Hi All!

When I first start my 2007 prius in the morning it stinks of mildew or mold. It seems to be connected with the A/C in that it smells the worst when I turn on the air condition. I told my dealer about it and he suggested I "run it set to not recirc" for before turning it off at night. I tried this, along with running it without A/C and set to hot for several minutes before turning it off, I also tried leaving it on fresh air with the windows open when I park it in the garage. Nothing really helped.

Anybody else have this problem? What did you do?

Thanks!

-Stewart

 

Every Toyota I've owned had that smell (not new mind you but after a few years of ownership). When I tell the dealer, they usually spray something somewhere to get rid of the mildew.


As a temporary solution, I usually turn the fan on HI, close the vents except the driver's side (if possible. Don't cause an accident trying to reach the passenger side vent while driving!), wind the window down and point that driver's side vent towards the window and blow the smell out. After a minute or two, you can resume your normal climate control settings.

 

Please inspect the cabin air filter, it may need to be changed.

DAS

 

Good Prius friend Hobbit reports water can accumulate in the tray where the windshield wiper motor and mechanism resides. This leads to a pool of water and 'stuff' at the opening of the fresh air vent:


In this photo, I've installed a data cable coming out the fresh air vent and across the tray holding the windshield washer motor and mechanism. All it takes is an accumulation of leaves and water and voila, mold culture.

To access this area, you need to unbolt the two windshield washer arms and the plastic cover. Then you'll see the tray that is likely to need cleaning. For more details:
http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/heatgames/

Bob Wilson

 

Every vehicle with A/C can encounter this problem.