G
Guest8178
Guest
Interesting. A week or two ago, we got 7 inches of rain in a few hours, and additional rain afterwards. Didn't notice any smell.
Last edited by a moderator:
Car smells strongly like mildew after rain/wet
- Thread starter lcruiser25
- Start date
Wife has mentioned this in her LC so we did a little experiment yesterday...
We recently had a day full of rainfall here in Colorado and I've been following along on this thread so I figured I'd do some investigating. We found:
1. No smell on window felt / rubber
2. Smell from vents after turning on AC and Recirc button on
3. Smell would go away after about 10 seconds of having the recirc button turned off
4. No smell when only the fan was on
5. Smell immediately came back after AC and recirc button were turned on again
I will say the smell wasn't really a "mildew" smell, it was more of a "85-year-old's breath" smell lol so maybe a different case here?
We recently had a day full of rainfall here in Colorado and I've been following along on this thread so I figured I'd do some investigating. We found:
1. No smell on window felt / rubber
2. Smell from vents after turning on AC and Recirc button on
3. Smell would go away after about 10 seconds of having the recirc button turned off
4. No smell when only the fan was on
5. Smell immediately came back after AC and recirc button were turned on again
I will say the smell wasn't really a "mildew" smell, it was more of a "85-year-old's breath" smell lol so maybe a different case here?
I took mine to the dealership to diagnose the mildew smell issue. They said they found a spider web and debris clogging the a/c drain pipe, and that they cleared it out.
They also charged me $230 to do this even though the car is only 7 months old. Said it wasn’t part of the warranty due to being outside influence. Not sure if there’s a way I could dispute this since it sounds like some dealerships would not charge for this.
There is also a TSB for insects clogging the pipe for older Toyotas, and apparently they solved it by using repellant which clearly doesn’t work in all cases:
Just did this today so not sure if it fixes the smell, but it does seem common that a/c drain pipe causes smells like this. I wonder if we just need to find out how to flush it he clogs ourselves, maybe others can check if there’s are clogged and use an air compressor or something on it.
They also charged me $230 to do this even though the car is only 7 months old. Said it wasn’t part of the warranty due to being outside influence. Not sure if there’s a way I could dispute this since it sounds like some dealerships would not charge for this.
There is also a TSB for insects clogging the pipe for older Toyotas, and apparently they solved it by using repellant which clearly doesn’t work in all cases:
Just did this today so not sure if it fixes the smell, but it does seem common that a/c drain pipe causes smells like this. I wonder if we just need to find out how to flush it he clogs ourselves, maybe others can check if there’s are clogged and use an air compressor or something on it.
Also searched through facebook forums and found that others found the smell originating from two place:
1. Water building up in window seals, resulting in moisture appearing on windows well after rain while it's still drying and mildew smell. They replaced the window seals. Can't say I have noticed this but I will pay more attention to it.
2. The OEM roof rack not being properly sealed when installed at port, resulting in water leaking into roof. They noticed the leak coming from the "oh shit" handle that's attached to the headliner, but only when the vehicle was on a steep incline downward.
I have the OEM roof rack and haven't noticed any leaks but it's possible it's just a small amount getting absorbed by the headliner. Apparently the install instructions for the rack don't mention any use of a sealer.
1. Water building up in window seals, resulting in moisture appearing on windows well after rain while it's still drying and mildew smell. They replaced the window seals. Can't say I have noticed this but I will pay more attention to it.
2. The OEM roof rack not being properly sealed when installed at port, resulting in water leaking into roof. They noticed the leak coming from the "oh shit" handle that's attached to the headliner, but only when the vehicle was on a steep incline downward.
I have the OEM roof rack and haven't noticed any leaks but it's possible it's just a small amount getting absorbed by the headliner. Apparently the install instructions for the rack don't mention any use of a sealer.
I am bringing my car to the service center this Friday, they have already tried draining the AC. They said their "expert Toyota technician" will be on site and and will look at my car that day. Lets see if they find the issue.
Last edited:
Looking forward to hearing what they find on yours. I haven't found any moisture or smells in floor, ac vents, or headliner. I also checked that there is no moisture building up in the doors by removing the rubber drain covers on the bottom of the doors (though one of the holes was clogged with waxy residue from manufacturing).
I have noticed that when I roll down the windows I smell mildew and when smelling up close the felt window seals have a mildew smell. I have seen that being a common issue in cars, and some recommended approaches are to spray lysol on them and move window up and down. Lysol can eliminate mildew so going to try that out.
