I've posted a few threads in the past few years about the heater in my
97 Tercel (no AC), and how it causes respiratory aggravation long after a drive. Absolutely no signs of core/coolant problems, fan changed twice, and heater resistor cleaned. I was going to change the resistor, but the wrong replacement resistor came in to my mechanic. The 2nd attempt will occur in approx 2 weeks.However, I found that removing the toyota rugs alleviated the rubber smell. I can understand why, since the air down at the feet is much warmer than heated air coming for the face/windows. It only helps a bit, since the aggravation persists, and I am beginning to suspect super dryness as one main contributor. How does one deal with the problem? In a home, I'd just humidify the air.
Another possible cause is the design of the resistor. The mechanic showed me the resistor, which looks like metallic coils, anchored into a ceramic-looking block. If the coil is indeed metal, I don't that that would release anything into the air when heated. However, the anchoring block might. If it is ceramic, less so than if it was plastic. I've surfed the web, it was described as plastic -- does anyone know if this is true?
If if the resistor's anchoring block was ceramic, there is less chance that it's the culprit. Ceramic doesn't strike me as out-gassing under heat. However, I need to keep in mind that even when I had ceramic home heaters, it smelled funny and aggravating. The housing of home heaters are often plastic,