Mold Smell...2012

It was chemical based according to the gentleman that did the work. I asked him if I could get the stuff here in SoCal... He said that it was not available here; he buys it in Florida.
I'll try to dig his card up and you can give him a call.

I did research and found this supplier:

ULTRASHIELD® A/C ODOR TREATMENT

+ you should read this thread:

Air Conditioner Smell

 

Another thing that works, is to take an old pie plate and fill the bottom with Baking Soda, and put it under a front seat. Does a great job of taking smells out of a car, without adding a new smell.

 

I'm suffering a similar issue--2012 PIP. Took to dealer two times already--both times they just did the spray and put in new filter. I've had enough of this. I told them to fix it, or I'm making a lemon law claim. Bringing it in next Friday--wish me luck.

The smell, btw, is most prominent after car starts up and with A/C off using outside air. Even if I have the fan off, I can still smell it when I'm driving with outside air.

For now, I turn off fan in recirc mode, and open windows a bit so windows don't fog up.

I had the 2010 with no issues but I lived in SoCal. Bought the 2012 PIP and live in Marin County--maybe more humidity up here.

 

I had a musty smell appear in my 2012 Tundra shortly after buying it. It would blow right out at me when I started the truck and then seem to lessen in 10 minutes or so. I finally figured it was from the car wash blasting water into the cabin air intake vents. I used to turn up the ventilation when I went through the car wash because I liked the smell of the soap but it was actually sucking in a lot of moisture as a result. Since then I turn off the ventilation when going through the wash and the problem went away. I guess cars aren't as water-tight as one might imagine.

My wife had a similar problem with an old VW Gulf she used to have. If you took a corner hard, water would actually come out the floor vent onto your feet!