smelly ac???

[peewee1]

How many of you newer Yaris owners have or had the musty smell come from your ac/heater vents? If this problem is still going on it's time for Toyota to hear about it. First let me hear from only the folks that are having or had the Toyota Smell. If this is still on-going it's time to go to another level, not just talking to ourselves about the problem. Thanks for any input.

[bronsin]

If you run the air intake on RECIRC with the AC on it will soon stink the system out. I know the AC in hot places doesnt cool to well on FRESH but if you use FRESH a couple times a week (or switch to FRESH after the car cools down) you wont get the stink.

[Ryze268]

My AC stank when I bought my car (from Japan) so I opened all the doors set it to pull external air, put it on blast then spray lysol (mold & mildew ) from the outside.. It worked like a charm

[CTScott]

Did you buy it brand new, or used? If brand new, did you install a cabin air filter right away after purchase (or did the dealer)?

Neither my 09 (which I bought brand new, and installed a cabin air filter as soon as I brought her home) nor my 08 (which I bought used, but found that the prior owner had a cabin air filter installed) have any stink from the AC system.

In my opinion, once crud gets into the airbox, no matter how much cleanser you spray into the system, you will never properly clean it. A dark, warm, moist space is the perfect environment to grow bacteria, so to prevent it from coming back within days of a disinfecting you really need to get everything out of the airbox (and off of the evaporator) and then immediately install a filter to prevent starting the process again.

To properly clean a skunked airbox you would need to open it, which means pulling the dash completely apart.

[Septembersrain]

Mine doesn't stink. Hmm. I think it depends on how long the car has sat on the lot perhaps? Especially in humid places I'd bet. That's just a guess on my part though. They should replace an air filter if the car has been sitting for more than 30 days, I'd ask them if they can. Mine put in a new filter the day I bought it.

[yougojay]

CTScott is correct. Once the air box has debris in it, it (the debris) will always collect condensation from the air condition system and never completely dry out. I pulled the glove box on my 2013 Yaris L & verified it had the cabin air filter installed (it is supposed to be standard on the 2013 Yaris models) From reading all the posts on water flooding into the passenger compartment, the condensation drain tube gets clogged and the air box will fill with water from the system. If you have purchased a new Yaris, make sure the cabin air filter is installed. It will save you a lot of grief down the road. My cabin air filter already had debris in it after 500 miles.
Older models that have the moldy odor would have to have the box & drain tube cleaned out completely of debris and a cabin air filter installed & maintained.

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37395&highlight=cabin+air+filter

[b20vteg]

mine smells... but only sometimes. it only seems to happen when i'm not using the a/c, and only when the recirulation button is on. but then again, i smoke in my car, so i think it's that...? :S

[bronsin]

CTScott is correct. Once the air box has debris in it, it (the debris) will always collect condensation from the air condition system and never completely dry out.

My 2009 is four years old and has 33k on it. Its never had an airbox filter. I live in NJ where its hot and humid in summer so the AC is on a lot.

Mine doesnt stink at all. I run the air on RECIRC a lot when its really hot but switch to FRESH on cooler days or when the cabin cools down enough.

In my experience you can avoid trouble like this just by running on FRESH about 1/4 the time. :thumbsup: