My A/C just seems to not be that cold at first and it seems to take forever (10 mins) to cool the truck off. It just seems this way especially when you first start it up and drive for the first 2-3 minutes. Don't get me wrong, it gets cold, just it takes forever. I have an '02 and it is clean, so there is nothing blocking the air flow to the condensor. I just was asking to see if my is out of the ordinary. Thanks

 

Shouldn't be. It all depends on how hot the truck is before you start the a/c but it normally does pretty well after a few minutes.

My issue is w/ the occassional bad smell...

 

Mine has always worked just fine and I live in the hot/humid south!!!

Yesterday was 105 and I had frosty AC within moments of starting my truck.

 

Ditto.....the AC in the 4runner is way colder than my Honda Civic, but the heat in the Civic is better.
I get the mildew smell in the 4runner AC too, not sure how to cure that.

 

Well, I somewhat agree. My AC isn't that strong, but it kicks in pretty quick. The AC in other vehicles I've driven seems to be a lot stronger, I always assumed it was because the runner is 10 years old. Also, that friggen smell, sometimes like dead animals, but more recently smells like dead fish. I do go to college, so it could be a sick joke by one of my friends

Good to know i'm not the only one with smelly AC!

 

mine doesnt seem to be that cold either. on my parents vehicles i can be freezing within minutes, but it never seems to get that way with my car...it gets cold just not real cold.....kinda like the refridgeration in mexico...has anyone tried recharging their ac?

 

The AC on my '00 isn't as strong as the one was on my '90. It meets spec, but does take longer to cool the truck down, like you said. It's noticeably worse at idle or very low speed when the engine can't tach up to run the compressor more effeciently. Other than window shades, I don't think there's much we can do.

 

I turned the blower on full blast and sprayed a bunch of Febreeze into the vents just below the window (outside). Haven't had that musty smell since. Now, I just smell my sweaty running shoes in the back.

 

I beg to differ. My A/C system is stronger than any car i've owned. Have your cleaned your fan yet? There is a write-up in the tech section on how to do this.

 

In a slight threadjack... I've cleaned my fan. It blows a wee bit stronger now, but I figure it needs to be recharged anyway. I'm pushing 10yrs without having anything done to the AC system. Probably because I don't use it as often as I should. (Sorta like 4WD, I guess -- use it or loose it?)

 

my ac works very well, has been wel into the 90s lately in Boston and my truck has been very comfortable, though most often I opt for opening all the windows, moon roof and rear window,,,

 

it's you.

though i haven't measured the output temp, i freeze my arse off when on full cold. this is in high temp high humidity areas.

 

You can help the A/C by first rolling down a few windows and relieving the hot air while having the A/C full blast. Make sure the evaporator isn't being covered by paper or a dash mat or any other junk on the passenger side dash. Clean the between the condensor and radiator of any debris either by compressed air or a garden hose. As far as the moldy smell, you will need to take it to a shop and there is a procedure to clean these as to both clean and kill the mold as well as putting in a small blower fan to prevent mold from growing again later.

 

Thanks, i shall try that.

 

I think that is the wording I was trying to say.

 

At work we just get a refresher can and spray it into the intake. Go to the dealer and ask for A/C Intake Refresher.

 

Are you freaking kidding me?! Dang when I was at GM we had to fill out a "proccess sheet" and install a little dehumidifyer blower just before the blower fan. It really sucked because it was only a 1.5 hour job, but it took more than that. Plus the cleaner would make me dizzy. How much does the refresher cost at dealer cost? So yall just spray it into the evap. and sign off on it?

 

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum as a poster, but a lurker for a few years. I worked in a Toyota dealer here in western Canada as a Service Advisor for 11 years and am now at another import dealer as a Service Manager for the past 5 years. I am a huge 4runner fan, having previously owned a gen 1, gen2, and now a 2000 3.4 5spd. Anyway, the musty a/c smell mentioned above is often caused by mould in the evaporator. If you start the vehicle, and put the a/c on fresh air intake(not recirc), fan on high, windows down, and spray Lysol aerosol spray into the fresh air intake at the base of the windshield, it will usually kill the smell causing mould until the it develops again down the road. There are many a/c cleaning kits that are a lot more expensive of a fix, but this, I have found, is effective. Just roll the windows down while you're doing this to let the Lysol smell out. One can would do a couple of dozen vehicles. Hope this helps someone!

 

awesome thread. I thought mine was the only one that smelled musty. I can't stand it. I'm gonna try out the lysol trick!

 

never had an issue with mould in my rig, but then again I do live in SoCal....hot and dry most of the year. The AC works very well, considering the interior space it needs to cool down it does take a few minutes. I usually leave the windows down on initail startup then rool up the front one's when cool air develops, afterwards rolling up the back window last. Eventually I have to turn down the theromstat since it gets freezing.......