I have a 2017 standard model Prius. I really like it, just bought it a few weeks ago, but I am having a lot of breathing issues when driving, and its quite frustrating after spending a good amount of money purchasing. I am having symptoms of sore/burning throat, stomach becoming upset, lungs feeling irritated, and even I believe my eyes might be burning. To try and resolve, I flushed the AC condensation line with a "AC Refresher kit" with little benefit, I replaced the cabin air filter with a top of the line filter having charcoal, ect. Any ideas what could be causing this issue, could a leaky hybrid battery cause fumes in the vehicle? Though it seems to happen when driving only, dont notice it in the AM after car is sitting. Let me know if you have any ideas, thanks! Im going to bring it into a great mechanic, but in 2 weeks...... Not able to at the moment.
I had similar issues a few years ago in my 2004 Prius. Whenever I went on a long trip, I developed hives. The problem turned out to be mice in the HVAC air duct. It took a major cleaning of the AC system to clear up the problem, not just an AC Refresher Kit. JeffD
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I was looking into local car detailing locations, but not sure what to have done. Maybe steaming the vents, or something else. Not quite sure yet....
Might involve opening up the dash. Not sure how effective the piped-in stuff is. @rjparker advocates the latter, may weigh in with suggestions/tips. @NutzAboutBolts has an AC cleaning (with the spray product) video #22 here.
I have very little experience with this, but I did have smelly air when I initially turned on the A/C on a '22 MINI. It would go away after a while, but always come back. I live in a relatively cool place and rarely use A/C. BMW (MINI by BMW) has had problems with this over the years and I recall the fan would run for a while after turning the car off to, I think, bring things to equilibrium with the outside air so mold forming condensation wouldn't be created. I believe my GEN 5 manual said my car does something similar. I bought some A/C cleaning stuff from the local parts place, Advance Auto, a big chain. I followed directions, mostly, taking out the cabin filter and spraying in there with the heat and fan on high---I think, lol. I believe I sprayed a little into the air outlets as well, as directed. I had no puddling of water on the car floor, and condensate dripped on the ground when the system was running, so the condensate line wasn't clogged, so I didn't have to hunt around for that. Everything was quite cramped. It had its own smell that dissipated after a while. It wasn't just a fragrance spray, it was specifically for A/C mold/mildew. It seemed to work.
First thing is to look in the evaporator area by removing the cabin filter. Mice will setup on the cabin filter first. The Toyota cleaner does work against "dirty sock syndrome" (a type of fungal growth on the evaporator) but the symptoms must match. Typically occurs in any ac system including home indoor units after an ac has been off for many days or weeks and the evap dries out. The first warm humid day using the ac causes condensation to wet the dried fungal growth creating a distinct "dirty sock" smell. The foam cleaner will work for this common situation if applied properly. Don't use the fragrance which can be irritating by itself. Similar foam products are used in home systems. Otherwise, I would be concerned about flood damage. Check under the carpets throughout the car. Then rodent nests further in the ac ducting beyond the cabin filter. Hopefully not as this requires removing much of the dash.
The below is what I used. It was cheaper than the BMW product and I didn't have to drive far, lol. Might as well buy from the dealer though-you only want to do it once, if you can.
Assuming dirty sock syndrome: When you think about cleaning a small tightly grouped set of coils with fins and doing it without good access, high pressure water or even brushes, the only hope is a foam with sanitizer that expands pushing dirt and growth around and then dissolves into a liquid and drains. The instructions say inject from the condensate line up into the evap (backflushing) HALF of the can, wait until it liquifies, drains out and then inject the rest. Basically rinse and repeat. Run the ac on max over a decent drive to further rinse using condensate. Now think about a sticky dish with egg residue dried up and all you can do is soak it for a few minutes, drain it and do it again without using a sponge or dish cloth. You are lucky if half the goo is gone. Do it again one month later after complaining and maybe its better. Yes you could spend $1200 in labor and have it removed, hand clean everything along with the ducts, and then vacuum and recharge the ac system, but it makes sense to try foam again. I have found that once its clean it can stay that way for years.
