My 2006 just hit 5000 miles. It's 5 months old.

I am getting a bad smell from the A/C. I never put in an A/C filter and I'm in Florida so it gets heavy use.

I tried running the heat on full for a few minutes to maybe kill whatever is making the smell but no help.

I can't imagine a filter will make the smell go away so I was thinking an A/C spray deoderizer.

Is this a dealer pit stop or do you think I can fight this myself.

i had that happen to a friend. but he threw up in the vents when he was drunk one night. lol, sorry i couldnt help you out.

A/C spray deoderizor spray might be your best bet, unless you want to bring it into the dealer.
make your own filter out of one from homedepot

lol, sorry i couldnt help you out.



You made me laugh Sam... that's some help!

^^haha, no problem dude.

Yes, spray something in the intake vent on the passenger side right below the windsheild. I used Meguiar's Odor Eliminator in the small yellow spray bottle and it worked wonders and never came back.

If you have a cabin filter, than that might need to be replaced.

I work at a Toyota dealership as a detailing supervisor. When this problem arises we have a quick fix.
1- Start your car and turn the air on.
2-Put the air on fresh
3- Close all the doors
4- Put your hand by the windshield wipers and you will feel a suction ( nothing major) but you will feel air being pulled.
5. Spray any kind of air freshner you want
6. Let the air and the car run for like 5 min and repeat.
ENJOY

^^ :clap:

Yea, air fresheners work wonders to cover up the odor, but not get rid of it. I did it once with an odor eliminator a year ago and the smell hasn't come back.

Yea, air fresheners work wonders to cover up the odor, but not get rid of it. I did it once with an odor eliminator a year ago and the smell hasn't come back. I mean you can use whatever you want. I was just letting everyone know how to apply it

do what bryanAKAdrdetail said, but use an air freshener that kills stuff. like ozium

good luck everyone

i had the same problem happen to me. i live in south fl as well...but it went away in like 2 weeks or so. i have no idea what it was.

I work at a Toyota dealership as a detailing supervisor. When this problem arises we have a quick fix.
1- Start your car and turn the air on.
2-Put the air on fresh
3- Close all the doors
4- Put your hand by the windshield wipers and you will feel a suction ( nothing major) but you will feel air being pulled.
5. Spray any kind of air freshner you want
6. Let the air and the car run for like 5 min and repeat.
ENJOY

Yup Lysol always worked for me in the past :love: .

I also live in FL so I use my A/C a lot! when I start the A/C smells like a dead animal. Discusting. I decided to check out what's going one and to my surprise I had a bunch of tree leaves right where the air is sucked in. I cleaned it and is better now. I sometimes get the same smell when the A/C is on and the engine is off. Thank you for the advice, I'll use an air refreshener and change the air filter.

I have had the odor in previous cars, I was told it is caused from moisture in the vents. The fix for me was making sure the vents are left open ( to fresh air) when the car is parked and I shut the a/c off, leaving the fans running for a minute before I shut the car off. This was actually recommended by the dealer at the time. Never had a problem since. I'm not sure what they used to actually get rid of the odor, but I am guessing some sort of ionizer stuff.

I have had the odor in previous cars, I was told it is caused from moisture in the vents. The fix for me was making sure the vents are left open ( to fresh air) when the car is parked and I shut the a/c off, leaving the fans running for a minute before I shut the car off.

BINGO!

I get this in my jeep all the time. What it's from is non-use of the A/C. Moisture collects, grows musty and smells like nothing you want to deal with too often. Just run the A/C with fresh air like was said earlier. The in-cabin filter helps a bit, but will still pass the odor somewhat until the moisture is out.

I have had the odor in previous cars, I was told it is caused from moisture in the vents. The fix for me was making sure the vents are left open ( to fresh air) when the car is parked and I shut the a/c off, leaving the fans running for a minute before I shut the car off. This was actually recommended by the dealer at the time. Never had a problem since. I'm not sure what they used to actually get rid of the odor, but I am guessing some sort of ionizer stuff.

i got the smell yesterday. i had been washing the car the day before and it was scorching hot outside. i think that was my problem. it went away after a few seconds, so big deal

I got this in the XB and the TC. Air freshener down the pipe fixed right up.

JOe

Make sure that the drain from the AC is clear. The leaves and crap that get in the vent from the top, and can clog the tube that empties out the bottom. Plus, dead bugs and other stuff can get in there and rot along with the leaves - disgusting.

Just find the tube when you're under the car and gently clear it..

Mike

It's from MOLD inside the evaporator case. Deodorizers just cover it up. There was a company that made a foam that gets sprayed inside the case to kill and clean out the mold. Untill the mold is removed it will only get worse. I actually got rid of one car because the smell was so bad. Maybe a goggle search might find the product you need to clean it up.

I've heard of people using Lysol with the method above to clean out their A/C.

I just wouldn't reccomend sitting in the car while doing it.

On topic, a lot of us have put filters in our A/C system.

Home Depot now sells scented air filters, for home units. Supposedly, they last for a long time, and some smell pretty good.

Since a lot of the DIY'ers cut up the same type of filter to fit, it might be worth trying out.

i have.. it lasts and smells really good... and it's hidden!

Never had this happen in my tC yet, but happened all the time in my Cavalier and GrandAm. Like others have stated, it supposedly comes from moisture build up somewhere in the system and mold/mildew grows. To solve the "stink" issue, I have sprayed Lysol down the air intake in front of the windshield. That usually takes care of the smell pretty quickly.

Now to prevent this from happening, I make sure I turn off the A/C but leave the blower running for a minute or two before shutting off the car. This is supposed to help dry the coils off to prevent growth of the stank.

forget air freshiner. theres a product out there called fridgy fresh. its made to kill that nasty ___ mold. but remove the top of your glove box and spray it down the vent with the blower on. it smells good but actually kills mold

i had a really bad smell last night when I blasted the heater on. First time I ever had that happen. Would that still be the mold?

See: http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2087668#2087668

...and read on from there.

Tomas

I'm gonna try this stuff. They have a five can limit at 10 bucks each and shipping for me is about 11 bucks wether you get 2 or 5 cans.