Smell when I first turn on A/C?

Ok. What causes the smell when you first turn on the A/C after not using it for awhile. Like 2 or 3 weeks. Smells like cow schmit..lol
Every one of my Tacomas has done this.
It goes away after a couple mins.

Is it that my truck is always parked outside?
Or the humidity here in the South?

I guessing it has to do with the Evan or condenser?
I really don't know. But all 3 of my Tacomas developed this smell.
It goes away in a couple mins. But still lie to know what causes it?

 

I would resist the urge to use bleach anything anywhere near HVAC or vehicles in general unless you want uncontrollable corrosion.
There are kits you can buy that clean the evap box, it's a foaming cleaner that fills the box Andy leans the coil and box inside.
I'll dig one out I need to do my truck anyway. Maybe even take a few pix of the process

 

Heck yeah. That would a lot of us.

And yeah. I change my cabin filter 2 times a year.
Have to since I park outside. It get pretty dirty.
I still haven't figured out how whole oak leaves get to in there?

 

I use Lysol spray.

 

This is the stuff I had, was given to me by a former Wurth sales geek. It is not an endorsement.

Pulled my cabin filter out, was replaced back in August of '15, has maybe 7000 miles on it. Pretty damn dirty for the miles ( fwiw, the previous filter was caked so some of the crud here is possibly residual)

Read the instructions...

locate HVAC case drain hose on passenger side of firewall

install fill tube and apply product.
the drain tube goes thru firewall and then hooks over to center under dash once inside vehicle, the blower motor is directly behind glove box and will not be effected by this process.

and the resulting spew of yuck that comes out, I wasn't fast enough to catch the brown yuck

after which I sprayed the air freshener can in the vent at the center of the upper fire wall while the blower was running

it smell better in there, time will tell if it actually helped.

I seem to have a condensation problem too that I will take care of shortly as well using silica cat litter in a couple socks under the seat. that should also help.
more later

 

The preventative maintenance way to deal with the mildew smell in the AC is to let the system dry out before you park the vehicle.

So let's say you're driving around town, and 2-3 blocks from home. Set RECIRC to OFF (to get fresh air), FAN SPEED MED OR HI, AC OFF. Let the fan blow and you'll notice as the air coming out changes from dry and cold to outside temp and more humid. The effect here is that you are preventing further sweat on the evap coils and allowing any remaining water on it to dry.

Only necessary when you are done driving for the day and plan on leaving the vehicle sitting overnight. Once you get in the habit of things, you'll pick up a routine like "ok once I turn into my neighborhood, I'll hit the AC button to OFF" and then crank the fan speed up.

I would also recommend the Wurth stuff suggested earlier, if you need to get rid of the mildew smell in the first place.

 

Never knew a cleaner like that exists. I'll be trying it as well.

 

honestly, the best thing that ever happened to an automotive HVAC system was the cabin filter. it may seem like a trivial PITA but it can save a lot of problems of debris clogging up the evaporator core. I've seen the entire core covered with a mat of leaves, wheat straw, general dust and nastiness. and once you're there, you may as well replace the part over cleaning it, the work has already been done.

Cabin filters catch most of all the crap that gets into the HVAC system, AS LONG as they are maintained. a plugged up filter will not allow FRESH air movement, a clogged up evap core will not allow ANY air movement.

 

Thanks for the walk through. I'll be doing this soon.
Just have to get some cleaner.

 

You might also want to avoid farting in the the truck with the heater on with recirculation on after eating Mexican food. It's a deadly combination. Hopefully this helps to resolve your problem.

 

Where's the best spot to find this kind of kit? Going to check autogeek in a second. Bought my truck and feel there is a lingering cat Urine smell despite baking soda, vacuuming and removing any stains I noticed.

 

I noticed a dingy smell when I turned on my AC the other day. It smelled like dirty socks. like My dad recommended changing the Air Cabin Filter. He just changed his for the first time on his Flex and he said it made a HUGE different. I just took mine out to take a look at it and it was installed upside down and sideways. Prolly not a big deal but also prolly not work as efficiently as it is supposed to. There are some twigs and stuff in there and I can see some definite dust. Will be changing it soon. I'll let you guys know if it improved the cabin aroma.

 

I never have had a problem with AC smells in any vehicle I've owned: 13 civic, 08 tacoma, 07 sienna, 03 tacoma, 97 tacoma, 96 tacoma, 96 tacoma, 96 geo tracker, 03 cavalier, 94 stealth, 96 3000GT, but... I did own an 03 hyundai tiburon and an 06 santa fe and they BOTH has awful smelling air conditioners. It was just a really odd bitter smell every time you turned the AC on. Funny that they were both Korean made vehicles and only those two vehicles ever did that.

 

kimchi....

 

By all means do this! It'll prevent the musty old socks odor.