Sorry but this maybe the wrong topic in here but I am trying to find out if anyone has found a solution for the smell in the 2008 Prius. I have read lots of posts but most stopped in December of last year, does anyone have any updates. I talked to the dealer and they said it was the seats are made from recycled material that make it smell like a horse barn then there are others that say its coming from the battery and its normal. I am new to all of this so if anyone can point me to a recent post I sure appreciate it. Thanks
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"the smell in the 2008 Prius" The standard 'new car' smell is caused by off-gassing of the various materials (plasticizers etc.). Since this is a diminishing process, recycled material would be far less stinky than new materials. That also means that tomorrow's stink is still caught up in the materials today, and no cleansing of the air is going to get rid of it (though it could reduce any build up). As far as I can tell, the Prius is no more stinky than any other new car. Certainly, my 2007 only smells only a tiny bit like new car, and other smells are from what I put in it. If you are getting 'horse barn' smell, perhaps the previous owner used it to haul manure?
Yeah Prii don't have a smell any worse than any other car. And your car is old enough now to have 0 smell from off gassing. Whatever is causing the stink, is in the carpet somewhere. Take it to be interior detailed. And I mean $300-$500 real good inside deep cleaning detail.
if your smell is trapped in the HVAC system, your best bet is to buy a can of OZIUM (vanilla or fresh scent), pop the hood, turn the car on and make sure vent is on high speed and spray the ozium into the intake ducts (by windshield) you should be able to walk back to the cabin and smell the ozium thru the vents. not only does this air out your HVAC system, it removes mold spores and bacteria that could be present.
When I got my 2008, I kept parking in the HOT sun, kept the windows down, and in about 3 months my had pretty much outgassed itself. It however, did not smell like manure. A question that needs to be asked however is, Do you use the AC much? How much? What you might be smelling is the MOLD that is growing in the AC vents and on the heat exchanger coils. This is a common problem in all cars, some worse than others. I hardly ever use AC myself, but when I do, about 10 minutes before I arrive at my destination I will switch AC off, open outside air vent, turn fan on high, and open a window. That little sequence will effectivily dryout the air path. I stopped smelling "That Mold Smell" after I figured this little trick out. That could be what yer smellin!
Yep, I think the manual says to run the hvac system with the AC off for a few minutes at least before you turn off the car when in hot weather, like in Texas or something. Also, try smoking cigars. Then that is all you will smell. :smokin: If it has a slight ammonia smell (as horse barns do) then try turning off the AC while the fan is going and you are pulling in outside air for a few minutes at least before you park.
FWIW, my Prius' smell (no, I can't describe it) seemed to go away once I started driving it regularly, and returned if I left it for too long.
I wonder if the vent tube from the 12 volt battery has came off? If so, it might give off a rotten egg smell?
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Ahh, interesting, thanks. I wonder if some "shtuff" builds up in my ducts, especially since I usually have AC and defroster off for hypermiling. There've been a few times I've come back to the car and been baffled at a slight garbagey smell, since I don't keep any trash in the car. I'll try running the fan some, and using a spray like was mentioned above.
I've seen nothing in this thread about the infamous traction battery vent tubing odor. Sniff around the vent intake next to the back seat and see if you detect anything--like the manure odor. Other than removing the tubing altogether, there may be no easy fix. Also, some cars' battery fans become clogged, which might lead to an increase in odor problems. This could also lead to battery failure, according to Luscious Garage. Something to add to my maintenance schedule, I think.
its the rancid rotting slime growing on you AC condenser. you need to run the fan a little bit every ride to keep it dry, if you use the AC then make sure to run the fan only after you tuen off the aC for a few minutes to dry it off. if you have the stinky smell now, you can get a foaming cleaner that goes up thru the AC drip tube under the car, it will at least clean off whatever buildup has grown in there. the vent tube might be clogged, so check it, if it is ther eis a pool of scummy water growing in the bottom of your AC system. this could also be the culprit. mine stunk a few times last spring, i started to dry the system out after running the AC run the vents on every ride, even on low. mine smeele dlike rotting garbage, or rancid gym socks. havent smelled it since. now my wife drove my mercedes all winter, of course has no clue how to operate the AC system or dry it out.. now it stinks.
I thought it was only my 2008 prius smelling bad but after reading here looks like Toyota has a problem with this year of Prius, we hardly even use the ac here, I do not have this problem with the 2010 Prius
This is an interesting thread. I used to work for a Honda dealer in OK, so I know about smelly A/C systems. Mine started smelling very acrid recently, but not the typical moldy smell I was accustomed to. I wondered if perhaps I was actually smelling a refrigerant leak because it only lasted a few seconds after initial system activation. It kinda made me think the leak was pooling somewhere in the evaporator container and I would smell it when the fan activated. I ran the fan on full blast and sprayed into the cowl intake with some disinfectant. It seemed better for a day or so, but I can still detect traces of the scent. I'll probably give the evaporator another blast. Oh, and the cabin filter is clean and dry.
