Issues After 10 Months MOLD SMELL-WEAK WINDSHIELD WIPERS..

I had the exact same problem with the A/C smelling on my Jeep Grand Cherokee. The mechanic said it's because the drain hole on the condenser pan was plugged. One way I got rid of it was to use a product that the "Car Talk" guys always recommend: Frigi-Fresh. It's a spray you can buy at automotive stores. You turn the ventilation fan in the car on full, then spray the stuff into the vent outside the front windshield.

 

For the A/C smell -- check your wiper sill - and make sure you are getting a bunch of leaves and pine needles or other debris trapped up there... those work their way into the heater core case (which is also where the evaporator is for the AC) ... and plugs the drain as mentioned above. My dad was a GM mechanic for 40 years - and at least on our GM products - we could pull the case loose from the firewall and clean it out - but expect that to be a saturday afternoon project as it's not easy. the other thing he would do is just loosen it and stick a compressed air nozzle in - and blow the crud out - but he had to be careful as if it had water in it - it could come out the floor vents into the car...

best thing - and for efficenency as well is to make sure those vented grates under the wipers aren't getting plugged up with debris. if you park outside under trees or where you live-etc. see if you can relocate your vehicle.

as far as the wipers- I have a brand new v2 - and the wipers already streak and have small tears in them. They are super soft blades and really suck in my opinion. I do use RainX though, and swear by it. you need to buy a bottle and apply it like a wax, puting it on a CLEAN windshield, let it dry, then wipe off excess. apply monthly for best performance. it makes rain drops bead up and blow off - in heavy rain visibility is awesome, and it also helps bug guts from sticking to glass. strong cleaners will remove it though, so after a car wash, re-apply.

tires going flat - could have a bad valve stem - but if you've driven through a contruction area - check for nails...etc. tires don't usually leak by themselves - if it's an older car - with aluminum wheels - the aluminum (if clear coated) will lose its protection overtime and begin to corrode/oxidize - that oxidation if around the bead area can cause tires to have a slow leak losing a few pounds a month or so... my blazer had this problem. next time you get tires - have the guys at the shop coat the bead with "bead sealer" it's a tacky rubber cement type goo that helps seal up the bead.
if the wheels are real bad they would need to wire brush the oxidation off first.

 

Erin, RainX has a few different products out there. they have rainx windshied washer fluid which helps some but it's not anything compared to the little yellow bottle stuff that is a bottle about the size of a nyquil bottle... thats the suff you want. clean the windshield really well, softscrub works awesome to remove bug guts, but dont recommend leaving it on long or getting on paint. as it has abrasives in it. a good glass cleaner like windex and a scour pad from the kitchen sink will do the same on bugs. once clean dry well, then apply the rainx with a paper towel, .. the direction are on the back of the bottle... it will save me some typing... anyway, i do it about once a month.. and when it rains - a good fresh coat of rainx, and you wont need to use your wipers at all above about 35mph. the wind will jut blow it off. works well in winter to for clearing frost and ice. but you may have to apply a little more frequently then, and dont let it freeze.. it loses its abiity.

 

AC Smell, Evaporator Mold, Musky, Dank

Toyota Part 00289-ACRKT
Toyota AC REFRESHER KIT
The actual instructions start at 46 seconds.

The kit comes with two aerosol cans and a piece of tubing. One can is a foaming cleanser for the evaporator, the other is an aerosol cleaner for the intake and venting system. About $20, sometimes on ebay.

INSTRUCTIONS

FIRST LARGE CAN: AC Foam (Engine Off)

1. Remove cabin air filter. To remove the cabin air filter remove the glove box, pop off the filter cover, and pull the filter out.

2. Put the filter cover back on.

3. Access the evaporator drain tube from under the car

4. Plug the kit wedge end tube into the drain tube.

5. Hook the tube up to the larger canister and spray the whole contents into the tube. Shake periodically. This will take a couple of minutes

6. Once the can is empty, have a drain pan under the drain tube location. Remove the wedge plug and let everything drain for about ten minutes.

SECOND CAN "AC Intake Refresher." (Engine On)

1. Start the engine so AC system works.

2. Open Windows

3. Make sure that the air recirculation setting is OFF.

4. Set the A/C Air Flow to the "body" setting, (this means the vents on the dash only) the temperature setting as cold as it will go, and fan speed to high.

5. Turn AC switch OFF

6. Spray 1/2 of the contents of the can into the fresh air intake which is located just below the wipers on the passenger side of the car.

7. Switch Air Flow to the "Floor" position and spray 1/2 of the remaining contents of the can into the fresh air intake.

8. Finally switch Air Flow to the "Defrost" position and spray the rest of the can into the fresh air intake.

9. Once this is all done, continue ventilating the vehicle and running the fan with the windows down to get rid of the vapors.

10 Reinstall the cabin air filter

 

If by "rear plug" you mean the rear 12v outlet, please be aware that it shuts off when the car shuts off. If you have no voltage at that outlet when the car is powered up, then check the fuse.

 

Addressing
the mold smell, you can take some white vinegar from the grocerty store and
put it in a empty windex spray bottle full strength or you can dillute it with water, but the more water you dillute it with , the less it is able to kill the mold & mildew.

there will be a vinagar smell for 3 to 4 days , but then it goes away. I am told that you can even
spray clothes with vinegar to get rid of mold smell and the
vinegar will not stain or discolor the
clothes or car seat. Just to be safe, spray so moldy cloth and check for any discoloration.
I bet there is not, but test on junk cloth first.

I used it on my house, living room , when the roof needed to be replaced. The entire room,
even the rug , stunk. I used about 3/4 gal and two days later, the room was back to normal,
no mold smell, no more vinegar smell.

you can spray the vinegar into the air conditioner evaporator, and no more mold smell,
kills all the germs but can take up to a week for the vinegar smell to disappear.

I know it saved my living room, the rug, and the furnature, like it never even happened, but it took a week for the vinegar smell to disappear.