Why a cabin air filter?

The mold is probably in the entire system and not just in the filter. I suggest you find someone who can disinfect the entire intake system.

 

Removing it will screw up the air flow into the blower. Try one of the filters with charcoal (grey color) if you haven't already.

 

that's why its recommended that the cabin air filter is replaced every 15k miles

 

Keep the filter clean and if you take it out for good all the crap that it sucks in will mess up you A/C and heater.
And that will be costly

 

Pull the old filter out and smell it.
I doubt that is where your moldy smell is coming from.

The AC evaporator is where the water condenses out and drains to the ground.
Mold can grow in that area, not on the air filter which remains dry.

There is a procedure for killing the mold in the evaporator section of the system, and making sure that chamber drains to the ground freely.
I don't know what that procedures is. I would think it involves bleach....

Good luck with the research and leave the air filter in place. It most likely is not the problem area.

 

If you leave it in recirc 100% of the time the system could get moldy regardless of how often often you change the filter. I doubt it's the filter and what you need to do is switch to outside air often rather than leave it in recirc all the time.

 

true to certain people at certain places. I've seen it myself

 

This is my second car with a cabin filter. My previous cars did not have one. I never replaced the filter even after 150k miles. I don't plan to replace this one either. I have no doubt it works but the instant you open the door or window, you have ambient or "dirty"air. I think Toyota wants to charge you more money to replace a consumable. The follicles in my schnozz will suffice for me.

 

can you get a disinfecting type aerosol there ? if so I suggest you use it, both inside the car and on the outside where the air is drawn in, the product here in Australia is Glen 20, other than that, avoid the use of recirculated air, it is just stale air going around and arund inside your car hence moisture mould smell etc,
brief description of Glen 20 from their blurb -

• Killing 99.9% of germs* and viruses** on hard and soft surfaces.
• Eliminating odours caused by bacteria and leaving your home smelling wonderfully fresh and clean. It tackles unpleasant odours, for example in musty areas where air doesn’t circulate, without heavy perfume – something a non-germicidal cleaning spray can’t offer you.
• Killing the source of mould allergen and controlling the growth of mould and mildew on hard surfaces.

 

More and more cars are coming with cabin air filters to keep pollen, dust, etc from blowing through the vents. It's not there to prevent mold, so if there's mold on the filter, there's mold on the evaporator. The products on the market to correct the problem usually have to be sprayed onto the evaporator directly by drilling a hole in the case.

 

All that the prius is doing different than a non interior cabin filtered car is showing you the mold that's growing everywhere... when you seal up any vehicle in a dank musty environment.
The filter is there to keep dirty, smoggy, dusty and pollen "ridiculed" air from entering the cabin while the car is passing thru areas that are dirty, smoggy, dusty and pollen "ridiculed"

 

More than anything, the filter is there to protect the evap coils and heater coils from clogging up with the same crap that clogs the filter. It effectively doubles the life of those components and keeps them working at peak efficiency.

 

I honestly never looked at the filter. I mostly drive with the vents open and windows up. AC performance did decrease over the years. One AC recharge took care of it. I didn't notice any other problems but perhaps you are right that my temperate location affords me more leeway.

 

A cabin filter is a cheap item to replace