mani

Good Afternoon Folks,
I need my fellow Acurians' help in regards to this NEW issue im having with my TLX, in regards to a foul smell coming from the air conditioner when I start my car in the morning or in the afternoon after the car has been parked in the sun for about 10 hours. The smell is like a old wet piece of cloth, hard to describe but like a wet towel which you haven't had a chance to dry out in the sun as it had been raining all week... Now sometimes, this smell is as bad as PISS and when I say piss, I kid you not, you read that right. When I start my car and AC, the smell is strongest for the first 30 seconds and then slowly fades away.

Let me give u all a bit of history though. After I got my new car, the AC felt that it wasn't blowing cold air at the beginning of the summer. It would literally take a good 3 minutes to feel some cold air... Now, this was some time in May, so I dropped my car off to the dealer along with the gear jerkiness issue. My dealer gave me the car back saying that its normal for S. Florida summers and yes it takes a bit of time and you should roll down all the windows completely to accelerate the cooling process... As if living in South Florida hadn't taught me that in the last 15 years !
So now 3 days after I get my car, i started noticing this smell issue... I called the service advisor and alerted him on which he replied that yes we have heard similar stories from people with the same cars and in addition to BMW and BENZ owners as well Oh really ! any how, now in July just before independence day, I drop of my car cause I got really tired of the transmission issue and this smell along with noise coming from the front shocks ! It took them 35 days to figure out everything which was basically everything but fixing as I learnt that the only service done was the relearn process on the car and that was about it... I go to pick up the car at the dealer... turn it on and the same exact smell and pretty strong. I ask for a manager to test out the smell along with another lady... The surprising response from the service manager is.... I own the same exact car and YES i have the same issue, there is no fix available for this. Since I couldn't believe my ears, I repeated his words to which he nodded YES... and I was like ... ok i mean i should be contacting ACURA directly for selling me a $40k car that smells awful...
Before I reach out to Acura, I would like to know if anyone else on here is having the same issue.. I am in South Florida btw.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

<p>A/C causes condensation. if not drying up, can cause a wet moldy smell.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>try changing the in-cabin air filter. another thing you can do is.....during your last 5 mins of car ride, turn off A/C and have the air just blowing. this will help dry out the condensation</p>

mani

Holy Moly ! Your response is the exact what I got from that service manager LOL... Is this you ??? hahahah jk !
On a serious note though, This doesn't sound normal for a brand new car with just 4000 miles. I have never had this issue in any of the other Acura/ Honda's I have owned before. Possibly a bad AC duct design or something ? I still wanna see if anyone else in the same boat.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

<p></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>it's worth repeating. A/C causes condensation, no matter what the vehicle. condensation = water.</p><p>if this water doesnt dry up, it will cause a smell.</p><p>it happens in all makes and models, it happens in the 3G TL.<br />&nbsp;</p>

mani

So basically, I should make it a habit of turning off the air 5 mins before reaching my destination for the remainder of my lease ?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

<p>^<img alt="" src="https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/nod.gif" title="Nod" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>except not the air, just the A/C. I believe in the TLX you can still push the A/C button to turn it off, so that you have warm air flowing through the car.</p>

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

<p>it also doesnt help that you live in a high humidity area....Floriduh</p>

mani

lol true but whats pissing me off is that i have never had this problem in my previous cars which are the same family. I will post an update after I try this.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

<p>in the meantime, try leaving some fish charcoal in the car to soak&nbsp; up the smells.</p>

jim256

I probably hit the A/C off button about 2 minutes from home, try that before you try 5 since you are in a hot climate. I have done it on all my prior cars after having it once and seeing the solution on other car forums. I have not had the problem since, but it is just a result of high humidity, the shift to auto-climate and more frequent recirculation mode, the car sitting, and probably some leaf dust or other residue that has accumulated in the plenum, sometimes over a very short time, but enough to trap a little moisture. Dealers do have a foam product that fills the entire airway with a fungicide/cleaner but try our solution first.

9SpeedTran

I had the same problem show up this summer, it fluctuates with the heat and humidity level. Fall cannot come soon enough...

mdfree

I've found on my RDX that it helps a lot to turn off the recirculate button and not let the Auto button turn it on. Since doing this I haven't had the smelly problem

alexxn

I notice the same exact thing in my new TLX, AND I live in South Florida.

Worst part is this did NOT happen in my 2013 TL or my 2009, 2010, or 2011 TSX.

Good job Acura, another negative point for this TLX, and they keep growing -

mani

Im in Broward, was driving a loaner TLX with 4500 miles and it did not have the smell. I also had it for a good 10 days...

MiaQbn23

Mani,

I've also been noticing a foul smell in my car for past few weeks and I also live in South Florida. This past weekend I started noticing water inside both tail lights that are on the trunk lid. It seems that water has been leaking into the trunk and accumulating in the spare tire area. When I removed the foam in that area, it had about two inches of cloudy water. You might want to check that area and see if you might have any water creating the foul smell. My TLX is at the dealer now and they are looking into the problem.

mani

Are you serious !!!
Going to head down in a few to check this out !

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

WTF?
new cars arent supposed to leak.

Did you get that checked out at the dealership?

MiaQbn23

My car is at the dealer and they are checking it out.

9SpeedTran

I started turning off Recirc and that seems to clear it up.

mani

All posters that mentioned turning off recirculate, you do realise that the problem is still there ? Your just letting in fresh air to keep that smell out but whats causing that smell is still the problem.

mdfree

Not sure that I agree, if you stop the growth of the mold then you won't smell anything. And as others have mentioned if you turn off the compressor and run it for awhile that also helps dry out the moisture. Now having said all that, yes it would be nice to not have to any of this. My last three cars Passat, Golf, and RDX all have had this issue. My wife's 2003 Civic never has had an issue (although it sure doesn't cool as well) Maybe that's the problem, these newer systems get too cold and don't defrost/drain well enough?

BookemDanole

I live in South FL and have been experiencing the same problem. According to my wife, when I turn the A/C on, the air coming out smells like a gym locker room, and I agree. I had a 2006 TL before this car. Lived in the same area, and never had this smell. My current TLX V6 sat in an airport garage for 5 days, two weeks in a row, and the second I restarted the car, I got the same smell. Shouldn't the 5 days have dried up any moisture at that point? This is not normal and is VERY disappointing. I shutter every time I turn on the air.

Quandry

I don't think it is the moisture but the mold or fungus that has taken hold. It is possible that these got into the intake from the air while driving through some particular region, and explains why some have it and others do not.

Just follow the cleaning recommendations previously provided.

flybyglass

Used to see this issue on BMW as well. You can change the AC filter but also every so often spray lysol or ozium into the intake for the air conditioning. It will kill off mold that can form. If extreme they would have to wash out the air exchanger.