2007 Prius- Hello, I have a 2007 Prius and when I turn on the heater, I smell fumes. Does anyone know why? Anyone has experienced it? Thx.
I've heard air bubbles in the vehicles heating system can cause this problem but am not sure I'm clear on how that is. And as I always say, the first step in HVAC problems is installing a brand new carbon cabin filter. They're very inexpensive online: C35479 TOYOTA CHARCOAL CABIN AIR FILTER FOR TOYOTA PRIUS 2001 - 2009 | eBay and they do play a role at reducing the smell of fumes. Also a heavily clogged filter can decrease air speed, which can sometimes create problems with the vent system not working, such as the valve that switches between outside air and inside recirculation not being fully functional.
Another side note- It feels as though when I put the air circulation only inside the car and not from the outside I don’t smell it.
Does it smell like coolant or like exhaust? Each of those has a completely different path for troubleshooting.
First step is to thoroughly inspect under the hood for exhaust leak... It will smell like an old vintage car or truck exhaust because it hasn't gone through the catalytic converter to clean that smell yet.
Thank you all for your suggestions! Still didn’t get a chance to look into it, but all your replies are appreciated! Hopefully I can find where the smell is coming from.
