vinegar smell on start up

Are you sure you are not smelling the Antifreeze. It has a distinct sour oder, and if you are smelling it, you have a coolant leak, probably a small one since it seems to go away, but you say its back when you return to the car?

Meebee a trip to dealer is in oder order!!

 

men, I got the same problem last week. How was your car turned out to be?

 

Toyota to the rescue!

Most dealers stock a two part A/C Power Foam Evaporator Cleaner & Refresher
Kit. Dealer will want you to have the service dept. do the job for ~$100, but if
you're insistent, you can get the kit for ~$25 and DIY

The sales pitch on the can says: 'is a quick and easy to use treatment for the
elimination of odors caused by the presence of mold , mildew, and microorganisms.
Power Foam's unique foaming and cleaning agents fill the entire evaporator
case assembly with highly effective active ingredients which dissolve and wash
away contaminants'

You squirt the foamy stuff up thorough the evaporator drain tube, which you have
pulled up into the cabin. After a short period of time you drain the foam-turned-liquid
into a container. I used the cleaner, but not the perfumed 'refresher, as part of
clearing a drain tube blockage last summer. Simple, pretty quick and effective in my
experience.

See also: Toyota Prius 2006 air conditioning ventilation service | PriusChat

 

How do I do that? Where can I find this evaporator drain tube?

 

Good questions.

I used the A/C Power Foam Evaporator Cleaner & Refresher Kit about a year ago.
Here's what I think I remember:

The evaporator is located up under the dash on the passenger side. It would behelpful,
though not necessary, to peer under the car to preliminarily locate the drain tube. It's
black, about 3/16 in. in diameter and hangs down 3 inches or so.

Inside the cabin, you need to peel back the carpet in the passenger's foot well to get
access to the drain tube all the way to where it goes through the floor. I seem to
remember that the tube runs through a soft rubber grommet. It doesn't matter if the
grommet puls away with the tube when you pull the drain tube back in. I was able to
do this without distrubing the hard plastic pieces near the door and the center stack.

IIRC, the hardest part of this was reseating the rubber grommet in its hole, and getting
the carpet to lie smoothly under the edges of the hard plastic pieces near the door and
center stack when putting things back together.

Hope this helps.