I love the specs, but do you have any actual photos of where the recirculated air intakes are under the dash and by the brake assembly? My Dealership has said I need to spray lysol or something like that up into the intakes in order to neutralize the rodent smell from the nest they made in my cabin air filter, which they removed.

 

Thank you. So is it behind the glove box? I saw vent under the glove box, that's not inlet vent?

 

It is a large opening located behind and above the glove box, just above the cabin air filter. A swinging door covers the inlet when the system is in fresh (outside) air mode. In recirculated air mode, the swinging door unblocks the recirculating inlet and moves to a position where it blocks the duct to the fresh air inlet (located under the cowl).

Recirculated air passes to the inlet through gaps around the under dash panels and brake pedal assembly, as well as through slots in those panels. It is a matter of semantics whether the slots should be considered the actual inlet.

 

Thank you. I will check behind the glove then. I am curious why my AC keeps blowing humid air for hours after I turn off the compressor. This happen with both fresh or recirculating mode with the later being the worst.

 

Check the evap drain . May not be draining well.

 

is the port accessible without car lift?

 

If you think the system is increasing the cabin humidity when in recirculate mode with the compressor off, the problem could be an obstructed evaporator drain. There could be a puddle of water in the bottom of the plenum that requires some hours to drain.

If you drive slowly on a paved driveway with the compressor on (assuming it has been on for awhile and the outside air is humid), there should be a trail of water drops along your path.

 

This is what I use as a "car lift". You will need a mirror to see the hose and access it from the passenger side.

 

Spraying Lysol into the opening will not be adequate (I know because I also once evicted a mouse family from my cabin air filter). It is more effective to spray a rag with the Lysol and wipe down the inside of the duct, above and below the cabin filter slot.
To accomplish this, first remove the blower. It is located just above the passenger foot well and fastened with just 3 screws. You will need a "stubby" (short) driver for the rear fastener, because the angle of the floor restricts access.

Remove the connector and the 3 screws, then pull down the blower assembly and set it aside. Also remove the glove box door and cabin filter. Now you can reach up into the duct through the blower opening and thoroughly clean it, along with any residue that fell into the blower.

 

If you have a strong smell, don't be surprised to find a partially-decayed corpse inside the blower impeller ("squirrel cage").

 

Why do ya ask? Getting a musty smell?

 

On my 2015 Venza 2.7 L was getting a musty smell with just fan running, so I removed the cabin filter and with the AC system running I sprayed Lysol (50% ethanol version) into the intake area exposed by the cabin filter, sprayed for so long that a mist of Lysol started coming out of the vents! That eliminated the musty odor and it has not come back.