I have a 2010 Prius and it has developed a very strong mold smell/odor. It is strongest when the car has been sitting with the windows up. I have tried many of the tips in the forum regarding not using the recirc mode. I've clean the car inside and out, mats, carpeting, every compartment. I have talked to the dealer parts counter and replaced the cabin air filter with the carbon filter and used the 2 can treatment that Toyota sells (one in the a/c drain x2 and the other in the air intake.). No joy. I took it to the service department they did the same thing - again, no joy. They have asked me to bring it back for, and I quote, "exploratory surgery." I asked if this the covered under the Toyota Certified Warranty. He could not confirm that it would be covered. Questions - has anyone had a similar experience? Does anyone have experience with the Toyota warranty program and this issue? Is there a Technical Service Bulletin (TSC) on this? Thanks.
Debris can build up under the cowl cover/mesh. This will rot (compost) and give you the moldy smell. To fix they must remove the wiper arms and a few other things before they can remove the cover and clean it properly, also accessing the air intake ducting. It should be about an hour labor. It could be covered by warranty, depending on how important customer satisfaction is to the dealer and to Toyota. If it was caused by leaves etc. then it would be the customers fault (parking where he/she shouldn't). It can also be caused by mice nesting in the car. That would be Toyota's fault, for not providing proper meshing to prevent them from getting in. Mice can also nest much further into the air system, and that will take much longer to fix.
Both good points and it could be a plugged AC drain causing mold growth too. Squirting all the deodorizer in the world in won't solve the problem if the drain isn't working right. All of those things need to be checked out; some are easier than others.
I just did some work on one and it had a strong moldy rancid water smell.. It was coming from the spare tire well and the 12v well. This was in a gen2 so perhaps it's not an issue for you, but I've seen plenty of stagnant water in both of those places.
I use to detail vehicles and this one truck we had steam cleaned wasn't fully dry before we put the floor mats back in and a few weeks later MOLD! It was in the carpet and on the backsides of the mats. Just another option if you detailed your car lately.
First of all, you need to determine if the odor is truly coming from the AC vents, especially when the system starts up after sitting in the heat. If so, here are several pictures of how to cleanse the evaporator coils and how to get at the outer air intake in case there's something stuck inside of it: Some of these pictures are courtesy of The Critic who discovered how to gain access to the evaporator coils from the passenger foot well. To remove the vent tube, take a very small screwdriver and insert it carefully along the top of the vent tube edge which faces the front console and slowly press downwards until the small clip is released. Then roll the vent tube towards the firewall and it will come free exposing the heater coil and the evaporator coil. Kool It is a product that can be applied to the upper and lower coils as a foam which should kill and release any mold build up on them. I also recommend a rinsing afterwards making sure the drain tube is working.
Yes - follow the last paragraph in italics that you quoted above. Once that white vent tube is released, you can see and access both the heater and evaporator coils. Another option is to pull back the upper left section of carpet in the passenger foot well to reveal the drain tube. You can pull apart the rubber hose piece from the plastic piece and inject Kool-IT coil cleaner directly in the base of the evaporator chamber, which can get moldy.
I bought my car used and it has always had an odor when sitting for a while with the windows rolled up. Even after shampooing/cleaning/airing out, the odor persisted. A coworker commented one day that a friend sold their Prius because odor from the batteries was annoying. I then decided to sniff the battery vent grill in the back seat and noticed it is the same odor that permeates the car. Anyone else have this experience?
I have the same problem, and the dealer has been no help at all. All he offered was a bleach clean on a brand new car, that never had a new car smell, because of this awful odor. This is my first C, I had a regular Prius before, and never had this problem. I think this is a safety issue as it is awful to get into. I'm wondering what chemicals we are breathing in.
The issue turned out to be that the fastener for the drain tube had failed and the a/c had a slow drain into the passenger footwell and then it molded. Dealer removed carpet and cleaned repeatedly, the smell still remained. The dealer used ozone to no avail. Ultimately I used Chlorine Dioxide - it is used to remove mold and musty smell from boats. There are several products available at marine or outdoor stores. Odor free in KC!
But if the drainage condensate could not get out thru that tube, it may have also backed up into the evaporator chamber and developed mold up inside it too. Now that the drain is fixed, you might consider performing an evap chamber sanitizing using a product like Kool-it.
appreciate everyone's helpful replies. I'm just annoyed we even have to deal with this problem, in a new car! I still feel Toyota should be making more of an effort to resolve this, than we are.
@Cinzia Agreed. We're experiencing this with our 2014 Prius Plug-In. We brought our car to a dealership (it's still under the initial warranty) and they said they are not covering it. Probably will contact Toyota Corporate and I suggest you do the same. It looks like it is an old problem that they still have yet to fix! See this old thread for more details and instructions: Taking a Stand on 2007 Prius AC Mold Problem! | PriusChat
