Is there a cabin air filter in the 1997 Toyota Tacoma?

AFAIK, there is no cabin filter in the 97.
(If there is, then mine must be in reeeeaaaly bad shape!)

No cabin filters. They didn't come standard until the 2006+ Tacos.

That is not good. Every time I switch the knob to the air recirculation side, it smells very bad. It smells as I have a bad cabin air filter. The truck interior smells very fresh. The outside air smells very good too. Is it possible that my 97 Tacoma comes with filter?

NO, not possible. Maybe you have rotting leaves stuck in the blower fan.

http://4runners.org/writeups/fan/index.html

It is not possible. It is too dry and too hot in AZ to rot anything in the fan. If there is anything rotten inside the truck, I could have smells it when I drive it daily. The interior carpet and seats are in immaculate conditions. It smells very similar to the cigarette. It is a used truck, and I own it for about a year now. If there is no smelly cigarette stuck to the filter, it should dissipated by now. I'll remove the glove box this weekend to see if there is any cabin filter. I suspected it there is one in it..!

I'll bet you $1 that there is no cabin filter in your truck unless the previous owner somehow did some ghetto fab work to put it in there, likely, but highly doubtful.

If the previous owner smoked, the tar will stick to everything. If he used the fan in Recirc mode a lot, it will coat the inside of vent tubes and will send that smell out when warm or when a lot of air flows across it.

If the AC was used a lot, the moisture left in the lines can mold/mildew a bit and be a pain to get rid of the smell. It's recommended to run the fan for 5 minutes with no AC after running the AC for a while to help dissipate the moisture.

You might be right. I have tried a lot of things, including your comment below. I tried to recirc the hot air, cold air and room temperature. I tried to spray a lot of lemon air freshener on the passenger side floor. It seems to get better for the last couple weeks. I still can smell it, but not as bad as before. It'll probably dissipate overtime.

22b22 said:

If the previous owner smoked, the tar will stick to everything. If he used the fan in Recirc mode a lot, it will coat the inside of vent tubes and will send that smell out when warm or when a lot of air flows across it.

If the AC was used a lot, the moisture left in the lines can mold/mildew a bit and be a pain to get rid of the smell. It's recommended to run the fan for 5 minutes with no AC after running the AC for a while to help dissipate the moisture.

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