I come from a cold climate and have never had a car with air con before. Now I have an Issuzu pick up I bought new 9 years ago. The air con works fine, but my wife says the air smells stale.

Is there any maintainance that should be done periodically, or do you just wait till it stops working?

I think it is in the maintenance schedule with a need for changing various filters and gases every so often.

Are you really saying that you've not had your truck serviced in 9 years ?

Stale smells usually mean blocked/partially blocked evaporator box drain tubes, causing water to remain in the evap box, getting these unblocked then spraying a air freshener that has an anti bacterial agent in it thru the inlet to the evaporator box under the dash with with AC on recirc will kill any mold growing in the evaporator core from the stagnant water.

Ac system use a refrigerant gas in a sealed system, the level of this gas should be checked regularly for leaks as the gas circulates the oil for lubricating the compressor around the system, there is also a receiver dryer unit used for cleaning the gas/oil for any particles that may flow around the system, it also removes any moisture from the system and these should be replaced around every two years or so. If they arent the Thermal expansion valve can be damaged or blocked causing the system to not function as well and the compressor to engage more often resulting in reduced fuel economy.

Thanks, Ill have it checked. Last time I used the truck, I noticed no water dripping where it usually does when I park it.

And yes, I have it serviced every 5000 km. which is about once a year. I dont drive much and really dont notice what they do at each servicing. I go to the Issuzu dealership and trust they do whatever has to be done.

Getting the air ducts brushed then washed does wonders.