Another thing to check for, is try to make sure something hasn't died inside the channel going to your cabin air filter. I once had a bunch of mice or birds or some **** living near the cabin air intake on my buick. Basically every time I started the car I got that musty smell, which dissipated aafter about 10 seconds or so.. it was because there was rotting dead mouse/bird or something in the air vent. I vaced it out and sprayed the whole thing down with ozium, no more smell.

-Mike

 

First of all, I wanted to thanks everyone for their posts as they were very helpful.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined but I decided on this to leave it to the experts especially when I looked under the car and didn't find a drain hose but saw the condensation coming out from both sides of the transmission. I did purchase a cabin air filter from Amazon for like $12 since the Toyota one was $40+. I contacted Lexus to get the HVAC Odor Maintenance service done but they wanted $260 and fees/supplies/taxes, so then I contacted a local Toyota dealer and they wanted $180 for everything so I decided to take it in there. They came back within 5 minutes of getting it on the rack and told me there is not hose below the vehicle but an opening for the condensation thus why I was seeing water from AC dripping on both sides of the transmission so they could not use the Toyota foam to clean the line. They said its like this on some late model Toyota's as well and what they use is a vapor process with ammonia to clean the evaporator and then spray near the wipers with a special Toyota disinfecting spray (i.e. Toyota's lysol) and it's much cheaper. So I told them to go ahead, and within an hour I had car back smelling clean and fresh and it cost $110. They even put in my cabin air filter and threw out my old one. I did buy that one disinfecting spray that one of the posters suggested but I will use that one on my 2004 GX470 in the future as the guy before me never did anything to the SUV.

 

I got a vinegar smell when I start the car and the AC is on. I'm looking to buy a product like Kool It or Kilma Cleaner to spray up the drain tube. Is this the right location? (black vertical tube behind front passenger side wheel)

 

No, I wish it was that easy. The drain tube exits above the transmission, its very hard to get to it and not worth it IMO.

You can spray either into the fresh air intake with the blower fan on or remove the cabin air filter and insert the tube into the blower motor (with the blower off!). I actually bought Kilma Cleaner about a year ago but I ended up not needing to use it yet. I just used a spray of isopropyl alcohol into the fresh air intake vents. The issue is that once you have the smell, it will certainly come back unless you actively mitigate it each time you use the AC. It sucks but that's the reality I have encountered. The cleaners will help with the initial buildup issue but constant attention is needed.

About 10 minutes before I arrive home, I turn off the AC compressor and switch to outside air. If I forget to do that and I remember once I am parked, I crank the heat for a few minutes. Otherwise condensation will always be present in the evaporator for mold and other microbes to build up. I switched off the auto-ac mode programming so that I can control when the compressor turns on from the physical buttons on climate control unit. I always have it set to the compressor off and outside air mode when the car starts up so that I can't smell much if anything is present.


Hyundai seems to be addressing this by turning the fan on automatically using "after-blow". Its essentially the same as I described above:

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/07/28/...itioning-tech/

 

Thank you @BMGS for your comments. Sounds difficult and more work than I think I am willing to do. Considering bringing it into the dealership. That being said, what is this black tube that I took a picture of?

 

The dealership will just charge you even more and do the same treatment. It will come back unless you actively mitigate it.

Not sure what that tube exactly is for but its likely a water drain from something.

 

Was that on the passenger side? If so I believe it's the battery tray drainage. If your battery leaks or if you're trying to wash/neutralize acid leaking from the battery any liquid will run down and out of that tube.

 

Yes, passenger side. Thanks thallium.

 

This. A good reason why I never run interior air, and always run it on fresh from the outside. It's almost a sure thing that this will happen if you run recycle.

 

An air conditioner that has an aircon smells like vinegar or another unpleasant odor is most likely having a problem with the condensation system. This condensation is a by-product of the refrigeration in the air conditioner. If drained improperly, this condensation can create the necessary conditions for foul-smelling mold to develop and bacteria can grow in your system.

 

there is nothing wrong using the recirculation feature as it allows the vehicle to cool down a little more faster and it puts less strain on the a/c sys. the thing why it smells is because when most people park their cars and shut off the ignition the fresh/recirculation door is closed and the water inside the evaporator does not dry out completely. the smart thing to do is prior to stopping your car set the a/c to fresh air mode and turn the a/c off then set the blower on high speed to assist in blowing out as much water from inside the evaporator housing as possible.

 

Due to the stupid design of the drain tube above the transmission the best is to get a decent spray cleaner designed for the air intake vents under the windscreen. The one I used makes you spray whole can while AC is on full. Smelled minty and the odour went away. I normally leave the AC to auto where it switches between recirc and fresh. Been a year and no odour returned. Replace the cabin filter after.

Coming from a VW Audi car where you can spray foam Klima cleaner onto the condenser itself very easily this was one let down as generally Toyota are straightforward to service.

 

You probably mean the evaporator, which is inside the cabin. The condenser is in front of the radiator.

At any rate, you can probably access the evaporator more directly by spraying into the cabin filter access slot. I haven't looked at the Lexus much but my wife's Honda is right before the blower and through the evaporator and heater core. It had a terrible smell like rotten/wet dog that had rolled in roadkill. Depending on which you have it set to. A blend would likely get both. Or set it for heat for the first part and switch to air to finish.

 

On another prior vehicle, I went thru all that evaporator cleaning. The smell came back. I tried the Lysol, paid the dealer to clean the evaporator and it was good for a month at best.

I had a bad smelling issues on the RX also. I turned off the AC for a few days and drove the vehicle. Now when I turn it back on, it doesn't have that smell anymore.

 

Sometimes it can also be the evaporator drain is plugged with debris.