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Smelly AC after recharge

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by hyp3rmil3r, Jul 12, 2020.

  1. hyp3rmil3r

    hyp3rmil3r Member

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    Hey all, my prius AC was pretty much non existent. Only one vent was providing moderately cold air at best. I recharged the system and now its working much much better. Problem now is, when I turn the AC on after the car sitting for a bit, it smells terrible and has a musty smell. Not sure how to alleviate this or if anyone has experienced this? Thanks
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. Check the cabin air filter and replace if needed.
    2. If the air filter is clean, then the air conditioner evaporator probably has some nasty residue/mold on it. The answer is to clean the evaporator.
    3. If you can find the drain hose at the bottom of the car near the front passenger door that drains water from the evaporator, you would inject a cleaning foam into that hose.
    4. Or, you can spray a cleaner into the dash vents and hope the cleaner makes its way to the evaporator.
    5. When operating the car, let the evaporator dry out by turning off the AC compressor, allowing fresh air to enter the cabin, and letting the blower motor run for 10 minutes.

    There are many posts about this issue.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think you can buy a spray cleaner for that, or dealer can do it. probably have to kill the mold.
     
  4. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    I don't know if I can really recommend this product since I purchased it years ago and have yet to use it, but the product is called Kool-It and is available at various automotive outlets or http://www.lubegard.com. It injects into the condensate drain under the vehicle. I noticed an odor in my HVAC and started doing the 10-15 minute AC off, outside air purge before parking. The smell went away on its own. It helps that the climate here in AZ is mostly dry, and I make sure and run the purge longer when we do have some humidity. I maintain a clean filter also, which helps with airflow and decreases the chances of particulate buildup.
     
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  5. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Toyota sells a foam cleaner that injects through the condensate drain with a supplied hose. Its easy except for getting under the car. See procedure starting at 2:10 in the video.



    Its called “Toyota AC Refresher Kit”. Part 00053-00008 or 08821-00830 A little pricey but works and actually cleans the inside coil. The fragrance only solutions are a waste of money. Sometimes cheaper online or ask for a discount at the Toyota parts dept. Saves at least half over Toyota doing it.

     
    #5 rjparker, Jul 13, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2020
  6. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    When your AC was not working right, very little moisture was depositing on the evaporator.
    Now there is a LOT of moisture on there......that mold just LOVES.
    Most any car over 5 years old will have that problem to some degree.

    The replies so far might all be useful.

    The first step is to make sure the drain hose is not plugged up.
    Look for water dripping out after you turn it off.

    It might also help to turn the HEAT on high and fan full blast with the windows open for a few minutes......when the engine is HOT.
    Do this when you can leave the windows cracked open for at least a few hours after.......because it might initially make the smell much worse.
     
  7. hyp3rmil3r

    hyp3rmil3r Member

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    Hey thanks guys. I should note, I put a cabin filter in during the fall of 2019. I just took it out and it was pretty dirty already. I’ve also ozone’d the car many times. I had a water leak in the rear hatch thats now patched, but water was leaking in stinking the car up for awhile. Now that’s fixed and it doesn’t happen any more. Battery compartment and spare tire have been emptied out of water and dried. I’ll check out that ac evaporator!
     
  8. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Missing details are usually really important.

    Now that your AC is working, it is pulling moisture out of the air inside, which is in turn pulling moisture out of the upholstery that was/is wet.

    I think it is highly likely that the smell is coming from the carpets or padding on the floor.
    Once you get ALL of that dried out, leaving the car sit out in the HOT sun with the windows cracked for a few days might help.

    The sad news is that anytime it rains and the interior gets damp again the smell might come back.
     
  9. lech auto air conditionin

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    I don’t know if you or one of your family members or friends on a portable dehumidifier the type you put in your living room or bedroom when you live in a high humidity place like Florida or somewhere else or you live in a place that’s cool and damp and has a mold problem.

