Smelly Air Conditioning

[keninski]

Hi All

I have recently noticed that when i switch my air con on it has a musty smell to it.

Does anyboy else have this issue or know the cause?

My car is still under warranty, but is this something toyota will look at as a warranty issue?

My main concern is i have a 5 week old baby and dont want him breathing in anything that would be a health concern.

Thanks

Alan

[Mistermena]

Hi All

I have recently noticed that when i switch my air con on it has a musty smell to it.

Does anyboy else have this issue or know the cause?

My car is still under warranty, but is this something toyota will look at as a warranty issue?

My main concern is i have a 5 week old baby and dont want him breathing in anything that would be a health concern.

Thanks

Alan

Does it smell like a mould? If so there are a couple of things you can do. 1st turn your air con on and run it on hot for about 20 mins while you drive (If you can stand the heat! Maybe have the window down to) Or/as well as you can buy something called Forte conditioner treatment that you spray into the cabin air vents that kills the mould and fungi. There are other products out there that do a similar job. Try a google search for it. When was your cabin filter changed? This would be something I'd be changing if its not been done.

You dont want your baby breathing in anything like Fungi for sure!

[keninski]

Hi

yes it is kind of a mouldy smell (although maybe not that bad yet)

I have only had the car for around 6 months and it was serviced by toyota but i do not know if the cabin filter has ever been changed.

Are these expensive and can i do this myself?

would you try the spray first or definately do the cabin filter?

Alan

[igormus]

Hi All

I have recently noticed that when i switch my air con on it has a musty smell to it.

Does anyboy else have this issue or know the cause?

My car is still under warranty, but is this something toyota will look at as a warranty issue?

My main concern is i have a 5 week old baby and dont want him breathing in anything that would be a health concern.

Thanks

Alan

hello matey

the main reason of this smell is insufficient venting of an evaporator with its ribs -- the condensate absorbed from an air from the cabin can not be vapored when you switch OFF an A/C system but demands to be dried out by means of additional airing sucting air from outside 3-5 mins before switching off. The other possible reason is blocking of drain pipe located under the same evaporator. CHeers/Igor

[Mistermena]

Hi

yes it is kind of a mouldy smell (although maybe not that bad yet)

I have only had the car for around 6 months and it was serviced by toyota but i do not know if the cabin filter has ever been changed.

Are these expensive and can i do this myself?

would you try the spray first or definately do the cabin filter?

Alan

I would contact the dealer and ask them if they changed it on the service. The cabin filters are about £15-£20 from Toyota if I remember correctly. But Opie Oils web site have an offer on atm if you are a member on forums like this with another 15% off as well as the club membership discount. Type in your car details on on there and it will tell you what you need. I have a 2 year old little boy and I wouldn't want him to breath in Fungi and mould! so I'd change the filter and spray as well.

The cabin filter on my car (Avensis) lives behind the glove box on the passenger side. Its dead easy to do... If its the same as yours all you do is open the passenger door and open the glove box. You'll see a screw that stops the glove box from falling down when you open it which is attached to a slide.

Undo the screw and you can pull the glove box lid away and you'll find a white paper(Not paper, but that'll do) filter. Take it out and put your new one in (Be carful that you place it in the right way up) and put all back together the way you took it off. Job done

[forevered]

i had the same problem a month ago and went to Halfords and bought there coma air con cleaner for £12 worked a treat, problem solved.this problem isnt covered under warranty, all they will do is offer the air con service which is about £80, which is a re gas and de bug job, if your air con is still cooling the car ok you certainly dont need the re gas, so try the coma air con cleaner worked for me

[Mistermena]

I had a can of Forte stuff hanging about. So while I was thinking of it I gave my air con a blast and it smells like summer rose petals!... No, not really but it does smell nice in the car now

[Daveyonthemove]

The pollen filter is aprox £36 (i changed mine a month ago) and is simple to change, however it may not cure the problem. Mine is better, but every now and then i get the same smell occurring.

I have tried a type of aircon cleaner in aerosol form, but that hasn't helped either.

The total cost isn't far off what i could have paid for a full aircon service from Toyota, so it may be better to get the aircon serviced properly and save yourself a bit of hassle, and potentially some money if the first few things you try don't work.

[Lorcan]

The pollen filter is aprox £36 (i changed mine a month ago) and is simple to change,

Did you buy two of them?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GENUINE-TOYOTA-AURIS-POLLEN-FILTER-/360364534383?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item53e7666a6f

£15 for a genuine pollen filter

[Parts-King]

Did you buy two of them?

£15 for a genuine pollen filter

But Davey bought the correct one from somebody who knew what they were doing ;) Whilst the above item will fit most Auris, it is NOT a T / SR 180 pollen filter, it might fit in a fashion but it's not the right one

Kingo

[acetip]

Did you buy two of them?

