Air conditioning Moldy smelling
 

this issued plagued the camry, and now i think its haunting me.. anyone with the same problems, my car only has 1600 miles.

Cabin filters smell weird sometimes. Check it out.

Same problem but on a different car. Previous owner never turned recirc off, I think that was the main issue for some reason. Also, if you haven't already, make sure the AC drain hose is not plugged up. Otherwise look online, there are antiseptic foams that you spray through long thin hoses into the heater core to kill all the nasty stuff or try a bunch of Lysol into the vents.

in the owner's manual, it says the smell is normal.

Don't use one of those spray desanitizers. They make your car smell worse than those pine tree fresheners. You should run your air conditioner for a few minutes every few days to keep the seals lubed and to prevent stale water from accumulating.

Might also try cranking your heat to max while running the AC for a while. If there is mold it could kill it.

Were you able to find a solution? I just bought my BRZ and the damn A/C reeks. To the point I am considering trading in the car.

I think the filter for the AC is in the glovebox... Take a quick look in the owners manual and it will show you where to go. This may help you out as you can directly smell if the filter truely is the cause.

The simple fix is to turn off the compressor, turn off recirculate for a few minutes before you turn the engine off. This helps remove the moisture from the vents and plenum so you don't get that musty odor and mold build up..
Don't use sprays and junk in there..

and most of you are right, to prevent it from happening.

but once the problem starts its freaky annoying... a/c service from toyota is 150 in my area.

I solved the problem in the camry with see below. I might just do that with this one, summer is coming...... 35 buks...

http://www.gtfabrications.com/images/P/DSC01528.JPG

turn off recirc...

turn on recirc...

which one is it?

anyways, i had the same issue in our outback - recommendation was to turn OFF recirc for the last few minutes of driving, and always turn off the AC and leave recirc off before when shutting off the car.

here's an article:
http://suite101.com/article/bad-smel...tioner-a134728

As with every other car, you're supposed to turn off the A/C for the last 5-10 minutes of driving and run the fan with the vents open(re-circ off) to evaporate any condensation caused by the A/C.

Follow this and your car won't smell. 5-10 may be a bit long, just maybe a few mins before you get out of the car, just run the vent only without AC.

I think the idea is to use both recirc and external air to ensure no inlet pipes are collecting moisture. If you primarily use one, switch to the other a few minutes before shutdown.

My dad always told me, a few minutes before running the vehicle turn off the ac just run the fan and even crack windows if you have time will remove the moisture. Try rolling down window and run the heat off and ac off for several minutes to get the water out. Also before that step, turn fan on high on any temp and spray freebreeze in the passengers and drivers side floor are this is where the system draws in air for the recirc this is an old auto detail trick I used for years also some. Also kitty litter in a pan left in over night will pull moisture.