please help.... i am losing my mind

[bent77]

okay, i will try to make this as brief as possible.

so, bout a month ago i bought a used 96 T4R limited. for the most part, i love it. drives great. one problem i have been fighting since day one and cannot resolve is the smell!!

when i bought it i noticed there was a strug musk cologne smell. didnt think much about it... just figured the PO wore musk and it would go away. shampooed the carpets and interior (x2). smell still there. realized it was coming from vents. closer inspection revealed the PO had put must in the vents. clean the crap out of that section and got rid of all the musk. then i realized why they had done it (doesnt excuse it but it makes sense for an idiot to do). they had poured musk in the vents to cover up the horrible must/mold/mildew smell coming from the vents. i thought easy enough... spray some lysol in by the fresh air intake and it should clear it up. went through a can... didnt really phase it... so i went and got some stuff online (clean air kit)... did the directions and still nothing. then went to the auto parts store and bought another type of "cleaner" you run through the cowl under windshield... great for a day then it is back. bought another thing called ozone and did it and nothing last to cure the smell more than a day. i have cleaned every part of the HVAC system i can see... nothing has a speck. even took off the windshield wipers and plastic gaurd over cowl and cleaned all through there and nothing... checked the a/c drain valve and it seems okay/dry... the smell doesnt seem to come from the passenger side floorboard so do not think its leaking... the only two things i can figure are 1) - a longshot, the sunroof drains or 2) the evaporator which is more likely...

that said, what would you do? i cannot just "deal" with this funk... its a deal breaker...

dealer wants 255 to clean entire hvac system which is insane.... is there anything i am overlooking? is there any decent/easy way to clean the evap? i think that it is encased in a box and not easily accessable anyway.

what can i do besides deal with it, sell it, or pay the dealer??

p.s. please overlook spelling errors... long story.

 

[Hepar]

It could also be some sort of rodent that crawled up in there someplace and died.

 

[Dous]

My girl Dasani said if you spray some musk in dere it wont smell no more.

 

[bent77]

anyone else

 

[IanB]

You could pull the blower motor out and clean it real well, along with the housing. It's 3 torx screws and a wiring harness to remove, passenger side footwell. You might have to pull the glovebox off as well, might not, only 2 screws if you do. Once you've cleaned it out real good, spray a bunch of febreeze or something up in there and cross your fingers.

 

[runnyrunnerton]

I had the two front vents missing in mine when i got it. Didnt understand how they broke out, but they did. I kept smelling a strong odor that wasnt unpleasant enough for me to worry about. One day switching from top vents to foot vents a shower of brown dust spewed out all over me and the front of my truck. What was it you ask? The previous owner kept his copenhagen fine cut in the vents and lost a can every now and again. Moral of story. Clean the vent line with a vaccumm and brush.

Part two. Wifes car smells like rancid burnt death. Open up ac intake in front of the windshield. A mouse had been stealing dogs food and storing it in vents. Vacuumed it out set some traps, no more stink. Moral of story. Clean the vent with a vacuum and brush.

:jaw drop:

 

[badattitude]

My .02....

For $255 make it the dealer's problem, how many hours have you already spent on it? You know it is nearly impossible to clean/fix. You are out of options, right? First, tell them money is tight, the economy ect... then ask if they have flexibility on the price. They should be able to shave 5-10% off.

Then get the dealer to tell you they can fix it for sure, ask them if they can take care of the smell. Tell them you expect the smell to be totally gone. You are not paying for a hvac cleaning, you are paying them to make the smell go away. As a Toyota expert, the dealer can chose how they do it, it's their choice how they fix it.

Make them say they can do it three times so everyone is clear on expectations. Then make them stand behind their claim. If the smell comes back call the service manager and ask for a refund. He will most likley ask you to come back so they can do it again but hey, for $255 you should try it before selling.

I have a good Toyota dealer here and I know they will honor their price and their word even if it takes more labor (parts are a different story). If you suspect your dealer is shady I guess it's not such a good idea.

Don't sell it over a $255 repair. That smell will depreciate the value more than $255.

Good luck, obviously reminds me of...

I opened the car door this morning; it was like a punch in the face! It was almost as if the smell GAINED strength overnight

Seinfeld Smelly Car Episode, IIRC it cost him $250 in the end, too

 

[LittleCaesar]

I'm with Ian, start with the blower motor and go from there. Some smells cannot get removed though, no matter what.

My ex, when we were dating, had two cats urinate in her Integra on both seats. After $400 later and two plus days of my life I will never get back, I tossed the seats and got some new(used) ones from a junkyard.

 

[pauls4runner]

I dont know the cost off hand but the toyota dealership I work at, its alot less than $255 for the HVAC cleansing. I havent done on in a while but I think its either half an hour or 1 hour labor, plus the cleaning kit which I believe is $50 give or take. its a 2 part system. their is an expanding foam cleanser that comes with a long tube. one side of the tube mounts to the can, the other side, you insert into the condensation drain tube. you shoot about half the can into the drain tube, let it sit for about 10 minutes. reinsert hose into drain tube, then load the other half in, let set about 10 minutes. then you turn the a/c or heat on high and on fresh air, their is a deoderant in the 2nd can that you spray through the fresh air opening in the cowl (plastic under wipers)

 

[bent77]

thanks guys for the help, suggestions, support and understanding.

this smell is just pissing me off. oddly enough, it has chilled out a little bit but there is still the general "funk" smell about the vehicle.

i will call a couple of the other local toyota dealerships and see if they can do it cheaper. that quote was for cleaning system and taking out evap and cleaning it too... i agree though... it is stupid to get rid of it over a smell... it just pisses me off... i hate any kind of smells in my ride... just want some fresh air and dont think that is too much to ask for.

on top of all this... i have noticed that the seats, despite multiple cleanings and bottles of freebreeze still have a slight musk cologne smell. i would like to kick that a-holes a... oh well...

and to the poster that mentioned the seinfeld episode, i litterally laughed out loud at that. that was a great one!! i totally forgot about it but i can relate. the stinky valet driver... then he held the manager captive trapped in the car till he agreed to pay for it!! LMAO!!