A/C vent smell

[shinbumee]

Hello audizine members, i have been experiencing a really bad smell whenever i turn on the a/c.
does anyone have same problems? If so, what would be the best way to eliminate that smell..?
I changed the cabin filter only like 2 months ago. I bought the one with charcoal thingy on it. At first, it smelled great. no odors, really clean smell.
After about a month and half, i started to smell really bad smell...
i tried buying many car air freshners, keeping the ac on with air circulation internally, but whenever the ac is on... oh my.. smell is killing me.

I will try to change the filter again to regular one.. but if anyone knows any alternative way to wipe off this smell.. help me.

[fEArmE]

you're not alone.. i was about to go to the dealer and let them check it out.. mine smells like there's a rotten rat in there .... and it only happens when i start the A/C.. yuck!!

[sukhoidad]

It helps to turn off your a/c a couple of minutes before reaching your destination to help get some of the moisture out of the venting system. i have the same problem and have had decent luck with the product below:

1Z Einszett Klima-Cleaner Air Conditioner Treatment

You put the tube in the middle vent and spray. The foam is supposed to clean the evaporator surface of nasty stuff.

Like I said, it seemed to help for a while. But it definitely will be a once a year thing.

Mine smells more like melting crayons. Maybe I should check that too

[redkid's b6]

if it smells its time to switch out your cabin filter

[Bslice]

At the dealer we use a product called Frigi-Fresh, I use it on my cars and it helps alot.
http://www.bgprod.com/products/climatecontrol.html

[A4QSoSick]

Replacing the cabin filter will do the job.

[shinbumee]

Replacing the cabin filter will do the job.

I know, but it's been only 2 months since i got the new filter...

[shinbumee]

i think autozone or advanced auto parts, etc they should have some kind of cleaning stuffs.. i will try those tomorrow and see what happens..
also the funny thing is that the cabin filter will not come off!!!
I was trying to check if it's dirty or all used but it's like glued there.. i may have to rip that shit off

[golfvdude]

You're not alone. It only happens when I start the a/c for the first couple of minutes. It's fine afterwards. Time to get that foam cleaning whatchamacallit.

[wayneB7]

Hello audizine members, i have been experiencing a really bad smell whenever i turn on the a/c.
does anyone have same problems? If so, what would be the best way to eliminate that smell..?
I changed the cabin filter only like 2 months ago. I bought the one with charcoal thingy on it. At first, it smelled great. no odors, really clean smell.
After about a month and half, i started to smell really bad smell...

Before you can get rid of the smell, you have to understand what the root cause is -- bacteria and fungus in the ducting of the HVAC system of any automobile, especially where that ducting system is not designed to drain away pooled condensed water. Here is an article -- there are tons more on the Internet.

Changing the filter is only a symptomatic treatment of the problem, not a solution.

You need to kill / remove the bacteria and fungus from the system. Also constant use of the A/C system helps as it tends to try out these pools of condensed water. Bactericides and fungicides sprayed generously into the fresh air intake of the ducting while the fan is running at high speed will distribute these agents into the system and help kill them off.

[wootwoot]

Will the dealer take care of this under warranty or should I buy one of these products?

[wayneB7]

Will the dealer take care of this under warranty or should I buy one of these products?

Buy one of the products. This is not a warrantable item.

However, since the dealerships I have come across usually have cans of the stuff, they may give you a complimentary treatment, especially if you (a) have a good relationship with them or (b) if the car is in for other work.

Since it is likely a recurring problem, the best thing would be to get the stuff yourself. Maybe even ask the SA what product they use and get some.

[daveman]

Reminds me of one-time a colleague of mine projectile-vomited straight forward while in the passenger seat of a hire car I had. I spent two hours cleaning it up in the morning, only to have chunks in the a/c vents that I couldn't remove. Getting in the car that next evening after it had been baking in the Texas heat was less than pleasant. The a/c was spewing out the smell of chunder.

Luckily it was a corporate hire car I just sent it back.

[wayneB7]

Awwww gross!!!!

That is a whole 'nother level of stink ...

[praudi]

heres the advice my dealership gave me run the ac in the hottest setting for like 10 minutes to kill off the bacteria in there it did it it works

[chaze]

heres the advice my dealership gave me run the ac in the hottest setting for like 10 minutes to kill off the bacteria in there it did it it works

The heater temp is hot enough to kill bacteria? Doesn't sound right, your dealer might have blown some smoke.

[fEArmE]

heres the advice my dealership gave me run the ac in the hottest setting for like 10 minutes to kill off the bacteria in there it did it it works

I'm gonna have to try that tomorrow. Thanks.

[wayneB7]

heres the advice my dealership gave me run the ac in the hottest setting for like 10 minutes to kill off the bacteria in there it did it it works

I have heard that too.

In my case (on a different car) I had set the heat up on high, fan on high and sprayed the bactericide in the cowl intake vents (base of the windshield) and that cured the problem .... for a while.

As I said, constant use of the AC will tend to work towards keeping the smell at bay. If you stop for a day or so, the smell will tend to come back.

[ItsThat2.0T]

heres the advice my dealership gave me run the ac in the hottest setting for like 10 minutes to kill off the bacteria in there it did it it works

that sounds like a bunch of hooha

[Sly Raskal]

I just started getting this odor in my car and I only have 7500 miles on my car. :(

Time to replace the filter and give the system a treatment.

[JRMSLINEA4]

I find that running the heater on the "Hi" fan speed setting with the temp set to "HI" for a few mins. helps get rid of the smell.

[Sly Raskal]

I find that running the heater on the "Hi" fan speed setting with the temp set to "HI" for a few mins. helps get rid of the smell.

