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A/C smell

Discussion in '3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)' started by Jerry B., Jul 21, 2021.

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  1. Jul 21, 2021 at 1:30 PM
    #1
    Jerry B.

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    Jerry B. [OP] Member

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    Jerry S Brown
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    My 2020 just turned a year old (10 k miles). I noticed this morning when I put the AC on a foul odor came from the air vents... smells like dirty socks... what are the best ways of getting rid of this? I watched a YouTube video and sprayed Lysol into the intake vents there in front of the windshield. Will that take care of it?
     
    Jerry B., Jul 21, 2021
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  2. Jul 21, 2021 at 1:34 PM
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    Sean42

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    Sean42 Well-Known Member

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    Hopefully it’s not a Freon leak, those have a very distinct smell.
     
    Sean42, Jul 21, 2021
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  3. Jul 21, 2021 at 1:35 PM
    #3
    outlawtacoma

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    outlawtacoma Well-Known Member

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    Have you changed your cabin air filter?
     
    outlawtacoma, Jul 21, 2021
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  4. Jul 21, 2021 at 1:35 PM
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    Grindstone

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    Grindstone Requires Adult Supervision

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    Turn off recirculate for a few minutes while running the AC.
     
    Grindstone, Jul 21, 2021
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  5. Jul 21, 2021 at 1:38 PM
    #5
    Clearwater Bill

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    Clearwater Bill Never answer an anonymous letter

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    Pull your air filter and see if dead vermin are there.

    If so, we'll give you a link on how to prevent that.
     
    Clearwater Bill, Jul 21, 2021
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  6. Jul 21, 2021 at 1:39 PM
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    6 gearT444E

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    6 gearT444E Certified Electron Pusher

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    6 gearT444E, Jul 21, 2021
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  7. Jul 21, 2021 at 2:18 PM
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    Jerry B.

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    Jerry B. [OP] Member

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    Thank you. That's some good advice. I'm going to check my cabin air filter now...
     
    Jerry B., Jul 21, 2021
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  8. Jul 21, 2021 at 2:32 PM
    #8
    Jerry B.

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    Jerry B. [OP] Member

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    I took out the cabin air filter and look what I found. There were actually maggots in there along with a small dead mouse.
    How could a mouse get in there?

    20210721_172349.jpg
     
    Jerry B., Jul 21, 2021
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  9. Jul 21, 2021 at 2:45 PM
    #9
    513Mugsy

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    513Mugsy Well-Known Member

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    Maybe you should just pop the hood open and look for any chewed wires and nests. Just to be sure. They are sneaky and have gotten more than one fellow member here. More than likely it came in by the vent for fresh air whish is in the plastic cowl behind the hood, bottom of the windshield. He looks small so they can fit anywhere...
     
    513Mugsy, Jul 21, 2021
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  10. Jul 21, 2021 at 2:54 PM
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    Jerry B.

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    Jerry B. [OP] Member

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    I was shocked to see the air filter like that. It actually had maggots crawling on it from the dead mouse. :eek: I ordered a new Fram filter from Amazon and it will be here tomorrow...
    Thanks Clearwater! So... How do I prevent this from happening again ???
     
    Jerry B., Jul 21, 2021
    #10
  11. Jul 21, 2021 at 2:57 PM
    #11
    Mike402

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    Mike402 Well-Known Member

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    So that works as well? I went through all of this with the odor and spraying lysol through vents and running heat full blast (worked great btw). I've now gotten in the habit of running the heat for a few minutes before turning truck off to not only dry out coils but kill any bacteria. Not exactly comfortable when its 115+ out here in the desert. Does the outside ambient air pass over the coils if you have controls set to off? Sorry if that's a dumb question.
     
    Mike402, Jul 21, 2021
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  12. Jul 21, 2021 at 4:27 PM
    #12
    lonewolfzer0

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    lonewolfzer0 Member

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    An that is one beat-down filter!
     
    lonewolfzer0, Jul 21, 2021
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  13. Jul 21, 2021 at 4:34 PM
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    Lphonzy09

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    Lphonzy09 Well-Known Member

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    Wow! That happens a lot actually. Definitely check your engine bay for any chewed up wires. I would spray lysol disinfectant everywhere cause those rodents are quite nasty. Glad you found the issue! I was going to mention what someone else said to use evaporator cleaner
     
    Lphonzy09, Jul 21, 2021
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  14. Jul 21, 2021 at 4:41 PM
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    Grindstone

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    Holy shit, when did you last check that?
     
    Grindstone, Jul 21, 2021
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  15. Jul 21, 2021 at 4:43 PM
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    6 gearT444E

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    You need to leave the fan on so air is blowing across, just turn the AC button off. I’ve been doing this with all my cars for 20 years of driving and never had an issue with “musty” smells, assuming that’s the reason for the OPs issue. Usually once the mold or mildew is on the coils cleaning is required to remove it.
     
    6 gearT444E, Jul 21, 2021
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    Lphonzy09 and Kolter45 like this.
  16. Jul 21, 2021 at 6:36 PM
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    The Mink

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    The Mink Well-Known Member

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    Here’s a thread on putting in some screens around the air intake areas to help with this very problem. :thumbsup:https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cabin-air-intake-screen-mod.566441/
     
    The Mink, Jul 21, 2021
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    Skydvrr likes this.
  17. Jul 21, 2021 at 6:38 PM
    #17
    The Mink

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    The Mink Well-Known Member

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    The Mink, Jul 21, 2021
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  18. Jul 21, 2021 at 6:41 PM
    #18
    Taco_Coma

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    Taco_Coma That's a lovely accent you have. New Jersey?

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    Do you park outside or in a garage? With a mouse getting in there I would def look to see if there's any chewed wires
     
    Taco_Coma, Jul 21, 2021
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  19. Jul 21, 2021 at 7:00 PM
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    Mike402

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    Mike402 Well-Known Member

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    That's what I figured, will carry on with what I'm doing
     
    Mike402, Jul 21, 2021
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    6 gearT444E[QUOTED] likes this.
  20. Jul 21, 2021 at 7:05 PM
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    boston23

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    boston23 Well-Known Member

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    Holy shit
     
    boston23, Jul 21, 2021
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