So I have an '08 that has just over 4600 miles now (bought at the end of '08). Two issue have surfaced that are really bugging the crap out of me.

1. Sometimes when I start the car I get a strong gym sock odor coming out of the A/C. Any ideas on this? I assume its some sort of moisture being trapped, but how do i prevent that?

2. My windshield washer fluid jets are constantly clogging...dealer said that the best solution is to use a staple to clear them out...seriously?! Anyone else have this problem on a regular basis?

Other than that I freaking love the car, hopefully these things will be easily remedied.

 

Oh yeah, my aircon is like that too, when I have it fresh air sometimes it just smells like feet, I've tried what people told to to just blast i before i turn it off, doenst' work sometimes i'll be driving and it's okay, then suddenly the whole care smells like feet.....

 

When you turn the car off, moisture sits in the A/C and over time, turns to mold and mildew. That's your smell.
Make a habit of turning off the A/C about 5 minutes before you get to your destination and this will not occur. Every car does this if you allow it to happen.

I've posted more details on this before and also posted links to some products that will clean your system out. Changing the cabin filter alone will not do it.
I'll see if I can find the old posts.

EDIT:
Here it is

 

Yep Aeson was the pro on this!

 

i have both problems... I'm going to try changing out the water and fluid and putting in deioned water. for the AC, as mentioned, blast before without AC... but I think that still smells... so i just try not using too much

 

I have the same problem with the AC. However, the stinky smell only occurs when I let fresh air in. If I have the AC on w/ air circulating then no stench. So I just almost never let fresh air in and just circulate all the time. That's my fix to the problem so far.

 

That's more of a work around than a fix.
Cleaning out the vents will cure the problem for good.

 

AesonVirus, thanks for that info!

 

Hey! That's not the whole reason! of smelling bad.I was feeling the same thing but after i put the Fatmat that covered all the hole on the battery location and the Brake reservior location...It's seem very super ok!! no more Smelling Bad from the HFC and other.I had installed Fatmat to the Trunk,Under front fender,Under Rear Fender,Behind Battery.. and it's gone.Try it!! you'll feels the quiet!! AND clean!!!

 

any pictures/explanations on where the evaporator core is?

 

The DWD2 thing sounds like you have to drill a hole in your evap core...not the biggest fan of drilling into a car.

 

whenever i turn my car off i turn the a/c off and make sure i switch it to in cabin circulation - this closes the vents from the outside air. when i leave them open it gets all humid and muggy inside.

 

More info on the DWD2
http://www.dwd2.com/

I haven't needed it myself (yet) but I had a few friends with this same issue in their IS350's and this system cured the problem 100%.

 

1. I had the same problem, and decided to go about it as follows: turned the heater to 90 and maximum spin speed, put the windows down and drove like this for about 10 minutes. The mildew smell did not come back for several days, so it appears to be a temporary fix. Aeson's post above probably is a truer solution.

2. The washer jets get clogged often, unfortunately. I have to unclog a few with a pin once a month.

 

Weird.. I have never had this happen.
Are you sure you haven't somehow gotten some dirt or grit into the washer fluid tank? Something has to be clogging it.
If I had to clear the jets once a month, I'd look for a better solution, like maybe pulling out the tank and giving it a good cleaning.