Cabin / Air Filter Combo

Yeah would be nice if engineers would put their minds to this, come up with something that'd shed the water, and/or make the evaporator accessible, an easy-to-service item. Meanwhile...

 

Auto mode is technically supposed to do it on gen 5 but I'm not sure how well it works.

 

I tell my dealer I go by the Book! not big on dealer recommend service items!

 

Where can you buy a legit filter for that price? Can you get genuine toyota parts for that price?

My cabin air smells moldy every time i turn the fans on...goes away after 1 min...i think i need new filters

 

New filters won't help; they're not the source of the mold smell. The mold smell is from... mold, growing deeper in the system, on the AC radiator's (techinically known "evaporator") cooling fins or nearby. It's like a glass of ice-water on a hot day: humidity condenses on it.

When you use AC a lot, and use it till the car's shut down, humidity condenses, deep inside the dash, in a warm/dark environment. And mold grows.

Toyota and others sell cleaning solutions, I'm not sure how effective they are though. The only effective way I know to avoid this is to use AC sparingly, and always turn it off about a mile before destination, leaving the fan running. This is an onerous workaround, and not a lot of owners will put up with this hassle.

The evaporator and associated passages are terrifically difficult to access, make the car look like someone tossed in a hand grenade.

 

That’s true because they are not part of the required service at this point.

 

You should be able get it from your local Toyota dealer parts website. But I would check multiple dealers part site around you if you have more than one around you. Some dealers part prices are cheaper than others.

 

there are online toyota parts sites that discount, and you can ask local dealers for prices and discounts. they are often happy to meet online prices.

 

Clean the evap every three or four years

 

Curious why you don’t do the cabin filter yourself? Thx

 

It's a mild PITA for me. I'm basically one-handed, so the cabin air filter is just enough of a hassle for me to not want to do it myself. And part of the standard service is for the service tech to inspect the filter, so they have to pull it out anyway to do that. So as long as they aren't charging me additional labor beyond the standard inspection cost, I figure why not let them install it. (plus I'm still in my two-year Toyota Care window, so even the inspection is free)

Now if they start charging me a separate fee, that'll be the day I start doing it myself.

 

Thank you for clarifying! Changing Gen 2 filter is a pain plus you never know what surprises you’re going to find when the filter gets pulled out. : ) I was concerned changing the Gen 5 was more complicated. My dealership does charge labor but I’ve also never been in the position to have the free 2 yr Toyota Care…yet.

 

I'm not sure how you do the gen2, but here's a video showing the gen5. Doesn't seem difficult at all, and I could easily do it if I wanted to, but it's also easy for the tech to do any time they're doing a 6mo/5k mile service(removing and inspecting the filter is one of the things you're already paying them to do). Since I use an activated charcoal filter, I have it changed once a year no matter what it looks like.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post all of this. Glad to see it’s the same as changing the Gen 2. I need to use
activated charcoal filter as well. Just found one that also has a hepa filter too.

 

Does anyone know the location of the AC drain tube and the intake vent to run one of those AC cleaning kit?

 

I don't know the exact location(I tried to find it on TechInfo, but I came up empty), but it should be near the centerline of the car toward the back part of the dash. Or another way to look at it, something like 5"-10" to the right of the accelerator pedal. That should get you in the general area. You access it from underneath the car. It's a plastic/rubber tube that hangs pretty much straight down. To get full access, you might need to remove an under covers. But maybe enough of the tube protrudes past the under cover for you to attach the cleaning kit.

If you're doing this yourself by using ramps or jack stands, you can also find the tube by running the A/C for awhile until it starts dripping. The more hot and humid the day, the better.

As for the intake vent, that's under the passenger side of the cowl, just in front of the windshield. I think it's been in the same spot for every Prius generation.

 

I think that's where it is for nearly every car.
For those finding the Toyota cabin filter a PITA to replace, it was on top of that exterior intake in the old Taurus models. I could never get all the cowl clips to connect after replacing that filter.

 

This guy's made a few of these easy DIY videos about his prius, and I think his videos are awesome. Super clear and easy to follow

 

I’ll take mould prevention tactics over squirting some iffy cleaner.