My Prius has the STINCH!

tech · 10-13-2009, 10:10 PM

I bought a '06 with 67K miles on the cheap cause it had an odor like cat pee or vomit inside. Thought I could get smell out with a little elbow grease and cleaner. After a week of hard labor, sun-ing, airing out & fumigating, I read the "sniff your duct" thread and realized there is a lithium battery issue here. Odor is definetly coming from THAT vent. But what I haven't found is anyone who said how they/toyota solved the problem and were they charged! There must be a few thousand of them out there. Can anyone help with this smell issue?

Rokeby · 10-13-2009, 10:22 PM

tech,

to PRIUSchat.

Stinky air conditioning ducts, condenser, etc, is not an infrequent
complaint from owners in high temp, high humidity areas.

I don't know of an easy way to call up past threads on this subject.
However, if you use the search tool with "stinks" as the search term,
amongst the many threads listed, the threads discussing this issue are
easily identified.

Apparently, this can be a very difficult problem to fix. Good luck.

Hope this helps.

tech · 10-13-2009, 10:33 PM

THAT vent I'm refering to is the one at the right rear seatback going directly to the HV battery compartment. Odor emanates from there and once vehicle is closed up, it gets into fabrics/carpet. I have read back many threads and there are many complaints on this exact issue but I'm hoping for an answer before going to dealer. Other than that, I love the Prius!Thanks

Patrick Wong · 10-14-2009, 09:32 AM

BTW, the traction battery is not lithium, it is NiMH.

I have not seen complaints of a smell coming from the battery vent before. I wonder if you have a dead rat in the ventilation ducting.

tech · 10-14-2009, 06:45 PM

Type in "smell" under search tab... and you're right about the batttery - NiMH, it's also HV - High Voltage - 500vdc! carefull when handling!

________________
2000 Honda Accord coupe
2003 Chevy TBlazer LT
2006 Lexus IS250
2006 Prius
2008 Honda Civic LX coupe

direstraits71 · 10-14-2009, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tech

it's also HV - High Voltage - 500vdc! carefull when handling!

Actually "only about 220 VDC" but still plenty dangerous!

kkayser · 10-15-2009, 06:03 PM

Smells like a dead animal. Eventually it will dehydrate and stop smelling, but finding and removing is much faster. Try an ozone generator. It would not hurt to talk to the dealer.

10-13-2009, 10:10 PM	#1
tech Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bama Posts: 5 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: N/A Package: Base Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	My Prius has the STINCH! I bought a '06 with 67K miles on the cheap cause it had an odor like cat pee or vomit inside. Thought I could get smell out with a little elbow grease and cleaner. After a week of hard labor, sun-ing, airing out & fumigating, I read the "sniff your duct" thread and realized there is a lithium battery issue here. Odor is definetly coming from THAT vent. But what I haven't found is anyone who said how they/toyota solved the problem and were they charged! There must be a few thousand of them out there. Can anyone help with this smell issue? Last edited by tech; 10-15-2009 at 09:50 PM.

10-13-2009, 10:22 PM	#2
Rokeby Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ballamer, Merlin Posts: 1,513 My Car: 2008 Prius Model: Package: #6 Touring Thanks: 96 Thanked 74 Times in 54 Posts Friends: 2	Re: My Prius has the STINCH! tech, to PRIUSchat. Stinky air conditioning ducts, condenser, etc, is not an infrequent complaint from owners in high temp, high humidity areas. I don't know of an easy way to call up past threads on this subject. However, if you use the search tool with "stinks" as the search term, amongst the many threads listed, the threads discussing this issue are easily identified. Apparently, this can be a very difficult problem to fix. Good luck. Hope this helps.

10-13-2009, 10:33 PM	#3
tech Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bama Posts: 5 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: N/A Package: Base Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Re: My Prius has the STINCH! THAT vent I'm refering to is the one at the right rear seatback going directly to the HV battery compartment. Odor emanates from there and once vehicle is closed up, it gets into fabrics/carpet. I have read back many threads and there are many complaints on this exact issue but I'm hoping for an answer before going to dealer. Other than that, I love the Prius!Thanks

10-14-2009, 09:32 AM	#4
Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Green Valley, AZ Posts: 4,049 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: N/A Package: #9 Thanks: 21 Thanked 212 Times in 183 Posts Friends: 44	Re: My Prius has the STINCH! BTW, the traction battery is not lithium, it is NiMH. I have not seen complaints of a smell coming from the battery vent before. I wonder if you have a dead rat in the ventilation ducting.

10-14-2009, 06:45 PM	#5
tech Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bama Posts: 5 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: N/A Package: Base Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Re: My Prius has the STINCH! Type in "smell" under search tab... and you're right about the batttery - NiMH, it's also HV - High Voltage - 500vdc! carefull when handling! ________________ 2000 Honda Accord coupe 2003 Chevy TBlazer LT 2006 Lexus IS250 2006 Prius 2008 Honda Civic LX coupe Last edited by tech; 10-14-2009 at 06:48 PM.

10-15-2009, 06:03 PM	#7
kkayser Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 35 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Friends: 0	Re: My Prius has the STINCH! Smells like a dead animal. Eventually it will dehydrate and stop smelling, but finding and removing is much faster. Try an ozone generator. It would not hurt to talk to the dealer.