Shortly after I bought my car, a 2013 Toyota Camry le, in 16, which I recently got rid of, I noticed a bad smell coming from the ac vents, I went to a service place and was told this was normal as cars can get smelly during the hotter months, I found this odd as I hadn't experienced it with other vehicles before.

A solution was sprayed into my car, the ac was put on full blast & let to run for 30 min. I was told this was only a temporary fix then.

Fast forward, my health started to get worse, long story short, my immune system was weakened and I got super sick and still am from mold. My sense of smell got worse but I still could faintly smell but asked my son and husband if they were smelling something bad too and they both said yes, this happened off and on from June of 16 when I got the car til summer of 19 when I got rid of it for health reasons, I couldn't continue to breathe in mold.

I was told by the service people there was no fix for this, I called someone else and explained/read what I found on this website from other Toyota owners as well on other forums matching what I was dealing with, he said to get to the part of the car to investigate this, it would be 8 hrs of labor due to where it was located, I was quoted 1k just for that and then if he found and had to replace the issue people were complaining about it would be at least another 200 but it wouldn't fix the issue, I would basically just be replacing the defective part with another defective part since Toyota has done nothing to resolve this issue.

Somethings needs to be done here. Mold has ruined my life at 39 yrs old. Mold is serious stuff and can kill people, this may just annoy people who can smell but they need to know its not healthy for them in general and overtime will cause health issues. I have had to learn all about this the hard way.

I purchased my 2013 Toyota Camry SE brand new from Toyota, my car has always been service by Toyota,on 8/13/2016 my car started blowing extremely hot air and had a strong dead animal moldy smell. I took it to Toyota that same day it was 102 degrees inside the car plus that awful smell I was told to bring it back on 8/16/16 which I did after staying there for three and a half hours they kept my car and told me the total was $636.00 to fix (replacing the AC line hose , labor etc.) .

On 8/17/16 at 5:30pm I picked up my car on the way home the AC was on less than 10 minutes the same thing. EXTREMELY HOT AIR AND THAT SAME MOLDY SMELL. I called first thing at 7:15am on 8/18/16 informing them that the problem was NOT fixed I came back to Toyota at 5:15pm to a group of angry people who had service done and their problem was not fixed.needless to say I was sent back with a car blowing hot air with a moldy smell and was told to come BACK on 8/20/16. When I go back on 8/20/16 I would like to know what did my $636.00 paid for because NOTHING was fixed.

After spending countless hours researching, visiting dealerships, and going through the long and awfully tedious process of getting a car, it's quite a shame to have such a terrible problem on this vehicle.

With a price tag of about 25k, I began to receive a smell which i can only really describe as a person's literal asshole that has not been washed in 4.2 years while sweltering in the Sahara desert.

Never in the decades I have been alive and the countless vehicles I have owned and driven that such a smell has been noticed. After taking time off to dedicate visiting the dealership many times, they either make up some bullshit lie, or act like no such problem exists.

Camry's are reliable, affordable, and the ideal every-day car you drive, but as the problem only progresses, its being a entity that needs to be addressed. I am hopeful that Toyota will stand behind their products, and revamp the AC in existing camry's to fix the Air Conditioning problems.

My 2013 Camry started smelling bad (wet sock/wet dog) from the Ac/Heater vents at 13,300 miles. I replaced the cabin filter at my expense at 14,000 miles. The smell is still there. The Asst. Service Mgr. said to turn the car off about 5 to 10 minutes before you reach your destination to dry out the vents. I have driven the car for one more week after replacing the cabin filter and there is no change in the smell. If you turn off the ac and the heater and just let the car run the smell is still there. I think there may be a serious problem that the dealership is not admitting to. I have written the Toyota Motor Corporation about the problem and hope to hear from them shortly.

2013 Toyota Camry-10,000 miles

Really bad odor coming from A/C when first start up with air on. Smells like stagnant water.

We have just started the process with a Toyota Service Dept. They have had the Camry for a day and a half. Picked it up and will return it two days later to replace Cabin Filter w/Charcoal Cabin Filter. Service Manager said we should try turning the air to vent or off the last 10 minutes of driving so A/C could dry out.

Camry has been returned to Toyota Service Department at 5,000 miles for a recall to put a catch pan to keep condensation off air bag wiring. Could the be a drainage problem? Can it be fixed?

Moldy odor in the A/C unit. I brought it to the dealer and they have made many excuses. I call the Toyota Motors Company . they tell me they will send a technical professional master , but i have to live without my car overnight and get my car the next day or evening , Toyota Moto doesn't want to provide a Rent car . they said is my problem. My wife had asthma a long time ago, she'd been able to control it. But, since we have this car and the moldy odor from the ac vent, she started to get sick with asthma attacks. I did tell the situation to Toyota ,they filed the claim, and they canceled because the said i say different versions & they told me I lied . Toyota knows there is a problem with the car but they don't want to take responsibility, They don't care about the Health of every North American. All they want is Money. Is there anybody who can help with this? We need go to Legal advice. I bring my car too many time to the dealer & the cover the problem temporarily, change air filter etc,,,

I am very allergic to mold, so this explains my headaches every morning on my 2 hour commute to work and the lovely 2 hours back. There is a disgusting and very foul scent that emanates from the vents when I turn on the heater or the air conditioning and it has become progressively worse over the last few months.

My husband complained about it before our second service at 10K. When we took it in the service manager told us this is a common problem amongst all Toyota vehicles. He said that the drainage system doesn't seem to work very well (which you would think after the myriad of complaints they would find a way to fix this issue - it is disgusting and more disgusting when you spent over $36,000.00 of your hard earned money on a car that people don't want to get in from your law firm because of the awful stench!!).......He said that the condensation from running the heater or AC builds and doesn't drain properly and then begins to build up mold and bacteria. He said "we" meaning my husband and I could go down to Kragen and buy a pine scented spray that would help (NOT).... and I then proceeded to tell him that this wasn't my issue but TOYOTA's and for it to be fixed.

They changed the filter and said they ran a FRIGI FRESH anti - bacterial liquid through and that would help. Oh and for me to make sure I press this and that on the air conditioning buttons about 10 minutes from home so that it drains as much as possible and that would help. (I don't think I should have to do ANYTHING at all after 10,000 miles) It's as if there is a dead squirrel in my engine! It's disgusting and its giving me MAJOR headaches due to my allergies). I have filed a complaint with Toyota USA, with the Dublin Toyota where I purchased it. The smell needless to say came back the second time we drove it in the evening after our service. and is back FULLY.

smell and allergens coming from vent wit or without a/c on Toyota sprayed alcohol foam into unit...got rid of mold smell, but not toxic allergens. Cannot drive car without getting ill.

Update from Mar 21, 2014: August 2, 2013 interior "sanatized" for $70. Mold smell temporarily gone, still makes our eyes water, noses to run, and gives us a sore throat to drive car with windows closed...appears to be allergen.

Update from Dec 29, 2016: Now about 50,000 miles later...same problem. It always affected, and appears to have worsened, my Asthma and occasional bronchitis. We had the AC problem temporarily fixed twice, by a local A/C mechanic who washed out a bunch of black crud--it had reached the point that the A/C blew out what appeared to be a fine black dust. I scrubbed the entire inside of the passenger compartment with Lysol wipes, which picked up a lot of grey and seemed to help. We went to Arbitration against Toyota for smell and toxic allergens. They changed the complaint to "smell," and said: We don't fix smells. The arbitration board tossed the case...it is Alabama and Toyota is big business here. Toyota seems to have flagged my records -- generally managers talk to us when we bring the car in for service. Shame we owe so much, we'd trade it on something else tomorrow.