Inside smells really bad

Not being too familiar with how the ducting works between the filter and condenser, would sticking a camera inspection probe be used to be able to see if there is something noticeable on coil?

Do you know if your car is one that sat on a lot or dock while the rear door recall was done?

 

No you tell them it did not clean it properly. A dealer warrants their work.

 

The Toyota kit retails for $30 - the dealer might pay $15. Amazon's best selling Lubegard 96030 evap foam is $15.

5000 people buy it per month. Your experience is not unique.

 

At this point you need to read through your warranty and find out the very specific language they are using that covers this under warranty and then start going after them for denial of a warranty claim. I'm sure there's plenty of consumer groups online who can help you with this. Then you send them a certified letter documenting in writing that they have unlawfully denied your warranty claim. Bonus points for the letter being on an attorney's letter head because that will mean they have to pay the stealerships attorney to respond and that might be more expensive than tearing out your dash to fix the problem.

 

Sounds great... What state or region do you live in? We might have some PriusChat members who live near you who could help in one way or another. For example I know I'd be thrilled to have an opportunity to take apart a Gen5 dash and solve the problem for you for super cheap after you've exhausted all other possible options. But that'd only be if you lived in the greater Seattle-Portland area...

 

Sending a demand letter from a lawyer could be pricey if it goes to court, they win and you forced to pay their costs.

Sounds like way more risk than a $15 diy or a $99 local dealer evap clean.

Particularly if that is all you really need like the 5,000 others that bought a can of foam last month on Amazon.

 

This is unfortunately how I handle things as well. Dealerships respond when they fear their reputation is at stake. The lemon law does require repeated documented repairs. In your case this would involve the dealership taking the HVAC system apart and finding an issue. Repairing the issue but it doesn’t resolve it. I’m not sure how many times a repair needs to fail.

You have to find a way to get the dealership to take this seriously. Mold can cause long term health problems. Point out the potential medical implications. Whatever it takes.

Do you live near any other Toyota dealerships? Some actually do go the extra mile for their customers.

The challenge is being able to replicate the odor. I would follow Hammersmith’s recommendations. It’s tedious but it’s going to give you the best chance of getting the service manager to witness the problem.

I would also suggest posting on the Gen 5 Prius Facebook page to see if anyone else has had this issue.The more documentation you have the better.

Have you spoken with the attorney general’s office? I had an issue during that Corolla Cross purchase. I mentioned my conversation with the attorney general and the slimy dealership GM (not local) said “ok…what do you want?” and resolved it on the spot.

Last resort…do you have one of those local TV stations that does consumer advocacy? Even this would require meticulous proactive documentation and the ability to present the mold odor upon request.

Worst case you might have to pay an independent specialist to diagnose the problem and present the results to Toyota with the intention of being reimbursed for the diagnostics. Every response from your dealership needs to be documented by them in writing!

Be sure all documentation is presented to the service manager, GM and Toyota corporate.

What a PIA.

 

Sorry this is still going on. In my excessively long post I was forgetting that you are smelling a wet dog smell. Not a mold smell?

 

Wet dog smell is equivalent to mold and mildew smell when it comes to the source of this smell.... People who have the most health issues with this smell are both those who are immune compromised as well as those who live in abnormally sterile environments.

As in getting out in your garden and digging in the dirt will expose you to a healthy diversity of fungus and bacteria that creates all kinds of clinically proven health benefits, especially when it comes to strengthening your immune system. Most people don't know that a single cup of fertile soil contains billions of life forms and human knowledge of our rhizopsphere has only just begun!

 

Sounds like progress! I can’t imagine the carbon filter will resolve the issue but it might help while you wait for him to check things out. I’m switching to carbon simply because the original filter is so thin it basically just filters out debris.

I’m occasionally putting my heat in high to dry things out. : } I do this in my apartment as well because maintenance doesn’t service our HVAC systems except to replace the filter occasionally.

 

Yeah... I'm that way about chemicals in everything around us. Up till a year ago I lived in a studio apartment and didn't have to walk very far to wash my hands so I did it constantly. But now at my new place I gotta walk a much greater distance to wash my hands and have found I do so way less often and still feel just as healthy as before.

 

Heat on high is a great way to keep things dry, but get a clock with a humidity meter and spend a couple-few hundred dollars on a dehumidifier and you'll get good at recognizing room humidity. This is essential up here in the Pacific Northwest. Basically if your home is getting up close to 70% mold is gonna grow. And if you can keep the humidity at 50%ish or lower mold can't grow.

 

I live in the Northeast and have been struggling to keep humidity at mid to high 50%. If I run the AC lower than 73 I get cold. HVAC doesn’t seem to work well on humidity. It’s so darn dry in the winter so the thought of investing in a dehumidifier doesn’t thrill me. I already have an expensive air purifier running.