I frequently get a musty smell out of my vents that I have noticed from time of taking ownership. I was told at that time Toyota was aware of it and the solution was to take the system out of recirculate a few miles from home allowing outside fresher air in to remove the apparent moisture buildup. I tried to leave the system in the fresh air mode most of the time, but still experience this smell/odor. At my 10K service I brought this up again and was offered a 'goodwill' system cleaning and a charcoal filter. The mechanic performed the procedure (although I am not sure if it was for the recommended time frame, dash-cam inside vehicle caught the whole 10K service) The smell is still there and sometimes even overwhelmingly bad. I read on the NHTSA.DOT.gov site some complaints like mine. Anyone else experiencing this? Also, what kind of fix is that from Toyota wanting owners to remember to switch into fresh air mode in an attempt to remove the water buildup from the system? It doesn't work anyway.
I would turn the AC completely off, maybe 1/2 km from your destination, keep the fan running, run the windows down, to clear the moisture build-up that's inevitable with AC use. Also, don't run steadily on recirculate, only use that when behind an old diesel or something like that. Might help to leave the widows cracked when you're parked too. Personally, we use AC very infrequently, more so in winter when it's raining. In summer we mostly just shut everything down and roll down the windows. Climate's more temperate than a lot of climes tho.
Easier for someone in BC to do than in mid-Florida location. Seriously, that didn't work. Smell still there. And what kind of fix is that anyway for an apparent design issue?
It's near impossible to clear moisture from an AC system that shut down at the last minute. A design mod that might help would be to allow the cabin vent fan to run on after shut down. Until that happens though: if you leave water sitting, it's going to start growing stuff.
?? Then this would have been an issue from the advent of A/C !! Cars should be designed so water in the evap drains out. Ever notice the puddle of water under a vehicle that had the A/C on? It is designed to drain out. Have you experienced this problem on your car too?
No. Wash some dishes and set them in a drain rack. Some water will drain, but a lot will remain. A strategic shut down of AC as you near your destination, coupled with curtailing use of recirculation mode, will prevent water remaining in the system. If you get the current mold growth outa there and follow that regimen it won't come back.
At this point, I'd open it up, to where you can see the coolant and AC radiators, make sure they get completely cleaned. Same thing for all the air passage ways. Service doesn't want to do this, too much labour.
As mentioned in first post, Toyota did a procedure on the system that they normally charge over $100 I believe. It has done little to stop the issue.
I understand, read that. I'd guess you've got something tenacious, growing in/on the AC radiator's fins. And just spraying something will not remedy. You need to clean thoroughly/directly, and modify your usage, or it'll come right back.
Ever since the advent of the "new" refrigerant, people have been told to shut off the A/C close to home to supposedly evaporate the moisture, so this is not unique to Toyota. I've never done this, but then I live in AZ where we only get high humidity in Aug/Sep and "high" means 40% or so. We do have days that are much higher but not consistently. Anyway, when we first got the car, I noticed that if I forced outside air for long periods, I'd get some odor for a short time when I'd switch to inside air or vice-versa. My solution has been to let the Prius control the A/C, turning inside/outside air on/off as needed. Unfortunately, I agree with others that the system may need a complete hands-on cleaning because too much mold, etc., has built up and nothing is going to magically fix things. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
