Rav4 -- A/c + Climate

[igormus]

To whom it may concern

Hi there

You all know that sometimes we claim to the subject problem resulting this condensate starts to be accumulated and drained into the cabin.

So the reason is banal. The A/C + climate must not be switched off together with engine at the same time. You have to keep an A/C working (blowing a warm air -- let say + 24 C degrees) without comprerssor (just a fan) for even 1-2 minutes -- this enables condensate on the evaporator to be dried out. Otherwise this condensate criates a good basis to originate fungus -- resulting clogging (blocking) of draining hole + tube. AFter blowing for 1- 2 minutes -- you can have an A/C switched off and after the same with engine. The above helps to keep all drain holes clear and safe money to fault investigation + cleaning + dashboard dismantling.

CHeers/Igor

[anchorman]

Thanks Igor

We don't have such high humidity relative to hot central European climate but if we have an unusual hot spell it is good advice

Ancs

[albert hall]

Thanks Igor

We don't have such high humidity relative to hot central European climate but if we have an unusual hot spell it is good advice

Ancs

Anchorman and Igor my Rav stinks and my wife won't get in it now! I like the car and want to keep it but if I don't cure this smell I'm in the s***, I've had the aircon serviced twice by local dealer to no avail, I get it back heavily deodorised which wears off and back comes the smell. I've also bought a/c aerosol from Halfords with no effect. There are lots of posts in the US re drain holes blocked etc, where the heck arethese drain holes and are they easy to get to? And will it work?

Cheers

[igormus]

Thanks Igor

We don't have such high humidity relative to hot central European climate but if we have an unusual hot spell it is good advice

Ancs

Anchorman and Igor my Rav stinks and my wife won't get in it now! I like the car and want to keep it but if I don't cure this smell I'm in the s***, I've had the aircon serviced twice by local dealer to no avail, I get it back heavily deodorised which wears off and back comes the smell. I've also bought a/c aerosol from Halfords with no effect. There are lots of posts in the US re drain holes blocked etc, where the heck arethese drain holes and are they easy to get to? And will it work?

Cheers

hello mate

as vissible this issue is in fact actual. Recently i spent the time to clean all the exhaust pipe starting from the engine steel protecting plate ---- there i have found a drain pipe with oblique cut angle -- this pipe is exactly from an A/C unit's evaporator. This pipe ID is arround 10.0 mm with thick of arround 1.0-1.5 mm. You'd locacte special workshop that deals with repair of condenser and tubes. -- so the idea is to find steel rope (L=1000 mm) and round shaped brass tube brush -----> this brush has a threaded end that might be well screwed in on the rope (in case you have a threaded bush welded on the rope end) -----> try to arrange these and insert carefully into this pipe as aforesaid ---- > the brass brush hair can clean this pipe internal surface and more over could destroy this fungus. The another way is more expensive ---- to dismantle a central console. SHould you could have a drawing of a space under the evaporator - we could learn it and give some advice how it could be cleaned by neitral chemicals. I have no more idea but to follow the above two ways. Wait -- may be some one is more experienced with this issue. Cheers/Igor

[igormus]

Thanks Igor

We don't have such high humidity relative to hot central European climate but if we have an unusual hot spell it is good advice

Ancs

Anchorman and Igor my Rav stinks and my wife won't get in it now! I like the car and want to keep it but if I don't cure this smell I'm in the s***, I've had the aircon serviced twice by local dealer to no avail, I get it back heavily deodorised which wears off and back comes the smell. I've also bought a/c aerosol from Halfords with no effect. There are lots of posts in the US re drain holes blocked etc, where the heck arethese drain holes and are they easy to get to? And will it work?

Cheers

hello

the one of the fighting methods against a fungus is using of liquified bleaching powder. but the task is to know what volume has to be lifted up by a syringe, so try to have a mounting drawing or to be sure whether draining pipe is welded to the tray under the evaporator.

