Stinky air in Cabin from car vents

More than likely you have a mold growing in your A/C evaporator coil. The Prius electric variable speed A/C actually runs a lot more than a normal car a/c, which is great for getting humidity out of the car. That also means a much more likely chance of having mold.

This issue has come up before

http://priuschat.com/forums/care-ma...rius-c-vent-odor-smells-like-dirty-socks.html

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-m...-mildew-smell-coming-out-air-conditioner.html

Good luck getting rid of the stink. I had to spray my e-coil twice to kill off the funk

 

Anything you can do to keep the system dry, or at least to dry it out before parking the car, should help.

 

With the AC on and blower going, you can also spray Lysol in the incoming air vent on the outside cowl, or also where the filter goes, without the filter in place of course, and see if that helps.

 

Lysol may or may not work. I used an HVAC product specifically designed for treating e-coils, and I still had to treat it twice.

As a caution, after you treat the e-coil, make sure all the windows are down before turning on the car A/C. There could be residual n-Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and n-Alkyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride in the case or on the coil

The way I did it with my Prius, after treating the e-coil I let it sit a few hours outside. Then went to Ready, powered down all the windows, turned on the HVAC, set it to Max Hot, and got out. Left it that way for 5 mins, could no longer smell any chlorides.

Or possibly my smell receptors got nuked by the chlorides and ammonia?

I'll find out this summer if the smell returns.

 

We use a foaming cleaner to help in the case of odors. The job is very simple. The cleaner comes with a hose which is inserted in the evap drain hose and the foaming cleaner sprayed in. After letting is sit and drain for a while, (5-10 minutes) the second spray is then either sprayed through the fresh air intake or can be sprayed directly onto the cabin air filter.
You might also bear in mind that if your car is still under 3/36 warranty, your dealership should be prepared to handle the problem for you. We have replaced evap cases on several vehicles in order to get rid of odors.
Living in South Florida, this is something a regional situation and the solution we use may not be allowed at all dealerships.

Remember the best advise when dealing with Toyota reps.... Polite persistance will get you what you want.

 

Here's what we use, twice a year in all our cars, after trying tons of products:


They don't sell it in the U.S. so we had to order it from the U.K. and not only does it work, it LASTS. A quick spritz on the cab air filter lasts us for the duration of the filter. Its made for keeping folks free of mold, bacteria, dust mites etc ... & if my spouse, who's alergic to tons of stuff feels better, then I'd say give it a try.

 

THanks. My car stinks bad. I live in Fla too so anyone who uses there AC alot might experience it. I thought it was just me but a lady at work who has an 07 stopped me in the hall and asked me about it too. After buying many different sprays and spraying in the vents and cabin filter the car smelled like a hospital but the smell came back. If I turn on the heater real hot for a while like the poster said after a commute that seemed to help but here's the biggest problem I've noticed.When I start my car in the morning and back out a bunch of water comes out of the evap hose. And leaves a dribble line all the way out of garage so I think because of the evap design its leaving quite a puddle of water in the evap box too. I have checked for the hose being block many times (never is) and have checked the 2 vents from the bottom of the windshield to the back of the tires and there clear. I talked to the dealer and they made a big deal out of in that they would "do me a favor" and do this new technique under "warranty" on it which now that I see your post is exactly what they will do is spray some foam up the evap hose. Wish I knew where I could buy this foam with a tube that fits up the evap hose. I love this car but its stinky. I don't smoke & have allergies too.

 

I found that most of my friends that have stinky a/c smell run their a/c constantly. I like to turn off my a/c on occaision and just let the fan blow. I also almost always have the fresh air vent open. I use the recirculate feature when it is really really hot, then go back to fresh air once it starts to cool down. It works for me, but I also don't live in a very humid climate.

 

Check local auto parts stores or try the parts department at your local dealership. The cleaner comes as two cans with the hose included.