There is a funky smell coming from my AC unit when i first turn it on. After about 20 seconds, it goes away though. i don't know if it's b/c i haven't used the AC in about a year or need to replace the cabin air filter.

any thoughts? my guess is the air filter, but wanted to see if anyone else had this problem and it went away in a day or 2.

thanks in advance

 

Do a search for smells coming from the vents. Also, this member had a similar recent problem (rbf351). PM him and ask him what if anything could be found. Do that search though.

 

Very simple to avoid this.

Several miles, or about 5 minutes, before arriving to your destination after having driven a bit with the A/C on, turn it off and make sure the fan speed is set to its highest setting to blow through the dash vents. This will help to dry out the evaporator which is the source of the odors you're experiencing.

Also, keep the use of the recirculate option to the minimum to avoid humidity build up and increased condensation in the evaporator housing.

 

Excellent advice from SouthernBoy as a preventative measure. However, since you now have the odor, there are a couple of things you could do: Spray some disinfectant into the fresh air intake with the blower motor running (there are some commercial products for this but the names escape me{try search}), and replace the cabin filter (not an easy job, but well worth it).

 

I have the same issue,
Cabin filter replacement has no effect nor does spraying a disinfecting product into the intake etc.. The only way to prevent the smell is to not turn on the AC or heater..... Though true,,, I'm just kidding.

This issue would normally require getting to the source (evap coil) and cleaning/"removing the musty/molding fungus etc..
- I have however yet to explore other possible remedies... From other experiences, the dealership may actually have a cleaner and desiccant "kit"/process that they perform when confronted with this complaint. Though it will cost you if not covered via warranty - and most dealerships wont consider this as warranty..

Others chime in that have got this remedied.

 

Here's something of interest.

http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/goss/2433.shtml

Yes, regular replacement of the cabin filter is definitely a good thing (and yes, it is a pain in the butt). I replace the one in both of my TLs ('04 and '05) once a year in the spring, which amounts to around every 15,000 miles.

 

that article reads like an ad for frigi-fresh.

has anyone cleaned off the dirt and mildew from the evaporator? or more importantly, where the heck is it on our car?

 

Whether it is or isn't an ad is not important. What is important to the poster is;

1) Hearing how this may have started and progressed, and

2) What he might do to arrest the problem.


The evaporator looks like it is to the left of and perhaps a little above the blower unit housing in my Service Manual, but since it is a drawing and not done all that well, it's somewhat hard to discern.

 

1Z has a product for that problem .. it cures it ,,

1Z stuff

 

i unleashed a can of Axe into the vents... that worked real well.... for about 45 minutes

 

I can change my 04 cabin filter in under 2 minutes..... But then again I have mine "mod'd" etc..

Your posted article is exactly correct. The only way to eliminate the odor is to clean the source. I'm trying to find myself a can or two of the Frigi-clean or something equivalent etc.. I've often thought one could inject something like that up through the evaporator drain tube found under the front passenger area - thus directly into the evaporator box/"problem area". If I could find the exact location of the box I would even attempt an access port to perform this "scrub" annually....

Most of the time mine isn't tooooo bad, but other times it smells down right unhealthy - as the article states...

Sounds like a good future fix/thread for the "garage"..

 

I've never had this problem in any car I've ever owned with A/C. However, my wife did have this odor in her 1991 Honda Accord. Then I convinced her to do as I do with the "drive-and-dry" thing. Now she does this in her '05 TL and everything is cool (no pun intended).

Some cars seem to be more prone to this than others and I believe Honda in high on the list. The A/C coming out of my '04 vents is still cold as hell (wait a minute.. hell's not cold) and smells pretty much like new.

 

Do what southernboy is saying .... turn AC off and blow fan high before you arrive your destination ... best way to eliminate the odor ......

 

FYI: my vents are now odor free. I'm still going to look into the products that were noted in this post.

btw, i didn't clean or "air out" the vents...just went away on its own. hopefully, it'll stay odorfree the entire summer.

 

Humidity has a large effect on this for sure.. Here in TX, performing your technique would just suck in more moist air etc.. Not saying it wouldn't work - I will give it a try if I get the odor to completely go away...

 

I would have thought Texas would be less humid than Virginia. Go figure.

I usually gauge my time/distance for the drying out process based upon how long I have been running the A/C, how hot and humid it is outside, and how long I think I need to do this (I just use my hands around the dash vents to get a feel for things). I must have been pretty close over the years since I have never had this problem in any of my cars. But I certainly know people who have had this odor and I offer suggestions, but I know they don't try them.

I'm willing to put up with a few minutes of warming up if it means I won't have this problem.

 

I turn the AC off a few miles before I reach the destination and turn the fan on AND using internal circulation since it's pretty cool inside the car after using the AC for a while.

Just my way to keep the musty smell off my car

 

I have used this stuff in the past and it does work.

Theres also a product called AirSept (something like that) which is a preventive measure item. It coats the components which are prone to attracting bacteria and like which causes that odor.