[23haro]

It rained recently. My car smells terrible inside even though it's totally clean. I've checked other posts and forums.. most people find standing water in their car due to a leak. I have yet to find standing water anywhere. Under the tire, in the carpet, etc. I have found a couple of inconsistencies within the rubber molding around the door sill. However I've never noticed water physically there when it rains. I know I could mask the smell with chemicals but I would rather nip this problem in the bud before I mask anything.

Also- I'm out of warranty.

 

[i2ide]

lol wtf? get some mr. clean in that b!tch. lol jk. did you check the sunroof? maybe the moldings on those had a leak or crack in it and it leaked into your roof liner.

 

[That-TSX-Kid]

Try driving on a back-road with all the windows down, air it out a little. Maybe the cleaner you used is old or something. Check what you used. Also, if you went to an automatic car wash (which I never do), maybe the spray jets were powerful enough to seep through the sunroof (kinda like i2ide said). I'm no expert I'm just suggesting things you haven't said you've done yet.

 

[tsx 2 nv]

are your air vents open? maybe your cabin filter needs a replacement.

 

[MMsTSX]

two things I suggest.

first and foremost, change out your inner cabin air filter.
second, open the trunk, and look around the weatherstripping and such
on the trunk and on the car where the trunk closes into. look for mold
there. also look in your inner door sill areas.

is your car used?
it could be a flood car.
gotta watch for that, especially in Texas and down in the SE.

 

[xflywonthanhx]

Fabreeze

 

[sk1001]

if any of the above don't solve the problem, it could be mould in your AC ducts

 

[dedeman]

I sort of had the same problem with my car. After a good rain, I would get a slight mildew smell.

Check the bottom of the door jambs (where the big silver 'Acura' door plates are). I would get some water build up there. As a simple solution, just towel it off. As a larger solution, take it to the dealer and get the door gaskets checked (which I haven't done yet)

Also, like others said, replace the cabin filter. There's also a dealer A/C duct cleaning service that I recommend getting (I got, worked well). It's not very expensive.

edit: I also have an '04. It may be a model year problem.

 

[code85]

You should change your Cabin filter.. I get that smell if my filter gets really dirty.

 

[poopydik]

its ur AC ducts most likely

 

[23haro]

I will check my cabin filters however they were replaced last August.. Also I rarely use my A/C because I like that increased fuel economy. In fact when I do use the A/C, the smell gets sort of blown away by fresh air which helps.

I have a hunch it has something to do with the sunroof drainage tubes. We will see.

 

[hobieron]

I would guess it's the AC. It's not the ducts, it's probably the evaporator core or the drain. When you use your AC, water condenses on the coils and runs out the drain. When you stop or turn it off, some of the water can sit in there and grow mildew. I've had two cars where you would smell it only when the AC started, then the fresh air would clear the smell out until the next time. If you hardly use your AC, you give it plenty of time to grow and then your rainy day (and probably high humidity) gave it a burst of growth. This is so common that the dealers have kits to clean out the mildew. One last thought. If your evaporator drain is plugged, the housing can fill up with water and it will eventually leak out. The most common place for it to leak to is the passenger side foot well, way up at the top. This will saturate the rug there.

 

[23haro]

Problem solved. My sunroof drains were clogged.

 

[i2ide]

kind of as i expected

 

[4runner]

Water on the floor

Hi all,
We just bought my wife a 2004 6mt TSX. We have only had the car for a week and love it. We have had a lot of rain lately and the drivers side rear floor board is saturated. Any thoughts? I noticed a comment about the sunroof drains where are they located? Also I checked the interior and the headliner was completely dry and the door sills felt dry. There was so much water that I completely soaked two bath towels sopping it up. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Aaron

 

[HoRRo]

Hi all,
We just bought my wife a 2004 6mt TSX. We have only had the car for a week and love it. We have had a lot of rain lately and the drivers side rear floor board is saturated. Any thoughts? I noticed a comment about the sunroof drains where are they located? Also I checked the interior and the headliner was completely dry and the door sills felt dry. There was so much water that I completely soaked two bath towels sopping it up. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Aaron

Looking at the pics, #3 should be running along the front passenger side pillar (same pillar as the side mirror), and #5/7 should be on the driver side pillar (which the seatbelt is mounted to).

#5/7 is most likely causing your issue.

 

[4runner]

HoRRo,
Thank you so much for the help. Could I ask for a little more help. I was tooling around in the wifes car and pulled a panel loose but the others are a little stubborn. If you could provide me with another drawing with the clip locations on those interior panels that would be huge. My wife would kill me if I mess up her car. Thanks in advance.
Aaron

 

[HoRRo]

HoRRo,
Thank you so much for the help. Could I ask for a little more help. I was tooling around in the wifes car and pulled a panel loose but the others are a little stubborn. If you could provide me with another drawing with the clip locations on those interior panels that would be huge. My wife would kill me if I mess up her car. Thanks in advance.
Aaron

Looking at the manual, it appears I was thrown off by the picture that I posted. The 5/7 actually goes along the roof and goes through the rear pillar (along the rear windshield into the trunk), not the seatbelt pillar as I originally thought.

Here's a crappy pic:

Don't follow the steps to remove the drain tube because the steps are after disconnecting the tube from the sunroof (which requires removal of headliner). This is just so that you can examine the drain tube to see if there's water stuck in it.

 

[4runner]

Thank you so much, I was way off track. Are you a tech or do you just have a complete service manual? I have to say the people on this site are way nicer than on any of the Toyota sites I use for 4wheeling. Thanks again.

 

[HoRRo]

Thank you so much, I was way off track. Are you a tech or do you just have a complete service manual? I have to say the people on this site are way nicer than on any of the Toyota sites I use for 4wheeling. Thanks again.

Just a guy with the service manual that enjoys solving problems and working on the car.