That certainly does help kill the bacteria/mold/fungus in the vents (I use that method too), but it does nothing when it comes to killing off the build-up in the evaporator.

[Hyphy]

my cabin smells like funk, no lie.

[Sly Raskal]

my cabin smells like funk, no lie.

Stop pressing the "funk" button.

[wootwoot]

Is there something I can pick up locally so that I can do this later today?

[bishop13]

I have this same 'funk'. I was at the dealership a couple of weeks ago getting some unrelated stuff done and they do offer an A/C service that supposedly kills off the bacteria and mildew in the system for like $130-150. I didn't get it done and I forgot to ask if there was some sort of warranty if the smell comes back before a reasonable amount of time. The only advice I got was to spray Lysol into the inlet. No thanks.

[fEArmE]

I'm gonna have to try that tomorrow. Thanks.

Did the trick.... it didnt work but i was boiling the hell in the car lol

[ibiski]

I recommend this:
http://www.autogeek.net/wuachesytr.html
used this on my previous cars and it eliminated the musty smell + it's made in Germany!

[wayneB7]

I have this same 'funk'. I was at the dealership a couple of weeks ago getting some unrelated stuff done and they do offer an A/C service that supposedly kills off the bacteria and mildew in the system for like $130-150. I didn't get it done and I forgot to ask if there was some sort of warranty if the smell comes back before a reasonable amount of time. The only advice I got was to spray Lysol into the inlet. No thanks.

Lysol works. I used it before and it was just as effective as any of the "fancy" (read expensive) products.

[BerinG]

How do you turn off the A/C anyway? All I got is the fan control, and the temperature control.. there's no A/C on/off button.. I tried running the heat on HI and fan on HI and still kinda smelled.. and it was a "hot" smell too..

I seem to get the smell when the a/c turns off.. if i press ECON button for example, sorta feel the cool air stops and then it starts to smell.. turn ECON off and the smell stops

I mean its in the vents but anyway..

[Latin Audi]

Do some not have an OFF button? I sure do

[BerinG]

Do some not have an OFF button? I sure do

What I mean is you can't have just the fan ON (at your prefered speed) with the A/C OFF

[Sly Raskal]

How do you turn off the A/C anyway? All I got is the fan control, and the temperature control.. there's no A/C on/off button.. I tried running the heat on HI and fan on HI and still kinda smelled.. and it was a "hot" smell too..

I seem to get the smell when the a/c turns off.. if i press ECON button for example, sorta feel the cool air stops and then it starts to smell.. turn ECON off and the smell stops

I mean its in the vents but anyway..

What I mean is you can't have just the fan ON (at your prefered speed) with the A/C OFF

That is what the ECON button is. ECONOMY mode is fan only, no AC.


RTFM.

[BerinG]

That is what the ECON button is. ECONOMY mode is fan only, no AC.


RTFM.

I thought the ECON was basically a function that turns your A/C OFF only if its not needed (saves on "load"/gas) and turns it back ON when it gets hotter. If so, its not an actual ON/OFF switch.

[Sly Raskal]

I thought the ECON was basically a function that turns your A/C OFF only if its not needed (saves on "load"/gas) and turns it back ON when it gets hotter. If so, its not an actual ON/OFF switch.

ECON mode is AC Off, always. AUTO mode controls your AC to be on and off as needed to keep the temperature in the cabin at the temperature you've set on the controls. There are no optimizations if your car as far as I know for when the car is under load or heavy acceleration or anything of that nature that will turn your AC off and turn it back on. ECON mode is certainly not that.

[BerinG]

ECON mode is AC Off, always. AUTO mode controls your AC to be on and off as needed to keep the temperature in the cabin at the temperature you've set on the controls. There are no optimizations if your car as far as I know for when the car is under load or heavy acceleration or anything of that nature that will turn your AC off and turn it back on. ECON mode is certainly not that.

I see.. well thanks for the info.. I had looked in the manual but I only got a french manual so I must've misunderstood their meaning. I thought AUTO was only to keep the temperature consistent (and control fan speed) and not actually AC on/off.

Heard that other US cars actually had an AC on/off so I figured ECON wasn't the same (inverted)

[bishop13]

Lysol works. I used it before and it was just as effective as any of the "fancy" (read expensive) products.

Interesting. I thought my SA was just shining me on. Did you just shoot it into where the cabin filter is?

[paulk11087]

i had the dealership use their "cleaning" tools for my car about a month ago for the AC having a musty smell when i first turn it on. they covered it under warranty and apparently there is a TSB out there for this. I've only had the car for 6 months at the time so they covered it under warranty but now i have to take it back to the dealership because the AC doesn't get as cold as it used to... sucks.

[wayneB7]

Interesting. I thought my SA was just shining me on. Did you just shoot it into where the cabin filter is?

Here is what I did on other cars I had. Never had to do it on the Audi yet.

1. Turn the car on,
2. turn the fan on max,
3. turn the heat on max, let it run for a while till it started to really pump out the hot air (leave the windows open and stay outside the car)
4. Then spray the Lysol in the intake vents at the base of the windshield. Maybe 1/4 can (?) -- guesstimate.
5. Spray liberally so that the Lysol gets good into the whole system and comes out of the vents in the car (covering leather seats might be a good idea)
6. Turn off fan and car.
7. Let sit for a while (overnight?)
8. Drive with the A/C most / all of the time.

That should cure it for a season.

BTW -- never caused the A/C on the other cars to fail either. Since these Audis seem to throw a CEL if you fart next to them, who knows what will happen with the A4.

Probably nothing.