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Prius smells bad

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ukiltmybrutha, Nov 15, 2020.

  1. ukiltmybrutha

    ukiltmybrutha Member

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    Location:
    VA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Hard to describe the smell on this 05. My wife likes it but I think it doesn't smell right. I hope it's not mold related as the 12 V battery was soaked in about a foot of water when I purchased it. I cleaned up and sealed the microcrack locations as per several youtube videos and sprayed liquid wrench for good measure on the ugly looking surface rust pit left behind. It has a new 12V battery so at least it is not stinking, lol.

    I am running glade air fresheners which seems to just mask the scent. The car sits in the garage with the windows and hatch open all the time in an attempt to air it out but to no avail.

    Anything in the 2nd gen Prius that is inherently stinky within the interior? Do the interiors tend to smell different than other cars?

    Thanks.
     
    #1 ukiltmybrutha, Nov 15, 2020
  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Two
    Sometimes the roof leaks so bad the hatch fills up and water spills into the rear seat under the carpet. Quite a stench up in there.

    Or... you got rodents in the car. Remove the cabin air cleaner look for mouse bunk beds in there and then take the engine air filter cover off and look in there.

    Or the ac evap coil under the dash is gunked up and has never been serviced. Thats $125 at the dealer they inject microbial cleaner back up the drip hose it fills the ecoil box as foam then comes back out as liquid. A DIY is Kool It on amazon comes with the snorkel hose to attach to the drip hose. With car off smell the ac vents do they stink?

    And lastly you may have the dreaded black rubber hybrid battery tubes stench. There's these black rubber tubes in the hybrid battery box and they really stink bad when they go. Some people have them stink some dont. Smell the hybrid battery vent intake next to the rear passenger seat see if it stinks in there. Very bad odor I hear.
     
    #2 edthefox5, Nov 15, 2020
  3. ukiltmybrutha

    ukiltmybrutha Member

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    Thanks for this. The stench is actually coming from the hybrid battery vent. That smell is rank.
     
    #3 ukiltmybrutha, Nov 15, 2020
  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Yes it’s those black rubber tubes. I never had it in mine and now a new battery so no more tubes.
    Hybrid battery has to come out.

    I hear they really stink.
     
    #4 edthefox5, Nov 17, 2020
  5. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Unfortunately, you cannot buy replacements as they are not sold separately. They only come with an assembly plant battery. With a replacement battery from the dealer, you would reuse the tubes from your old battery.

    Fortunately, you can manufacture your own new vent tubes out of silicon tubing. There are a couple of old posts somewhere here in the Gen 2 forums and I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't find a couple of videos on YouTube.

    It is not rocket science though and is easy enough to figure out using the old ones as a template.
     
    #5 dolj, Nov 19, 2020
  6. ukiltmybrutha

    ukiltmybrutha Member

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    2005 Prius
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    Thanks.

    Does anyone know if that stink is the result of anything toxic? I am not so sure that I can get to the hybrid battery right away. Like I mentioned, the smell bothers me not my wife and I hardly drive it. I am too busy with the crayon smell that my Jetta TDI emits lol.

    This would also give me a chance to get 3rd party software while I am down there and replace any iffy cells.

    I am kind of waiting for the lithium traction battery replacement as well.

    Thanks for any input.

    Also, is there any technical harm in spraying lysol down the vent until I can get to it?
     
    #6 ukiltmybrutha, Nov 19, 2020
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Doesn’t really matter though because if it’s the original battery it’s probably going to need service sooner or later anyway.
     
    #7 edthefox5, Nov 19, 2020
  8. ukiltmybrutha

    ukiltmybrutha Member

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    True. Looks like we posted at around the same time. Had questions about toxicity in the meantime.
     
    #8 ukiltmybrutha, Nov 19, 2020
  9. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    I don't believe it is toxic, just very unpleasant (to some).
     
    #9 dolj, Nov 19, 2020
  10. ukiltmybrutha

    ukiltmybrutha Member

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    Thanks. Guess I will hold my nose while working on it lol.
     
    #10 ukiltmybrutha, Nov 20, 2020
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