OK to turn off car with AC still on?

Once or twice is okay. But if you leave AC on all the time and turn off car without dissipating the moisture then mold will start growing resulting in the "sweaty urine" smell.

Once that happens, you can only get rid of that by using the foam cleaner on the AC condenser.

 

good point. i doubt it hurts the compressor in any way, but i shut mine off a mile or so from my destination and turn the fan up to clear out the vent system as bb4srv mentions above.
never have any mold problems.

 

Not a bad idea, guys!


iPad ? Pro

 

I think it also depends on your climate. If you live in a hot and dry place, then the mold wouldn't be much of a big problem b/c the condenser would get dried out fairly quickly.

I live in a humid temperate climate, so it takes a long time for the condenser to dry.

 

same here. not sure about la.

 

I never knew that before, the sweaty urine smell, or the trick about turning off AC on the last mile. But Is this less of a problem with the Prime compared to other cars?

 

I don't think so. Look at a glass of ice water on a not day: see all the moisture condensing on it? That's what's happening in any AC system.

 

it's counterintuitive, a/c dries out the car, you'd think the vents would also be dry.

and you'd think running humid air thru them before shutting down would leave moisture in them.

 

Why don’t I run my home A/C after the compressor turns off? I have no control over that other than running the fan continuously which I find uncomfortable. After the compressor stops the fan stops maybe 10 seconds later.

 

yeah, no smell at home unless your ducks get moldy. maybe auto a/c is different?

 

I did the AC maintenance. I sprayed half a can of Lysol in the outside air-intake vent, while the AC is running. And a couple of squirts into the dashboard vents when off. I think I will do that at least once a year. (Thanks to RCO for posting instructions.)

 

Ducks don't get moldy. They clean themselves.

 

My home A/C air handler runs for one or two minutes after the compressor shuts off.

 

That sounds like something that could be done with the car, well: by Toyota. Maybe they considered it, but weighed negative customer reaction: it would seem odd for the fan to run on after you've shut it off, and it's pumping increasingly warm/moist air.

Still, it's something to be cognizant of, and you can do yourself, to avoid lingering moisture in the system.

 

Just make the ducks out of plastic

 

Some systems use a temperature sensor to determine when the fan runs. So, when the compressor starts, the fan does not come on until the evaporator becomes cold. And the opposite on shut down.

I'm not sure what the Prime does, but I believe it uses programmed electronics rather than any kind of temperature sensor. You will notice that when you turn on the climate system (auto), the fan does not start instantly and when it does start, the fan speed ramps up as shown by the number of indicator bars on the display. The Prime owners' manual says:



Much depends upon the climate where you live, the season of the year, whether you park outside or in a garage, whether your garage is heated or not, etc.

My one warning is that you should never transport a whole baked fish as take-out from your local Chinese restaurant -- even if your spouse thinks it will make a fantastic main dish for a small dinner party.



I did this once and, although the trip home from the restaurant was only a couple of miles, the car sported a specific distinctive ambience for several months.

Trust me on this one.

 

Would you say that the smell was... off the scale?

 

Sounds fishy to me.

 

How do you turn the fan up? Sorry this sounds like a silly question, but I just bought my first used Gen II hybrid and I am still terrified to drive it because of intermittent beeping!