Stinky A/C

[greyghost4x4]

Hey guys been a while but I have a question for yall. When I start up my A/C i get a bad smell and it drives my girlfriend nuts.....how do i fix this issue? Please be specific.

Evan

 

[kball]

Dump the girl. :jk:

they make a disinfectant/odor killer that you spray into the cowl vents outside the truck at the bottom of the windshield and run your A/C to suck the spray through. I think you can also use Lysol. In the future try turning off the A/C but leave the fan blowing for a minute before shutting down so the vents have a chance to warm up otherwise condesation can build up and cause mold to grow.

Or you may have a dead rodent in there. :tongue:

 

[98_4runnerSR5]

Get some air fresheners for the vents... lol girlfriend complains about the same thing! Now she compliments me on how good my car smells all the time

 

[1fast_e]

On my 98 I had this issue and made a solution of water and chlorine bleach. One quart water to a tablespoon of bleach and streamed it into the vents w/ a spray bottle and that took care of it. There after I would hit the a/c button a couple minutes before getting to my destination and have never had the problem again

Good luck

 

[kman55]

Try changing the cabin air filter. It's located under the glove box, by the blower motor. It's supposed to help.

 

[kman55]

I wouldn't get it from Toyota though it's like thirty bucks I think.

 

[kball]

I don't think 3rd gens have cabin filters. Maybe the later years??

 

[eric_simo99]

I don't think 3rd gens have cabin filters. Maybe the later years??

yeah, i was told at the dealer that my 2001 didn't have one

 

[kman55]

Yeah I'm sorry I just did dome research and it doesn't, I'd just always been told to change mine. Sorry for the false hope.

 

[01sr54x4]

My vents got a little smelly after using the A/C this summer. Since I work at a stealership I "borrowed" an odor bomb, turned my A/C on, sprayed it in my vent intake in front of the windshield, then hit the RECIRC button on the HVAC controls. I let my Runner go for about 45 min before I turned it off. That was in July, and here it is September, still smelling fresh.

 

[Martinjmpr]

In the future try turning off the A/C but leave the fan blowing for a minute before shutting down so the vents have a chance to warm up otherwise condesation can build up and cause mold to grow.

Yes, second this.

My wife leaves her AC on all the time and it drives me crazy. I always switch it off about 5 - 10 minutes before I know I'm going to be stopping.

Obviously this is more of a problem if you live in a high-humidity area. Here in CO it's not that bad although I did get a bit of this problem in my 99 Subaru Outback. My solution was to turn on the heater, with the car running, and then spray about a full can of lysol right into the vents and let it circulate. I had to do that twice but it finally fixed the problem (killed all the mold/bacteria.)

 

[BTO]

The smell can build up in the evaporator due to over use of the recirculation mode. Use of the "fresh air" mode as much as possible will reduce odors.