strange air con smell

[Henstepper]

Over the last few days when i have turned the air con on, it has a weird smell to it. Wouldn't say its a musty smell, Cant really describe it. how would i go about checking what the smell is? Could it be the cabin air filter in the glove box perhaps?

[campbeam]

26 minutes ago, Henstepper said:

Could it be the cabin air filter in the glove box perhaps?

Exactly what I was thinking. It will do no harm to check and clean the air filter. Maybe even give it a spray with GLEN 20 or similar.

[Sebastian Woodhouse]

Yep.  At a guess it’s been quite hot and humid weather as well?

Pop out the cabin filter,  turn on the A/C and run the FAN at full speed, and also put the heater on maximum.

Then spray a can of Glen20 into the slot the cabin filter would be in.

What this does is distribute the Glen20 through the vent system, in particular on the heater and AC coils which is where the majority dank was comes from.

[Henstepper]

The smell reminds me of vinegar

Edited January 12, 2022 by Henstepper

[Henstepper]

Update...

removed the cabin filter and replaced it. did the Glen 20 and it seems to have come right for now the filter was a bit dirty

Edited January 12, 2022 by Henstepper

[KAA]

Glad it seems to have been sorted Steve, the cabin filter is basically first line of defence with incoming air to the cabin so for the price of the filter it is always worth checking and changing regularly.

Hope it has that smell sorted now mate

KAA

[Henstepper]

The smell has returned 🙄 smells like vinegar.

[Twixter]

On 1/14/2022 at 7:08 AM, Henstepper said:

The smell has returned 🙄 smells like vinegar.

Hey Steve!

Few question to try out or check first.
 

Assuming your car hasn't got any leaks inside (and the problem is from the aircon circulation itself) and you've bought a new cabin filter and put it in,

Your profile says you live in QLD, something that can help any mold buildup in the ducting, is to park the car in direct sunlight (easy now it's summer) and have the windows down, doors open and leave it like that for a few hours. Every now and then, start the car and turn the interior fan on for about 15 minutes, then turn it off and let it sit again. Keep this going for about 5 hours. (annoying I know) This can cause the hot air to circulate through the ducting and kill the mold buildup. I had to do this when I first bought my Aurion in 2019. The smell of the melted dashboard and a moldy smell from the aircon...it was gross to drive. QLD-dry out and a dashmat fixed it for me though. Haha

Lastly an idea would be to just bomb the car with 4 air fresheners overnight (with something neutral like 'new car scent'). Not to clear the smell for the morning, but to stain the smell in the car so when the aircon circulates (if you use recirculate) it's getting a scented smell.

Another note: do you notice the smell at a certain time while driving? When merging onto a HWY or taking off with pace? If so, chances are it's not the air con at all. It's probably just the sulfur smell from the cats that we all get. 😁

[Rimsy]

On 1/16/2022 at 3:36 PM, Twixter said:

Another note: do you notice the smell at a certain time while driving? When merging onto a HWY or taking off with pace? If so, chances are it's not the air con at all. It's probably just the sulfur smell from the cats that we all get. 😁

I get this smell when I accelerate hard (or sometimes when towing) even when the system is set to recirculate. It's rather annoying.

[Twixter]

On 1/18/2022 at 9:41 AM, Rimsy said:

I get this smell when I accelerate hard (or sometimes when towing) even when the system is set to recirculate. It's rather annoying.

Yeah. It does get annoying. As someone from QLD who's never owned an air conditioned car before my Aurion, I find it uncomfortable to drive with the windows up. So the smell comes and goes pretty quickly for me. 😅

 

But yeah I asked an exhaust technician about it and his exact words were: "It's the sulfur used in the petrol that is being absorbed by the cats. You'll get a more concentrated smell if the cats are faulty or if there's a leak after the exhaust manifold and before the mufflers. Since it's such a strong scent, you can generally smell it easily which is why it's so noticeable too. It's not an issue though, assuming your cats aren't bad, but that's not to say it's a sign of faulty cats, just a symptom of them. But it's too hard to nail down what it is specifically since any individual car like yours can have a gasket leak or a tear in the exhaust flexi hose or whatever. I wouldn't be too concerned with the smell, Aurions and Camrys aren't the only cars that get it anyway."

Furthering what he said, there is a cat on each side of the exhaust manifold and they have o2 sensors, before going into the Y pipe to another cat (with a cat but no o2 sensor). Generally this throws the P0420 code on Toyotas when these o2 sensors detect an issue (I get it on my own Aurion but clear the codes since it's not a huge issue). Also, I've smelled other cars that take off from a red light and leave the same smell behind. Getz, Swifts, Corollas, Falcons, Commodores, Accords, and even a Mini.

[campbeam]

3 hours ago, Twixter said:

the P0420 code on Toyotas when these o2 sensors detect an issue (I get it on my own Aurion but clear the codes since it's not a huge issue

I cannot recall having got this error code. However, what I have done has been to remove and clean the air fuel ratio sensor on the front exhaust manifold and both of the O2 sensors on the Y pipe. It was too hard to get to the air fuel ratio sensor on the rear exhaust manifold so I left it alone.

I have also most likely used a petrol system clean additive in the past.

https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/nulon-pro-strength-petrol-system-extreme-clean---500ml/561439.html#q=catalytic%2Bcleaner&lang=en_AU&start=2

More recently, I have been using the occasional tank full of PULP 95 to help keep the fuel injectors clean.

[Novicebutnice]

On 1/11/2022 at 8:49 PM, Henstepper said:

Over the last few days when i have turned the air con on, it has a weird smell to it. Wouldn't say its a musty smell, Cant really describe it. how would i go about checking what the smell is? Could it be the cabin air filter in the glove box perhaps?

How is your coolant level?