Cheers/Igor

[anchorman]

Thanks Igor

We don't have such high humidity relative to hot central European climate but if we have an unusual hot spell it is good advice

Ancs

Anchorman and Igor my Rav stinks and my wife won't get in it now! I like the car and want to keep it but if I don't cure this smell I'm in the s***, I've had the aircon serviced twice by local dealer to no avail, I get it back heavily deodorised which wears off and back comes the smell. I've also bought a/c aerosol from Halfords with no effect. There are lots of posts in the US re drain holes blocked etc, where the heck arethese drain holes and are they easy to get to? And will it work?

Cheers

I'm not sure the drain hole is to blame but if you drop the glove box off as shown in the cabin filter instructions and then look under the dash from the passenger side you will see the pipe as shown here;

drain_hose.pdf

Check that and if it makes no difference just run it with the cabin filter out on a fairly high fan speed and with the AC off and the temp to max. You can then try some more sanitizer through the opening for the cabin filter and let the fan drw it into the heater.

You are sure it is coming from the heater? Most of these AC problems come with infrequent use and you will probably have far less trouble by letting it default to on in the "auto" position. It won't make much difference to the fuel consumption unless there are extremes of temperature.

Somebody had a stink not long ago and it turned out to be the carpets at the back. Have a good sniff just to take them out of the equation!

[abraxas]

Hi Albert.

"I feel your pain, brother". I have had the exact same problem with our first RAV. Smelly AC and a wife with a sensitive nose (and sinus problems). Unfortunately, I don’t have any good news for you on that one. It went back and forward to the dealer for about 6 months and eventually I insisted on getting the car replaced (and they did). The car had a few other problems (water ingress, damp carpets, very rough gearbox, etc) but the principal reason was that the Toyota tech could not find a way to remove the smell from the AC/air system.

Now for the [potentially] better news. After all the to-ing and fro-ing with valeting and smoke-bombs etc that eventually resulted in car being replaced - the dealer told us that Toyota has developed a product that deals specifically with this problem. The product is meant to be new (2009), but I don’t really know how it works. I think it is foam that is pumped into the air ducts/eveporator. Kingo may be able to shed some light on it if he pops in. Although he must be avoiding my posts, I have tried summoning him up on a few without success... :) I don’t think the new treatment actually “solves” the problem permanently, but it cleans/disinfects the air passages and it is effective for a few months. Our dealer promised that they will keep applying the cleaner as long as the car keeps getting smelly.

As much as I agree that the “airing and drying” your heat exchanger/evaporator/AC system is a good idea, I do not think it is reasonable to expect people to do this every time they drive the car. Beats the purpose of AC on short trips, really, IMO.

Also, please be careful with harsh chemicals. You spend a lot of time in the small confined space of your car breathing re-circulated air; and bleach can be VERY harmful to your pulmonary systems.

Hope that helps .

[albert hall]

Hi Albert.

"I feel your pain, brother". I have had the exact same problem with our first RAV. Smelly AC and a wife with a sensitive nose (and sinus problems). Unfortunately, I don’t have any good news for you on that one. It went back and forward to the dealer for about 6 months and eventually I insisted on getting the car replaced (and they did). The car had a few other problems (water ingress, damp carpets, very rough gearbox, etc) but the principal reason was that the Toyota tech could not find a way to remove the smell from the AC/air system.

Now for the [potentially] better news. After all the to-ing and fro-ing with valeting and smoke-bombs etc that eventually resulted in car being replaced - the dealer told us that Toyota has developed a product that deals specifically with this problem. The product is meant to be new (2009), but I don’t really know how it works. I think it is foam that is pumped into the air ducts/eveporator. Kingo may be able to shed some light on it if he pops in. Although he must be avoiding my posts, I have tried summoning him up on a few without success... :) I don’t think the new treatment actually “solves” the problem permanently, but it cleans/disinfects the air passages and it is effective for a few months. Our dealer promised that they will keep applying the cleaner as long as the car keeps getting smelly.

As much as I agree that the “airing and drying” your heat exchanger/evaporator/AC system is a good idea, I do not think it is reasonable to expect people to do this every time they drive the car. Beats the purpose of AC on short trips, really, IMO.

