CONTEEZ

Has any of you had any problems with your air conditioning stinking like s**t? I've tried the seemingly temporary way of handling my problem by spraying Lysol into the "climate control intake" vents near the bottom of my windshield, but it does NOT seem to work (except for a short time period). Does anyone know a permanant fix or at least a long-term remedy? Please help!!! THANKS,

Mike

962.5tl

go to costco and get alot of those little smelly trees ( buy in bulk and save

CONTEEZ

Pretty funny, but... the smell is so bad I don't even think those cheap things could mask the smell. Ha :thefinger (just kidding...)

TLover8888

before you shut your car off, turn off the A/C but leave the vent on for about 30 seconds, or until you feel the air is not too cold anymore. this allows all of the cold air to exit your vents and thereby, not allowing condensation and mildew to form in your vents. this will lower the stink you smell. it works for me.

TommyTL

Hmmmm ...maybe the smell is coming from your upper lip? *shrug*

CONTEEZ

Thanks TLover8888. Yeah, I have started doing that recently. Seems to help a little. I think that there is a lot of mildew or bacteria that has built up in my air vent system that will probably never fully come out. Better get used to it, hugh?


Oh yeah.... Tommy TL is a real comedian. What is he, Canadian or something?

Sask32TL

I smoke in my TL, and the only thing that works for me is "Wynn's Fresh Air".

Turn the air conditioning on, spray some into the air intake (next to the windshield wipers). Run the system on full for a few minutes, then repeat the process with the heater on full.

Restores the new car smell (for a couple of weeks).

When you smoke in your car, a thin layer of tar builds up in your air system, and does a pretty good job of trapping moisture and mold.

I guess I should STOP SMOKING IN MY CAR..

Sask32TL

We resemble that remark.

CONTEEZ

Thanks Sask32TL,

No disrespect to ya, man. Just a smart a** response to TommyTL. Sure you understand. Thanks for the helpful info.
--Conteez

TLBaller

yeah, just turn your air on to heat...it melts the mildew and kills it...making your car smell so fresh and so clean

fla-tls

I have an '02, but it's probably the same.

I fixed the smell problem by taking out my micron filters and spraying Lysol in the vent intake with the fan on high - no A/C. I then sprayed the filters themselves and put them back in.

If you spray the Lysol in the intake without removing the micron filters, little - if any - Lysol will actually hit the evaporator (where the gunk lives). I actually found that mildew was growing where the Micron filter touched the evaporator itself.

I'm in Florida, so this problem can occur quickly. I did that treatment a few months ago, and haven't had a problem/stink since

TommyTL

Hey now ..don't go attacking my country. It was just a joke ..lighten up

FLL Type-S

Try looking at these sites. They give you the procedures to clean out the evaporator with disinfectant to clean away the mold.

http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/020424/11/lz3p.html
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/020424.htm

TL12

I have a 97 TL with the same mildew smell. I'm not sure if the setup on a 97 is the same as yours, but tell me how you access the micron filters? .............. Thanks!

fla-tls

On the 2002, you have to remove the glove box. Once you do that, there is a snap on vertical strip which is the access for the filters.

Removing the glove box is pretty easy.

1. Remove the shock-looking thing on the right side of the G.B.
2. Remove the two top rollers (which also limit travel on the opening of the glove box).
3. Remove the two bottom screws on the box
4. Remove the box itself
5. Cut out the plastic section with a scissors (or something else)
6. Pop off the cover and take out the filters

After this, I popped the cover back on to do my Lysol treatment (spray into vent intake, fan on high, temp on 60, A/C off). While the filters were out, I sprayed Lysol on them as well.

Then... I reassembled everything.

esCarbonie

can someone with a first gen confirm these above directions, or post different ones? Id like to be able to get at these filters and my helms manual isnt here yet.

[707th]suPerfLy

it sounds pretty easy...just start follwing those directions and youll be able to tell if it matches...or maybe ill just do it and post. My S#%T stinks... oh yeah....hi all. Its my first post. But Ive been reading for a while now.

esCarbonie

welcome bro :toothless :toothless

TL12

I asked the Acura service department about the mildew smell and they said it costs a lot a money to fix that properly because the whole dash has to be taken out to remove the evaporator core that has the mildew on it. The core has to be removed and soaked in some solution to kill the mildew.

AyneksTL

Alright now I am having problems with the stinking air coming through. The ac does not have to be on but I smell a faint mildew smell. What is a simple and I do stress simple solution? Minus the air freshners because I think I have the best one out there and it still does not work.

fla-tls

It's my belief that our Micron air filters make "simple" solutions ineffective. You may want to try the above method.

YNOTxTONY

Hey guys,
You have to get the mildew and bacteria out of there, it can be deadly. The mildew/bacteria can cause severe health problems, infection, and even death. My sister had sinus infections for 3 years until they found mildew/bacteria in here car's AC.

Once a year I use a long tube, and a reuseable/refillable spray paint can filled with lysol and then rubbing alcohol.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=1102

Good luck and health,
Tony

fla-tls

When I went to the dealership for service yesterday (warped front rotors), they gave me their version of the maintenance schedule.

Every 15,000 miles they have scheduled a disinfectant treatment which sounds very much like the Lysol treatment I described in this thread.

I'm going on 3 months, and have had no sign of returning mildew smell. I live in central Florida - and we've been getting A LOT of rain in the last month or so. Not bad!