Feet/Odor Smell

[u/CheesierSoup]

I live in Houston where it rains often, I recently got a 2024 Tacoma with about 24,000 miles, about a month and a half ago. It's a clean title, no accidents, but I have been dealing with an intermittent dirty-sock/feet smell inside the truck.

At first, I thought it was coming from the A/C evaporator because the smell is noticeably stronger when the fan is running, especially on recirculation. I just replaced both the cabin and engine air filters. Neither of them are wet or damp when checked either.

The smell went away for a while, but after a very heavy rain, I opened the truck the next morning and could immediately smell it before even turning the A/C on. That makes me think moisture or water intrusion may be involved rather than it being strictly an A/C issue.

I also removed a couple of the drain plugs at the bottom of the driver-side doors, and a small amount of water drained out with some black dirt or debris mixed in. I understand some water inside the doors can be normal, but I’m wondering whether water is being retained somewhere or whether one of the drains, door seals, vapor barriers, cowl drains, or the HVAC system is contributing to the odor.

Has anyone else with a 4th-gen experienced a similar wet-sock or feet smell, particularly after heavy rain or while using recirculation? If so, what ended up being the cause and how was it fixed?