£15 for a genuine pollen filter

But Davey bought the correct one from somebody who knew what they were doing ;) Whilst the above item will fit most Auris, it is NOT a T / SR 180 pollen filter, it might fit in a fashion but it's not the right one

Kingo

Hi Kingo,does the box the pollen filter comes have real gold leaf lettering,saying they will come around and fit it for for that price.

[Cyker]

(My Yaris' one was a tenner! It's also really flimsy :P )

I think the funny smell is normal if it only happens for a little while when you first use it.

If it smells like that all the time, might need one of Kingo's aircon bomb thingies

[Parts-King]

Hi Kingo,does the box the pollen filter comes have real gold leaf lettering,saying they will come around and fit it for for that price.

You even get a weekend in Wrexham with me for that! Second prize is a week in Ellesmere Port

[Daveyonthemove]

The pollen filter is aprox £36 (i changed mine a month ago) and is simple to change,

Did you buy two of them?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GENUINE-TOYOTA-AURIS-POLLEN-FILTER-/360364534383?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item53e7666a6f

£15 for a genuine pollen filter

No i didn't, i just believe that my single most expensive possession should be looked after so it lasts longer.

I don't buy the cheapest fuel, tyres, spares or consumables, i buy the best or approved, that way i'm confident my car will perform at its best for longer.

Saving £15 is not going to make me jump for joy if i'm changing the filter in 12 months time, instead of 36 months time. The cheapest item is usually always a false economy.

[acetip]

in your handbook it shows you how to clean the a/c filter and says also change if in dusty areas or heavy traffic use,page 282.

in the servicing/warranty book there is no mention of changing this filter.

main service, inspect filter.

intermediate,clean filter.page 20.a decent quality pattern filter is not going to make your air any less efficiant.£30 for what is a piece of cardboard and paper.is a disgrace. fitting tuning box is hardly going to make your dmf last longer. thats if youve still got,dave.

[Daveyonthemove]

The filter i removed from mine was BLACK. I hoovered it out, but it was filthy and smelled bad, so i replaced it. Probably because the previous owner smoked.

Yes, a new filter won't make a huge difference to the car overall, but i have lost count of how many times i have bought a cheap alternative to something in the past, and found it to be a waste of money and ended up buying a the genuine item a short time after, making it more expensive in the long run. Now i prefer to buy the recommended item first time around. Its personal choice.

As for the DMF, its rare my revs are that low in the wrong gear where i hear any rumble from the DMF.

Most of my journeys are long distance, and i'm usually sat in top gear at 60-70mph for alot of my driving, so the DMF isn't really being pushed.

But this is off topic.

[acetip]

The filter i removed from mine was BLACK. I hoovered it out, but it was filthy and smelled bad, so i replaced it. Probably because the previous owner smoked.

Yes, a new filter won't make a huge difference to the car overall, but i have lost count of how many times i have bought a cheap alternative to something in the past, and found it to be a waste of money and ended up buying a the genuine item a short time after, making it more expensive in the long run. Now i prefer to buy the recommended item first time around. Its personal choice.

As for the DMF, its rare my revs are that low in the wrong gear where i hear any rumble from the DMF.

Most of my journeys are long distance, and i'm usually sat in top gear at 60-70mph for alot of my driving, so the DMF isn't really being pushed.

But this is off topic.

long runs are the best for any engine,its the short runs are the killers

a neibour of mine has a little Fiat that he parks over night close up to the house then he comes out in the morning and moves it so the sun gets to it earlier.try explaining to him the effect this has on his engines life,but does not understand,he will drive it down to the town which is about a 3/4 mile. couple of times a week,the poor car never gets a good run.he wont drive into nowich thats about 15 mile cos he does not like traffic.nor will he drive to the norwich hospital as theres too much traffic.poor car never gets fully warmed up.

i could suggest you borrow it for a week or so,dave and give a good work out though i think you will find it painfully slow.but got give it to the old boy,he is always cleaning it and it looks mint.

[Daveyonthemove]

It would be no use to me, i rarely use my car during the week. In fact, I last filled my car up on the first of this month, and it still has 1/3 of the tank left.

That said, this month has been a very quiet month for using it, and i would normally clock up 1000 miles on a normal month, despite only using it at weekends.

[acetip]

It would be no use to me, i rarely use my car during the week. In fact, I last filled my car up on the first of this month, and it still has 1/3 of the tank left.

That said, this month has been a very quiet month for using it, and i would normally clock up 1000 miles on a normal month, despite only using it at weekends.

HI Dave,mine gets little use,but the short runs the wife and i do we use her little hyundai amica.i got my auris a year back in march and only done about 4000 miles in it.being retired (and also feel tired) dont have to drive back and foreward to work as i used to.then it was about 35 miles a day and often 7 days a week,mostly duel carriage way.the old passat td thrived on it