I have never used air con before in my cars until this one, Rav4, and have started because the other half called me a Jew for not using it lol, but now when I use it (its really noisy) it mists stuff out of it like darn fog, and when I turn it off it smells. salty? Its the only way to describe the smell, like chemically salty lol, any ideas on what its up to?
daryl14,
Mar 12, 7:54am
Sounds like the internal heat exchanger inside the heater is leaking engine coolant. Look for wet spots in the footwell. Coolant does have a sweet smell. Have you run it a long time to see if the misting goes away?
b-rowdy,
Mar 12, 7:57am
Yeah the misting only lasts for a wee bit, longer on demist, no wet spots that I've noticed yet and Im pretty fussy about cleaning it lol
daryl14,
Mar 12, 7:59am
Ok that sounds good. Maybe just see if there are any blocked drains from the bottom of the heater that could use a clean out.
b-rowdy,
Mar 12, 8:02am
Sweet, will do, have to get the man to do it or he wont feel manly but thanks for the help :)
tamarillo,
Mar 12, 6:42pm
Has it had a good long run as yet? If so and still not right they can put the system under pressure to check on leaks and whether it had enough gas. Depending where you are there are mobile services for this that can come to you if need be.
intrade,
Mar 12, 6:59pm
make sure its not coolant smell keep a close eye on the water level expansion bowl usually on toyota it draws water from there untill it runs out of that water then it uses whats in the radiator untill it has not enough and overheats. Best just to squeeze the radiator hoses not to open the cap as that wears off the cap seal and plastic neck over time . once your sure it is the ac side . I hope it is not refrigerqant you smell Normally ac have a wierd smell from bacteria but it dont smells how you discribed it . clean water must come out of cars vent drain hose from aircon pooling under car when aircon is on.
intrade,
Mar 12, 7:03pm
for ac there is 2 threads you can read my one is called hvac the aircons all work the same way on cars fridges house aircons. checking and cleaning is just more difficult. coil cleaning is done with a special spray and car running in recirculation with no one inside like a bug bomb. on cars the diy way. I have sprayd simple green in to the intake duct ;) for old scool try like on thsi hvac video
daryl14,
Mar 12, 8:28pm
Try replacing the cabin air filter too. Just google where it is in the car. Probably a vid on youtube.
kazbanz,
Mar 12, 8:37pm
How long have you owned the car?
mark.52,
Mar 12, 8:37pm
Agree with #8. Once you've eliminated the possibility of a leak, you can buy the stuff at a place like repco. Full directions on the can.
Replace the filter, first. (You might have bits of leaves and other debris come out of the housing. I did. Just brush them all away.)
b-rowdy,
Mar 14, 5:11am
A year now, love the wee thing, prefer not to use aircon at all but its been so hot lately there is no choice!
aj.2.,
Mar 14, 5:23am
You should run the AC, at least once a week, like any system they don't like sitting, and can cause troubles due to lack of use. Winter time use it all the time as it will clear the windows so much faster than just fan, makes driving safer.
gammelvind,
Mar 14, 6:58am
Exactly, the best way to kill the AC is to not use it, the issues the OP is having really sounds like lack of use issues. Just turn the AC on and never turn it off, just adjust the temp. Nice dry car all year round.
b-rowdy,
Apr 28, 10:57am
Im just used to cars with no AC, its been on for weeks now but still randomly mists smoky looking stuff out, getting used to my own wee fog show
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