| Ugh - car’s AC reeks after it rains. Anyone else have this issue? What’s the fix? |
| Does it have a sunroof? |
| are the floors of the car wet? could you have a leak into the car itself? |
For how long? I’d replace the cabin air filter and see if it helps. |
| There's a leak somewhere. Check the rubber thing around the windows. |
| Replace cabin filter and see if any wet spots in the cabin after rain. |
| I don’t have a 2023 but mine smells like mildew this summer too. You can try draining the door (I heard water sloshing in it) but I still have the smell. |
The carpets got wet. |
| It is unlikely that your relatively new car has a leak. I am guessing it collected leaves and other debris under the hood and they are now rotting when wet. Open the hood and clean out the leaves. |
Sunroof leaked into my Highlander more than once, had to have drainage pathway cleaned regularly. |
I had this same issue with my Jetta Sportwagen. At the time I owned it we didn't have a garage. When I noticed the smell I found the spare tire compartment full to the top with water. I never had any problems with the engine of the car, but the leaking sunroof made me determined never to buy a car with a sunroof again. Between the leaks and heating up the care and the annoying glare, I can't stand sunroofs. Ugh. |
At what age? Were you actually using the sunroof? |
Is your car parked outside? On an incline? Maybe drain issues. After you run AC and before you turn off car, do you leave the air on “fresh” or “recirculate”? |
| it could have a leak if it is leaking water into the floor - there's a gasket that can get broken. |
| You said that it’s bad when the A/C is on, right? Look for air intake at the back right (?) of the engine compartment…this might be combined with an air filter on the RAV-4. If so, remove the air filter. Turn on the A/C and spray a bunch of Lysol spray into the opening. Don’t be cheap with the Lysol. This usually does the trick. |