Small black pcs of sponge in air con vents

[toyotarave]

Hello - I drive a 2.2 GX 1999 for the last four years - car still going on strong. 2 questions I hope the Camry gurus could help me with.

Firstly, I noticed that lately, i see pcs of black sponge stocking out of the air con vents - what could this be from and what do I have to do?

Second question, whenever I cold start the engine and then switch on the air-con the first blasts of air smelled funny and then disappears after a few seconds. Again, what could be the problem here?

Thanks all

[Sniperdude]

Are you sure that's not black mold?

Anyhow, to get rid of the nasty smell, pick up a bottle of car vent cleaner. You spray the stuff down the vents and it gets rid of the smell. It's an anti mold, mildew, and all those other nasty smells chemical.

[DFBonnett]

Happened on our '93 some years ago. I think it is just some sort of sealer/packing in the ductwork that finally dried up and blew out. Heat and AC still work fine with no apparent leaks, so I chose to ignore it. So far, so good.

[Mike Gerber]

DFBonnett is correct. It's just pieces of rubber Toyota used to seal the areas where 2 pieces of vents meet. As they get old, they get brittle and break and pieces blow out the vents in to the passenger compartment. Our 98 Camry did this from time to time. Nothing really to worry about.

As to your other problem, it probably is mold that has formed inside your vent system, from moisture left over from using the A/C. I have never used the vent cleaner that Sniperdude mentioned, but I have used Lysol. Just spray it in to the vents in front of the front windhsield while the car is on. Work the selector lever in to various positions, so it get's distributed in to the various vents.

Mike

[ASG14]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

DFBonnett is correct. It's just pieces of rubber Toyota used to seal the areas where 2 pieces of vents meet. As they get old, they get brittle and break and pieces blow out the vents in to the passenger compartment. Our 98 Camry did this from time to time. Nothing really to worry about.

As to your other problem, it probably is mold that has formed inside your vent system, from moisture left over from using the A/C. I have never used the vent cleaner that Sniperdude mentioned, but I have used Lysol. Just spray it in to the vents in front of the front windhsield while the car is on. Work the selector lever in to various positions, so it get's distributed in to the various vents.

Mike

Mike, never thought of spraying Lysol in the vents like that. Great idea.


I'll try to get some pics up later to show you the foam. But as stated, it;s not a problem.

[Venom_5]

happened to my 95 camry ... its just crappy seals ... u can get it replaced and cleaned-out at a dealership or shop

[toyotarave]

Thanks all - guess I will head for the store to pick the lysol up

[Meridian]

Ok, what's the optimal (read "most likely to succeed") way to do this? Remove the cabin filter, turn on the AC, turn the fan all the way up, and spray a disinfectant into the intake vents below the windshield? All things being equal, I'd like to get the disinfectant in the ducts but not in the rest of the cabin.

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by Meridian

Ok, what's the optimal (read "most likely to succeed") way to do this? Remove the cabin filter, turn on the AC, turn the fan all the way up, and spray a disinfectant into the intake vents below the windshield? All things being equal, I'd like to get the disinfectant in the ducts but not in the rest of the cabin.

The way you mentioned should work fine.

Mike

[eyeball96]

Spray the lysol in the outside vents with the selector on fresh air, then select recirulate and spray it in the passenger side floor board at the base of the dash, to get it in the entire vent system!

[Venom_5]

this happened to me, i took it to the stealership about 5 years ago ... they cleaned it out, replaced some parts ...

and then 3 years later my a/c compressor (or clutch) died