Questionable funk from the air vents

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by k r a y z e e . j o j o

Okay, so my deal is that my vents have been shooting this stale, 3-week-old tortilla-chip smell everytime I start the car with the A/C on. It's only for a few seconds, then it either goes away or I get used to it. This is has been going on since the lovely new-car smell faded away at 4,000 miles. Since then, I've been dealing with this everyday and it's really starting to get on my nerves. I only have about 7,700 miles on it, so I'd say it's way too early for my car to stink itself up. Toyota dealer found nothing wrong with the A/C, filter and fan, and even sprayed air-freshener for free, which fades away in minutes. So what's really wrong with it? How do it fix it for good? Thanks.

Check the TSB on HVAC evaporator drain blockage:

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9753

When the drain tube is plugged up the condensate stays in and gets really funky after a while. It happened on my Xterra and I unplugged it from below by sticking a piece of flexible plastic up the evaporator drain tube. When I pulled the plastic rod out, about a gallon of putrid water came gushing out all over me. I nearly lost my lunch...