I have noticed that when I roll down the windows I smell mildew and when smelling up close the felt window seals have a mildew smell. I have seen that being a common issue in cars, and some recommended approaches are to spray lysol on them and move window up and down. Lysol can eliminate mildew so going to try that out.
Found this guide for maintaining window gaskets and they recommend white vinegar and water solution when faced with mildew, and cleaning should be done with mild soapy water.
Each door has removable plugs to drain if windows are a problem....
Condensation from the AC units in Toyotas is significant. As stated. So keep drains clear to avoid problems.
Condensation from the AC units in Toyotas is significant. As stated. So keep drains clear to avoid problems.
So I had to leave my LC at the Toyota service center. Their master technician could not figure out the issue and had to open a service ticket with Toyota. They had spent the entire day Friday trying to diagnose and recreate the issue to no avail. They gave me a loaner car until Monday. Seems this issue is bigger than they expected.
Did this work for you? I posted an update above.Found this guide for maintaining window gaskets and they recommend white vinegar and water solution when faced with mildew, and cleaning should be done with mild soapy water.
Yes I think it's improved it. Before I started there was a very strong mildew smell from all of the window seals when the windows were down. I sprayed lots of 50/50 vinegar water solution into all the crevices. The mildew smell coming from it is much less now but not completely eliminated, so am planning to do another round of vinegar and may try to move onto something stronger if that doesn't work.
This also makes sense as a potential root cause since I live in the pacific northwest which is very moist and leave the car parked outside.
How is your dealer handling this when it comes to out of pocket costs? Mine told me they can look at it, but if they don't find a manufacturer defect that would be covered by warranty then I would be responsible for all of the costs of diagnosing it. The initial time I went away with it and they said they found a "Spider web" in the A/C drain pipe, charged me $250 to remove it, and wanted me to also do an A/C cleaning despite my A/C not smelling at all. Might need to go to a different dealership or at least hope for a different service guy.
I am no friend of stealerships, but it really is more of a housekeeping issue than a maintenance issue or manufacturer flaw.
I did find it strange that it didn’t..feel like it’s a safe thing to state in the instructions. I installed the rack myself and bc I’m a paranoid person. I put some marine grade semi permanent 3m silicone on it. That sucker is going to be good and sealed for many years lol.
I wouldn’t go that far. I’ve had multiple cars parked in the same environment for years, and I’ve never had one develop a noticeable smell. In this car, after 6 months there is a strong mildew smell and that is not normal for a new car.
Last edited:
The loaner car and initial AC flush was at no cost to me, all under warranty. They said they are filing this under warranty through “extraordinary issues” since they didn’t even have a proper category to put it under. I’m hoping tomorrow they are able to give me a better response that what I heard on Friday.
3rd Update
Toyota Service center heard back from corporate, they recommended changing the standard cabin filter with a charcoal filter. They also said I would have to pay for it since they consider this outside of their usual coverage lmao. The service center said they were shocked corporate said that, they mentioned they would do labor for free but to call Toyotas brand engagement line and ask them to reconsider covering the cost of the filter.
I will be having this installed tomorrow and hope it fixes this issue.
Toyota Service center heard back from corporate, they recommended changing the standard cabin filter with a charcoal filter. They also said I would have to pay for it since they consider this outside of their usual coverage lmao. The service center said they were shocked corporate said that, they mentioned they would do labor for free but to call Toyotas brand engagement line and ask them to reconsider covering the cost of the filter.
I will be having this installed tomorrow and hope it fixes this issue.
You have a great dealer. I need to find one of those!
Changing the cabin filter might mask the smell, but unless the smell is coming from the old filter the root cause is probably not addressed. If you can pin down where it’s coming from, e.g. window seals, you can actually clean out the mildew.
Changing the cabin filter might mask the smell, but unless the smell is coming from the old filter the root cause is probably not addressed. If you can pin down where it’s coming from, e.g. window seals, you can actually clean out the mildew.
Got my car back today, they installed the charcoal filter. I will check tomorrow morning if the smell is gone as that is when it’s most pungent. Hoping this does the trick otherwise someone at the dealer recommended I look into lemon laws.
interior leaks are sometimes very hard to locate/track. I don't know if this would work or not, it should. I use a moisture meter to test the moisture content in slabs of wood. It's pretty fancy and the cost isn't justifiable for a one time use etc....... but a quick search on Amazon...... this one might. Testing the carpet for a damp spot, then tracking to a source from there.
The diagnostic report came back with no leaks identified anywhere in vehicle, they checked thoroughly according to the master tech. This morning the car seems a lot better with regards to the smell I was experiencing. I will hold off saying it is fixed until a couple more days.
Similar threads