    Put an extension cord through one of your windows leave just a small crack enough for the extension cord put down your rear seats or stand it up level on the seats or wherever you could fit the dehumidifier in the car leave it on overnight depending how wet your carpet is underneath it might take more than 24 hours.

    You should leave the car parked out in your driveway in the sun the hotter your vehicle it is the faster it evaporates and the dehumidifier removes the moisture out of your vehicle.

    At the same time if you know anybody who owns a ozone generator place that inside the vehicle at the same time with the windows rolled up and let it run at the same time the dehumidifier is working that will help get rid of the moldy musty smell and sterilize everything in your car since you’re only be doing it for 24 hours to 48 hours.


    You will now have a clean dry smelling car extremely sterilized.
     
  10. Isaac Zachary

    Isaac Zachary Senior Member

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    I may have to try these tips. I've always had a wierd smell with the AC on in all my cars that have had AC. The odd thing is that you can only smell it when I turn on the AC itself, not when I just vent or use the heater. I also don't use the AC very often, actually only if I have someone else in the car. My wife doesn't like the AC much either. So how could mold form if we hardly use it? But I don't know of any other reason, so thanks for the tips!
     
  11. lech auto air conditionin

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    Don’t know if you ever turn on your defrost but anytime you turn on your defroster the air conditioning comes on that would be the only time I could think that you build up water inside the evaporator case to cause a little smell.

    In different states different parts of the country there’s different kind of dust and mold spores different fungus different pollen so people from different regions are more or less susceptible to getting funky smells coming out of their evaporator case. Then we got a remember their Prius and they are attractive to mice sometimes people get a dead rodent in the HVAC case.

    When it comes to sprays and disinfectants I don’t mind using the disinfectants but when they come with that second candle spray that’s a perfume odor cover kind of thing I can’t stand that stuff it’s too strong nasty smelling.

    I have a mini commercial ozone generator that looks like a small bazooka about 20 inches long. Ozone is not healthy for people in high concentrations but it dissipates from the air and turns back into oxygen after about 30 minutes to 45 minutes by itself.
    Ozone does not like to work so well in high humidity

    This is why if you put a dehumidifier in the car you lower the humidity in the car if you had wet carpets you eventually dry everything out in the car. At the same time you turn on your air conditioning fan in the recycle mode for the air this will open the door flap located passenger side behind the glove box. With just the air blowing without the air conditioning being turned on. I am the nozzle of the ozone generator right up into the intake of the air located behind the glove box. Just make sure the highest concentration of ozone travel directly over the evaporator core and inside the evaporator case. OZone is a excellent disinfectant and deodorizer that leaves no chemical residue is behind.
     
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  12. hyp3rmil3r

    hyp3rmil3r Member

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    [mention]lech auto air conditionin [/mention] thanks for the detailed write up, I’ve ozoned the car quite a few times but without any air circulation turned on, so I may try this. I was doing it before because of the common trunk leak, and I did not know of that issue causing the musty smell in the car.
     
  13. Kenny94945

    Kenny94945 Active Member

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    + 1 Post 2 & post 5.

    FWIW That water leak in the rear can be suspect.
    Even though dried, the carpet matting may be retaining the smell.

    But OP states this is with AC on so the smell is coming through the vents.
    Leads me to the mold in the evaporator box as the cause.

    Also, "I recharged the (AC) system.."
    Proper amount of Freon is important.

    Cabin filter seems to be new, (only a year old) yet is inexpensive enough to change again (use a carbon impregnated filter).

    So I would DIY and change the cabin filter again, inspect the drain tube for a clog, inspect (well, smell around) the water leak area, and use a foaming product to clean the evap. box.

    If that fails, I would have the AC system professionally recharged.

    Stinky AC sucks and can be an every 6 month maintenance item, including the evap. box cleaning.
    Those "aerosol spray in the vents" products can help and certainly mask the odor.

    Good luck.