Terrible odor from the AC vents!

[Yruyur]

I have not smelled it since. And its been raining on and off so the humidity has been pretty high. I can say for sure I have not smelled a thing. Maybe I didnt need that spray stuff I ordered.

Ive been dealing with the smell for about 2 months now.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

[thebus]

Originally Posted by The_Societan

Also... the idea of getting fresh air flowing through the vents to prevent mold by shutting off AC 2-3 minutes before stopping doesn't make sense to me. Mold needs moisture to grow, right? And the AC takes moisture out of the air as well as cooling it, so how would shutting it off and introducing warm moist air into the system right before you turn it off going to reduce mold growth(if that is the culprit)? I would think that would do the opposite.

On a typical ac/furnace in a home or condo has metal ducting if you ever run ac in a damp environment or just turn it on while away from work your ducts will sweat. Same thing with cars if its so cold you can see condensation in the vents of your car. What typically causes Oder will be the evaporator having mold on it or other particles. The only way to get rid of the smell is to clean the ducts,filter, evaporator,and drain if it has sluge in it. Of course cars ducting and environment are different than being in a home however same concept applys. Another way to look at running warmer air to dry out the ducts is like turning your heat on slightly to remove the fog from your windows.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by The_Societan

Also... the idea of getting fresh air flowing through the vents to prevent mold by shutting off AC 2-3 minutes before stopping doesn't make sense to me. Mold needs moisture to grow, right? And the AC takes moisture out of the air as well as cooling it, so how would shutting it off and introducing warm moist air into the system right before you turn it off going to reduce mold growth(if that is the culprit)? I would think that would do the opposite.

Cold air hitting warm to hot air ducts will cause condensation simple as that. By switching the A/C off but keeping the fan running it will allow the condensation to evaporate and enter the air instead of sitting on the vents. Although the amount of condensation will probably be minuscule and probably not even there after a long drive.

[frs10]

just an FYI that you guys should be mindful about...

in my car, the recirc is always default on, so make sure you have it off when you have ur AC off as well... that will help get fresh air through your vents too...

does anyone know how to change that setting?

[Andrew025]

So I have this smell as well but the conditions are a bit different.
I only smell it after my car has been sitting overnight. The smell is exactly like the OP explained. I only have 1k miles on my car.
The air coming from the ac doesn't smell bad or anything though.

[Minhtyfresh]

Originally Posted by frs10

just an FYI that you guys should be mindful about...

in my car, the recirc is always default on, so make sure you have it off when you have ur AC off as well... that will help get fresh air through your vents too...

does anyone know how to change that setting?

Interesting. My recirc is always default off! I see your name is frs10, so I'm not sure if this is just something that comes with the 10 series control nobs.

In other news.. I finally returned from my weekend trip to toronto. I returned to my car after it was left sitting outside in the driveway for about 3 days. Before going on the trip, I had done the following:
-Pressurized air blasted into the drain tube
-Lysol deodorizer into the fresh air inlet (cowl screen)
-ran full fan + no recirc + no a/c for 20 minutes.

The smell is now gone! It is still not the crisp fresh air of a new car. There is a VERY faint "damp" smell. I probably just need to air it out a bit more. The lysol step may also be the cause (and probably not even necessary).

To keep it smelling fresh, I will likely take the advice from some of the previous posts: -Switch to fan only for the last 5 minutes of driving home.

Thanks everyone.

[Wyllliam]

i don't want to be the barer of bad news, but this smell comes most of the time from mould inside the HVAC unit.
I had this problem in a Toyota yaris, they ended up replacing the entire HVAC unit.
They told me if i want to prevent this i have to use the AC for a short period every time i drive the car.
Never had the problem since.

[DSlayerZX]

Had the same problem on my 2011 Corolla, co-worker's 2013 Camry as well.

Basicially, ilke e veryone has stated, it's a problem with mold in the HVAC system in your car.

To prevent it, just make sure you don't turn off the AC and recirculate, the run the AC on medium/high setting for a few min beofore you arrive or after you arrive at your destination.

Some dealer would actually tell you they can not track down the problem/some even claim they never heard of the problem (which is total bull shit by the way).

The only way to fully fix it is to replace your HVAC system. How ever, I just recently tried using the AC mole cleaner, the kind that you spray liquid/detergent into the vent and intake vent of you car

(it was posted a few pages back) and the smell has been greately reduced.

[Yruyur]

Originally Posted by Yruyur

I have not smelled it since. And its been raining on and off so the humidity has been pretty high. I can say for sure I have not smelled a thing. Maybe I didnt need that spray stuff I ordered.

Ive been dealing with the smell for about 2 months now.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

Spoke too soon. Had the smell after my second stop this afternoon. Will be teying the spray.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

[Wyllliam]

Originally Posted by Yruyur

Spoke too soon. Had the smell after my second stop this afternoon. Will be teying the spray.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X

Go to a dealer and ask for a new HVAC

[Steve201brz]

going to have to do this myself, thanks for the info.

on a side-note, might have to make a new thread since i couldn't find one but maybe someone here may know
when i make a pretty hard turn to the right, i get water hitting my right foot. whoever is in the passenger side gets their left foot wet, when i make a hard left turn.
too much condensation? i haven't thought much of it, especially since i don't seem to have any odor which sometimes comes with standing water/mold

[Wyllliam]

Originally Posted by Steve201brz

going to have to do this myself, thanks for the info.

on a side-note, might have to make a new thread since i couldn't find one but maybe someone here may know
when i make a pretty hard turn to the right, i get water hitting my right foot. whoever is in the passenger side gets their left foot wet, when i make a hard left turn.
too much condensation? i haven't thought much of it, especially since i don't seem to have any odor which sometimes comes with standing water/mold

This is a more serious problem.
This means your are getting water in the car from somewhere.
Probably one of the seals isn't done good in the factory.
My sister had this on her 2009 yaris.
At the dealer they explained that if the robot that applys the sealer runs out of sealer at the end of the run there might be 1 or 2 cm of sealer missing on the car.
In my sisters case this was between the wheel and the firewall, so everytime it rained my sisters car flooded.

[AznBRZer]

Originally Posted by Steve201brz

going to have to do this myself, thanks for the info.

on a side-note, might have to make a new thread since i couldn't find one but maybe someone here may know
when i make a pretty hard turn to the right, i get water hitting my right foot. whoever is in the passenger side gets their left foot wet, when i make a hard left turn.
too much condensation? i haven't thought much of it, especially since i don't seem to have any odor which sometimes comes with standing water/mold

WTF??? Get your car to the dealership and get that warrantied. That should NOT be happening.

[Yruyur]

Yeah thats not good.

Sent from a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X