Hey All,

I'm at the dealer right now having the last dealer service (hopefully) performed on my car (95k service...oil change basically). I know I could do it elsewhere/myself, but I didn't want to risk problems with the extended warranty.

Anywho...they recently replaced my A/C system, and after they replaced the system the air that comes out of the HVAC system smells nasty. If I turn the HVAC on, after 5 seconds the smell goes away...but it shouldn't smell in the first place!

So, I mentioned this to the service advisor, and he told me that what I should probably start doing is manually switching the HVAC over to "vent" (or something like that) so that air from the outside can enter the system and dry out the A/C coil under the dash. It's not like I drive around 24/7 with the system set to "recirculate" or anything. I still insisted that they look into it (I suspect that the drain may have junk in it causing water to collect).

Anyway, is what the service advisor suggested a reasonable solution, or is he trying to just "brush me off"?

Just curious. Thanks!

 

One of the things I've done when this situation occurred on other cars is to pour a mix of hot water and Lysol down the ventilation vents at the base of the windshield. Also take a look at your cabin filter. Replace it if its holding any of crud.

 

he is brushing you off no doubt.
he basically said, "no, I'm not going to do anything about it, deal with it."
which is unacceptable.

their work is bad, the job they did is poor and unprofessional.
they need to make good on their mistakes.

first thing I would check would be the inner cabin air filter behind the glove box.
if that is new/clean, I'd force them to fix the problem they created.

 

They replaced the cabin air filter at 90k miles. I asked them to make sure the drain isn't clogged.

He also suggested to spray some disinfectant into the HVAC air return. I'll bite and give it a try.

He's not the normal service advisor I usually work with...so if the problem isn't resolved I'll leave "my" service advisor a voicemail about it. He knows all about my A/C troubles .

 

Maybe they didn't replace the filter and they told you they did? Only way you will know is if you pull it out and look at it. My friend's Jetta had the same issue and the smell went away once he change the filter. I would also look underneath and check to see if you may have a clogged drain.

 

1 can of Oust (not Lysol) sprayed into your ventilation intake outside while blower on high (not recirc) will get rid of your smell.