I am thinking this is just the way things work, but does anyone else notice that if you turn off the A/C with the "A/C" button (and leave the system on/blowing), when you go to turn the A/C back on, you get stinky air for a moment or two? I run into this if I turn off the A/C compressor for 5-10 minutes, thinking it is cool enough to get away without it, but then I turn it back on when I get too warm.

My wife's car does this, and my old car did too - it just seems like there should be a way to prevent this. (I think it is related to the pool of condensed water that forms under the evaporator, and the fact that it can grow bacteria - but why does turning the A/C off and then back ON cause the stink, and then why does it go away after a minute???)...

 

I find this happens on moist days in my Highlander.

 

On my last car and now my TCH I tend to leave the air on recirculate I find for me this minimizies it. I beleive it has to do with dust building up in the AC andtrapping moisture, then mold/mildew forms and that is what you smell.

 

I have not noticed this in my TCH, but it occasionally happened in my Corolla. Running the ventilation system on high heat at full blast can solve the moisture problem. I used to just ask the service dept to clean it when they serviced the car.

It seems like the Plasmacluster system should take care of this, no?

 

I wouldn't expect it to. If the problem is caused by condensation then the Plasmacluster wouldn't help.