Bad Smell In Ac

Ive talked to a couple tech buddies of mine so Im unsure what route to take on this issue.

I have an 04 Corolla, on hot days, when I start the AC, theres a horrible smell coming from the vents initially, smells like pee.

My tech buddies say you can use some kind of aerosol air cleaner to spray into the vents to remove the smell and bacteria, however theres the possibility of damaging the AC switches, system, heater core, this was another make and model the advice was provided for, though my concern is whether such products would damage a Corolla.

So what is the best way to remove the smell? Or do I have to put up with it and not risk damaging the AC components?

my mechanic buddy goes under the hood or under the dash and sprays or injects either ozium plus an other antibacterial spray like lysol industrial from the fan motor thru the entire vent system.

then let the system rest while flooded with the crap for an hour or overnight . vomit or pee are tough ones but natures miracle (wal-mart) for pets should work.

the sprays work pretty well, otherwise you do need to take the system apart partially and clean them manually.

the sprays work pretty well, otherwise you do need to take the system apart partially and clean them manually.

I had the same thing as well. I changed all the air filters, and sprayed, but the smell kept on comming back. Eventually I took it to the dealer where they didnt understand it either, and decided to remove the parts to see if something was stuck. And they were right, they found my dead hamster, I wondered where he went after I bought him from the pet store, and chewed right through the cardboard box. At that time when I looked in the cardboard box, it was gone, it was not on the floor, cause I was scared stepping on him. Oh well at least I know what happened. Eeew.

I use some Lysol spray or room fragrances. It helps for a while.

I have a similar problem, although it's not so bad. Intermittently, the AC would smell really bad. Perhaps I need to change my cabin air filter. It has not been changed since I bought the car two years ago. Does anyone know where this filter is located in a 2000 Corolla?

Ive talked to a couple tech buddies of mine so Im unsure what route to take on this issue.

I have an 04 Corolla, on hot days, when I start the AC, theres a horrible smell coming from the vents initially, smells like pee.

My tech buddies say you can use some kind of aerosol air cleaner to spray into the vents to remove the smell and bacteria, however theres the possibility of damaging the AC switches, system, heater core, this was another make and model the advice was provided for, though my concern is whether such products would damage a Corolla.

So what is the best way to remove the smell? Or do I have to put up with it and not risk damaging the AC components?

my veedub has the same issue. what i have found out is that turning AC off couple of minutes before you are going to reach your destination usually works. if you shut it off at the same time what happens with all that nice moisture is it start growing microorganisms and that is usally what you are smellin', dying pathogens.

I bought a used car that had a real strong vanilla/cinnamon smell and after searching found a can of aroma under the driver's seat.

I had to remove it and then took out all the seats and cleaned them. I also sprayed Lysol disinfectant and cleaned everything I could inside the car.

The smell is almost totally gone, although once in a while I get a whiff of the old smell.

If you have a dead rodent in your car, or someone has died in it, cleaning everything will help get rid of the bad smell.

If your A/C smells, try spraing some disinfectant in the vents and ducts, it might help.