mold/mildew smell when starting up the AC?

[concretejungle]

i agree with the above post that anytime someone drops $ over $80,000 into a vehicle we tend to be more picky about what we find acceptable and what we don't.

That's why i posted this because i kind of feel that it's not acceptable. I'm going to drive around a couple more days with the AC set to intake mode and see if that makes a difference.

Don't even get me started on the POS in dash nav/computer thingy...

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Granted none of my vehicles are as new as yours but I've got about the same amount of money in the game & I do the above procedure on all my vehicles (80, 100 & an A4). This was advised to me by an Audi dealership years ago. As a result, I don't have the "dirty sock" smell that all of my used vehicles came with anymore.

Look at the moisture & condensation that is in your ac vents while running on high recirculation mode, that moisture is also in your ducts. That moisture gets moldy & is where the dirty sock smell comes from if it is allowed to sit in there after shutdown.

By just turning off ac recirculation and going to fresh air mode while increasing the temperature setting is enough to dry out the ducts.

If that doesn't help you can also run a can of BG Fridgi Clean through your AC as I have done to my 80 years ago. You'll be surprised at how dirty the inside of you AC can be after years of use.

 

[NLScooby]

We have had excellent results in all of our vehicles by turning off the compressor for the last minute or so of our drive. When it's hot I'll typically put up a sunshade and during that time I have the fan blowing with no AC on. That smell has not been an issue for us at all and we live in a humid environment!

 

[dukmon]

So this smell isn't my dank beer cooler after all?

 

[concretejungle]

As an update, this morning when i got in the truck i immediately turned the recirculating button to fresh air. So when the truck started up it was on fresh air and the small was almost un-noticable! Very interesting. I guess i have been running the AC every day here (it's NC and the temps have been around 90 degrees with 80%+ humidity) and so when i turn the truck off at the end of the day it's sitting with all the AC moisture in it.

I'll be curious to see if that helps eliminate the issue.

 

[MooseRDS]

Toyota makes a product that is a 2 part treatment to clean the evaporator. But, guess what, it doesn't work on our 200 series. It's intended to be spayed up the drain tube which is normally right below the evaporator. On the 200 series, there is no drain tube. There is a plastic piece that has a slit where the excess moisture drains. Additionally, you can't even get your hand up to it. So, the solution that worked for me was a German product called Einszett Klima-Cleaner. You go in through the blower motor to reach the evaporator. Mine had the dank musty mildew smell. For about 2 days after using this product, I had a musty lemon smell. I figured it didn't work. By day 3, all smells were neutralized. I got the 10 oz spray can of evaporator cleaner from Amazon. I used it about a month ago and so far so good. I imagine this will be an ongoing maintenance item. Follow the directions carefully and exactly.

Here is the Toyota product that won't work on our 200's:

 

[Markuson]

What doesn't make sense to me is why fresh air intake would "dry out" the air as opposed to recirculated air intake. The air outside is much, much more humid than the air inside. Also, I've never had this problem on any vehicle in the past - Range Rover, LR4, Honda, 4Runner. It's not like I'm doing anything differently with my a/c habits than I've done in the past.

My point, Markuson, was not that I think air behaves differently in different vehicles. It's that this is the Toyota flagship vehicle that I purchased less than a year ago. Unless Toyota designed Land Cruisers to smell like mildew within a year, the problem should be fixed under warranty.

Oh I know...and I'm sorry. I was being a bit silly. Just saying its a common occurrence and not likely due to poor design or price point. Moisture accumulation is tough to avoid unless it has an opportunity to dry out & most of us tend to keep ACs running until we turn off the vehicle...so it just sits in there like wet laundry.

The LC has one of the most robust AC out there, able to deal with insanely high temps in the Middle East & African deserts. Separate compressor in the rear too. Would be nice if there was a vent function that ran for a minute or so after you stop the engine or something...though I suspect people might think that's weird too.

I don't blame you a bit for being annoyed.

 

[EverywhereBear]

I used to get this smell every spring - and for the last 2 years the dealership did an "A/C Bomb". I have no idea what that is. It costs about $80 but it has got rid of the smell - so far this year the smell has not returned.