the air with every pass through the evaporator, rather than bringing in a constant flow of 90% humid air.

 

I had posted extensive details to this problem, but when the site crashed it was lost.

I've had 10 homes in the past 15 years and all have had some issue with stinky A/C. I finally figured out that straight from the factory, many evaporator coils are poorly cleaned, if they even are cleaned. All the flux and paste is left behind on the tubes and fins.

An A/C guy in Utah finally clued me in to this issue. Before he installs a new evaporator coil, he always takes it into the shop washdown area and sprays it with a product called Nucalgon Cal-Brite:

http://www.nucalgon.com/nucalgon/nucalgon_...C9?OpenDocument

This is NOT a product for consumer use, it is acidic and contains VERY strong surfactants. It is partially effective with molds, but the proven mold killer is regular laundry bleach. That also requires plenty of rinsing.

Once he let the Cal-Brite do its thing for 10 minutes he would then thouroughly wash down the evaporator coil with tap water. He claimed that all but eliminated the source of most A/C odors, at least until it had been used for awhile.

The evaporator coil is in a dark place, is exposed to a lot of dust (Unless you have a home with an electrostatic air cleaner), and is always dripping wet with condensation in normal use. That is the perfect breeding ground for molds, mildew, and bacteria.

Some folks, especially those sensitive to allergens, can really suffer from that. The HVAC industry now recognizes the Indoor Air Quality problem with evaporator coils covered in slimey stuff. A good cleaning is in order:

http://ftp.nucalgon.com/ftp/prodlit/3-116.pdf

http://ftp.nucalgon.com/ftp/prodlit/3-125.pdf

Early summer I always clean out the evaporator coil and the coil drain pan at my hobby farm, and usually by August I can detect a very slight odor. Since my cooling season usually ends the end of August, I clean it again.

So far my Prius has not given off any odor so I haven't bothered to clean the evaporator coil. I would think a mobile application (Car, pickup, etc) would be hard to clean since the evaporator coil can be difficult to reach. Many of the good and proven cleaning methods also require rinsing, so that could be a problem