Also, please be careful with harsh chemicals. You spend a lot of time in the small confined space of your car breathing re-circulated air; and bleach can be VERY harmful to your pulmonary systems.

Hope that helps .

My motor is 2 years old, so intheory there is a year to go on the warranty, I have ownedthe car for three months and it's a cracking car but the smell is not from carpets as we have scrubbed them all. I might try a new wife with smaller nostrils.

Thanks all for the input.

[igormus]

Hi Albert.

"I feel your pain, brother". I have had the exact same problem with our first RAV. Smelly AC and a wife with a sensitive nose (and sinus problems). Unfortunately, I don’t have any good news for you on that one. It went back and forward to the dealer for about 6 months and eventually I insisted on getting the car replaced (and they did). The car had a few other problems (water ingress, damp carpets, very rough gearbox, etc) but the principal reason was that the Toyota tech could not find a way to remove the smell from the AC/air system.

Now for the [potentially] better news. After all the to-ing and fro-ing with valeting and smoke-bombs etc that eventually resulted in car being replaced - the dealer told us that Toyota has developed a product that deals specifically with this problem. The product is meant to be new (2009), but I don’t really know how it works. I think it is foam that is pumped into the air ducts/eveporator. Kingo may be able to shed some light on it if he pops in. Although he must be avoiding my posts, I have tried summoning him up on a few without success... :) I don’t think the new treatment actually “solves” the problem permanently, but it cleans/disinfects the air passages and it is effective for a few months. Our dealer promised that they will keep applying the cleaner as long as the car keeps getting smelly.

As much as I agree that the “airing and drying” your heat exchanger/evaporator/AC system is a good idea, I do not think it is reasonable to expect people to do this every time they drive the car. Beats the purpose of AC on short trips, really, IMO.

Also, please be careful with harsh chemicals. You spend a lot of time in the small confined space of your car breathing re-circulated air; and bleach can be VERY harmful to your pulmonary systems.

Hope that helps .

yes it is the time to criate a speecial agent to solve this issue because this is an actual not only on RAVs but in Avensises, as well.

Cheers/Igor

[anchorman]

I was talking to the Workshop Manager at RRG Macc recently and he said that the biggest problems (smells, loss of refrigerant, noisey compressors etc) come from not using the A/C. It is probably why it always defaults to "on" but it works. Mine is like the day it was new and I just leave it in auto with the A/C on.

[igormus]

I was talking to the Workshop Manager at RRG Macc recently and he said that the biggest problems (smells, loss of refrigerant, noisey compressors etc) come from not using the A/C. It is probably why it always defaults to "on" but it works. Mine is like the day it was new and I just leave it in auto with the A/C on.

yes i used to use an AUTO mode having adjusted the themperature only.

but 5-10 mins before switching OFF (when driven) I switch OFF only compressor and shift an air suction from outside.

I have disclosed the amount of condensate has become greatly less under the car.

CHeers/Igor

[abraxas]

I was talking to the Workshop Manager at RRG Macc recently and he said that the biggest problems (smells, loss of refrigerant, noisey compressors etc) come from not using the A/C. It is probably why it always defaults to "on" but it works. Mine is like the day it was new and I just leave it in auto with the A/C on.

Aye, I'd agree there is something to his findings... Although I’d qualify that, at least where smell is concerned it is about infrequent _changes_ to the A/C operation. Basically, I find that A/C in my car is just fine as long as I keep it on. It is when I switch the A/C (and recirc.) off that the horrible smells start. (Or, obviously, where the inside temp is achieved and the system switches to outside air intake). Also I find that the longer I keep A/C on and don’t “air the system”, the worse the smell gets.

Maybe you _really_ don’t want to switch the thing off after all this time, Anchs!

The only problem I have with the AUTO thing is that it just wants to control too many things. It is annoying that it always wants to switch from my “feet and windscreen” position to random other one; but what I find particularly bad is the fans. For some reason my one always goes Spinal Tap on me and up to 11 when I accidentally hit auto button. Can’t hear myself think , never mind the radio...