Last night going home I was driving and my g/f mentioned the air coming out of the vents had a bad smell. At first I couldn't smell it, but I cranked it up to the highest setting & it smelled quite bad. It's hard to describe the smell, almost like smelly feet or something died. The weird thing is when I hit the "AC" button, the smell was gone?

Should I be worried???

 

In my old Matrix I would sometimes get a sulfur/rotten egg smell come in the cabin when the HVAC unit was set to "fresh air". It was worse when using the heater vs. the a/c. Most people attributed it to bad gasoline. I don't think it's anything to worry about, just an annoyance. Try getting gas somewhere else.

 

Do you run your A/C on recycle mode most of the time? If you do try running your A/C on vent/fresh air mode more often. Your evaporator probably has mold acumulation on it. If your evaporator is always wet due to condensation without it getting dry then that causes mold to grow on it. You can go to the dealer and have one or two of the following done to your car:1) A/C service or 2) Install some type of afterblow module.

The afterblow module runs the blower motor for a few seconds after the car is turned off to dry the evaporator.

I know this can be done to almost any newer General Motors vehicle, but I'm not sure about Toyota. Ask your dealer especially if you are still under warranty.

 

Ok I'm going to try that. Also I was reading that not turning the air off when you turn off the car can cause this as well. Not sure if thats true or not but I'm going to start doing that as well.

 

yeah.. that's what I hear too. so I always turn OFF the A/C button a few blocks from where I am going & leave the fan run to dry out the condensation. I've done this & never had any smells yet except for bad breakfast farts!.. good luck.. jh

 

mine seems to smell more like radiator fluid most of the time... there isnt any leaks anywhere or anything... but it always smells like radiator fluid.. very little may come through the A/C but when you lift the hood it smells like it also... weird... i dont think there is a leak...!

 

haha, breakfast farts.....
havent had this problem yet but i did w/ my old car. shutting off the AC before arriving is a good idea, thank you

 

Make sure there is not a small leak where the air comes into the car. You could have some stale water.

 

Sorry if this sounds stupid but where does the air come from (what side of the firewall)? What exactly am I looking at? Last night I was driving to & from but this time I had the recycle switch off.

I didn't smell anything, but again the g/f said she could smell something. While driving to a friends house she didn't mention it but about halfway home she said she did.

 

This is common for Toyota vehicles recently. My Corolla and Gen1 XB does the same thing. Using the heat or AC gets rid of it fast. I have been wondering if it is some mildew or something that stays wet for a while.

It is not only Toyota, but my friends have told me other vehicles have the same problem. It's AC related. No leaks, just something that gets funky and needs dried out regularly.

I just make it a point to dry out my interior before I park it overnight. Close the vents and use AC or defrosters a few minutes before turning it off, usually keeps it from stinking. But then again, I live in Florida with plenty of humidity.

Oh, I forgot to mention that carbon air filters work wonders! Use the guide in here to quickly cut and duct tape an air filter and include a charcoal/carbon layer. It's cheap, well worth it, and better than the Toyota cabin filters. You will be AMAZED at what those filters pull out of the air. Mine went from white to dark gray in month.

 

I have heard that if you spray in Lysol (or like product) into the intake vents on the outside of the car you can get rid of it... but not sure if thats true or not, I have not tried it.

 

I have had that same smell with AC off for a few weeks now (smell it once and a while) and wondered what it was! I always shut off the AC for a bit before I shut the car off and I still have it. Maybe I will try the carbon air filter idea and go pick one up from home depot or something today.

It is one unique smell...

 

Do we have cabin filters installed from factory? I could have sworn we have a slot but they aren't installed (I read it somewhere here, maybe it was xb1 forum). Its in the the glove box right? Sorry for asking, I'm not at home and my xb is there as well. Thought I would ask so if the car doesn't, I can't try and pick one up on the way.

Now as far as preventing the smell, I'm getting mixed things from this post. Do I leave the recycle function off and just let fresh air in to prevent this? Also do I turn of the a/c function a few mins before I shut off the vehicle?

 

I make a habit of using the AC or defroster for keeping the interior dry before turning it off. But I am going to change that to include running a few minutes with AC off to dry that as well.

As for the cabin air filter, the XB1 has it behind glove box. It has no filter installed from factory, but manufacturing one is easier and provides better filtering. As for the XB2, I am not certain but I would assume it is probably the same. Either case, making a better filter for it should be about the same.

 

My xB did have a factory installed cabin filter. I actually replaced it today with a 3M airconditioning filter from Walmart... Cut it up into 6 filters, all for $7...

My old one was already discolored with plenty of interesting debris in it! I had no luck finding the filter with the carbon or charcoal in it or whatever it is, so I settled on the 700 rating 3M filter, they had a filter one step higher (the most efficient one) but I worried about killing too much airflow, but the 700 one is plenty fine so I may try the other one down the line. I plan to swap it every other month or so. Way better to make it yourself then buy one from the dealer, much cheaper too!

 

You should always leave the fan on low to keep fresh air circulating through the system. This will not allow midew to form. I never turn the fan all the way off in all my cars.

 

For the cabin air filter, unlike the first gen and tC, there is no try correct? I see in the DIY topic and stuff people pull out a tray for the filter, yet mine I just pull the filter out. It seems like there is no tray, just the door and you pull the filter out, correct?

Just making sure... lol

 

I have this happening now.... Did anyone find an answer? I just about NEVER ran the AC... but now that its 107 people complain about the windows.

 

Haha, old topic!

This summer I have not had the smell come back *yet*. I just make sure to never turn the car off with the AC on, but shut it off a few minutes before I get home or something and put the blower on high to dry off the evaporator. This way, the moisture is removed so mold cannot grow (which is the smell).

Just make sure to shut your AC off early to avoid the smell.

 

I love search, I remember seeing this thread a long time ago.. haha. I have NEVER turned my car off with the AC left on. It is normally always off -- I only turn it on when passengers request that the windows stay up, or I'm not feeling well. I always make sure the AC is off before I turn the ignition.

I normally shut it off right before I turn the car off though -- when I shut it off. I'll try shutting it off a few miles before though. Thanks