Hi all, Not too long ago, I posted regarding my cabin air filter wherevi found small broken pieces of mid gray spongy material in the filter; there was a lot; some suspected there might have been an active mouse infestation (search my posts for cabin air filter if you want) but I never saw any indication beyond small spongy material that ended up in my cabin air filter. I eventually replaced the cabin air filter and used fridgi fresh through the air duct. Today when I started the car, and my AC was on full blast, small bits of mid gray spongy material came spewing out of the air vents; they looked very similar to the ones that were mainly intercepted by the cabin air filter. What’s going on? Do our 3rd gen have some sort of mid gray spongy material lining the duct work within our car and it just was deteriorating, hence bring blown through vent. What do you think is going on with my car? Just old material that’s deteriorating due to age? I also noticed that my air recirculating doesn’t seem to work as well as before as it allows foul odor to come through as though I pressed the fresh button. Several times I experienced what seem like rotten egg smell coming through the vent. Is this a coincidence or do you think there’s a connection Does anyone know if there’s gray spongy material that is either in the duct or somewhere else but eventually making its way through the vent. What material is it, where’s it located and is it an easy fix?
It might be the standard cheap toyota foam that is part of the HVAC system, but it's also small enough that it could of got sucked in due to a failed screen in the vents as well as places access can be chewed open near where your windshield wipers are. Worse case, you got some mice that found their way in... There's plenty of threads on here about how to rodent proof your HVAC. I could probably tell you which of these problems you have if I saw the overall condition of your car... The cars that are never cleaned of old food and sit unused for a long time are heaven to small rodents. I've pulled cabin air filters with so much debris you can barely see the filter. Even once pulled a filter that I could barely get out because there was an emaciated rat that died inside due to the car sitting for years.
That's the material that seal all your HVAC ducts at the plastic square connection points .they all on top and under dash at each vent and duct joint it hardens flakes off and pushes thru system .if it gets in HVAC box center of car it will slow down air flow alot . And getting it out is nutz. Heavy 5 hp shop vac 3.5 in hose w adapters to get in their . Use compress air in one end and vac on other side . Push pull .
That's the material on the flap doors that are supposed to seal on the opening to close a vent. You can either just ignore it, because you will see more, or go to Toyota, order new material, then remove the dash, and the evaporator housing (you might NOT have to do that) to access then to replace them. That is normal for older vehicles, no matter what brand. The smell could be a dead animal, or just a dirty system. If it's been a while since you've change the cabin air filter, you should use a charcoal air filter. It will help. And since the vents aren't sealing, yes, recirculation will not work as well. It's only about 90% recirculation, it's not a 100% sealed system. You can use a can of Lysol and spray it in the intake vent where the wipers are with the a/c running. when the can is empty, turn on recirculate and let it sit for 10 minutes or so.... Hopefully, that helps. You should also search the car for any dead creatures.
