i had the smell. i ran the heater for about 10-15 minutes and it went away.

about the 'recycle/fresh' button;
mine WILL NOT stay on 'recycle'. i will set it, but when it goes to 'fresh', i smell fumes from other cars. is there any way to keep it on 'recycle'???

 

its getting killer hot down here in socal... and more and more as i turn on the A/C it starts to smell like ass.. especially right when i turn it on...

I ALWAYS turn off the A/C before turning off the car (heard this can help in the long run). car was bought april 2000 and has 85000 miles. is this about the right time when symptoms occur? and how much you think i'm looking at as far as repair??

 

(whoa. just noticed that was my 666th post..... eh)

 

Have you ever had your cabin filters replaced or replaced them yourself? The dealer will charge around $135 to do it (where i live) but you can do it for about $16 and 15-20 minutes of your time, all you need is philips screwdriver and maybe a small knife. There are plenty of diys on this forum on replacing the cabin filter.

 

you might want to look into using frigiclean or frigifresh. i saw it on motorweek's weekly tv show and i heard it works really well. oh yea, and change your a/c filters too...

 

I work for Castle Products and we have stuff called Fresh Air. You spray it in your cowling (climate air intake area by the hood) and it cleans and disinfects your A/C system getting rid of that odor. A can is only 4 bucks and it works great.

 

hey Akim711, I have the same prob in my 01. It's really bad when starting up but then it will go away. I'll try some of that Fresh Air that Nitz is talking about and see what happens...

 

I did mine two weeks ago, bought the filters at Autozone for 14 bucks and it only took 20 mins. Made a big differance and you wouldn't believe how nasty the old ones looked.

 

For the cabin air filter, does anyone know the part # ?
Thanx

 

i changed my cabin air filter and it cleared up the smell. it was about $15 and 20 minutes of my time. air blows harder and smells fresh.

i also ran the heater for about 15 minutes to kill off any bacteria.

 

I believe the Purolator # is C15390 at Autozone.

 

wow thanks for the help guys.. does anyone have the post where instructions are to change it? or is it in the Autozone parts box? thanks again.

 

has nothing to do with the Micron Filters. Those that take "short" trips will have condensation build up which results in a mustly smell from your AC vents. Go to Kragen or your perferred auto shop and look where they have the AC/Freon (spelling) stuff and they should have some. Spray directly into vents. Turn system on recirulate mode and let your AC run for 12 min.
Should take care of it as I had the same issue with my 2004 RL with only 7000 miles and I do lots of "short tirps" which is the cause of this.....What happens when you put ice in a glass or room temp water ? Condensation build up on the outside of the glass. That is basically what is going on with your AC system.
Hope this helps ! Again Micron filters are good to replace, but has no bearing on this issue.....

 

Yes this is a pretty good point... although 80k miles/5 years with the car, its about a good time to change the filter, in addition to the stuff you're recommending.. i'll check them both out...

thanks for all your help guys.

 

Read up on the EED at airsept.com

 

Read about the EED at airsept.com

 

Read about the EED at airsept.com

 

EED at airsept.com

 

Most auto parts stores sell a product that you spray into the interior air intake (under the wiper arms) . Turn on the A/C with fan on high and spray the stuff, it will be drawn into the evaporator and will coat it. Then turn the system off. The chemical will soon kill the mold spores and the smell will go away. Do this NOT in the recirculation mode. Spraying this or anything else into the interior dash vents just results in wet vent tubes and a puddle UNDER the mold hidding in the evaporator. Yes your car will smell better, but it's only a temporary mask. The evaporator is just a small radiator looking thing, the mold is between the fins. I did this today, so far so good.