Smelly stinky socks / mold in Model 3 AC

[rotarypower101]

Question for people battling this issue repeatedly:

Is there any good way to check the HVAC for existing "hidden smell" when purchasing a vehicle?

What blower setting, mode and procedure might best give a indication a existing vehicle has that problem, even if they swapped new filters, or tried to clean it out with foam sprays to mask it?

Is the best indicator right as the HVAC is turned on and a blast of stagnant air is blown out?
Any good tricks to suss out a existing HVAC smell problem, so as not to get into one with a particularly bad preexisting issue?

 

[BeeGood]

Question for people battling this issue repeatedly:

Is there any good way to check the HVAC for existing "hidden smell" when purchasing a vehicle?

What blower setting, mode and procedure might best give a indication a existing vehicle has that problem, even if they swapped new filters, or tried to clean it out with foam sprays to mask it?

Is the best indicator right as the HVAC is turned on and a blast of stagnant air is blown out?
Any good tricks to suss out an existing HVAC smell problem, so as not to get into one with a particularly bad preexisting issue?

You’ll get different opinions on how exactly the smell comes about, but the one factor I think everyone agrees on is moisture. Regardless of how it’s getting in and what exactly stinks, that’s the one commonality.

If you’re looking for it, I think your best bet is checking in conditions where the system would have been wet for at least a couple of hours and not had an opportunity to dry (driving in the rain, then parking in a garage/shady spot, running the AC all day then parking overnight). And yes, you’re most likely to smell it by getting in the car and turning the AC on. No need to full blast it, if it’s there you’ll smell it under normal conditions.

Having said all of that, I don’t think I’d go out of my way checking for it in a potential purchase. If it’s bad, you’ll smell it by simply getting in and driving. Also, as far as I can tell, it has more to do with the conditions the car is operated in than an issue with any particular Tesla. If it seems fine during a test drive, I doubt there is some “latent funk” that is more likely to emerge in one car vs another. Just my $0.02.

 

[.Slug]

I've effectively prevented the condition from occurring in my Model 3 Performance by changing the cabin filters and on the new bottom one, 3D printing a small plastic clip that raises the bottom filter slightly off the filter housing (so it doesn't touch moisture draining) and the problem/smell has NEVER come back. If you don't have a 3D printer you can contact me and I can print you a filter clip etc. Shoot me a DM.

 

[terranx]

Do you have a link to the stl?

 

[beachsideev]

Printables

www.printables.com

 

[.Slug]

Printables

www.printables.com

That's it! I printed it in flexible resin. It is a little tight fit, but I think that is intended. You kind of have to fight it on, but once its on, no worries. If you don't use a flexibile material fighting it on will risk breakage.

 

[beachsideev]

Printing it in something like tpu is probably a good idea. Thanks!

 

[enemji]

I just sprayed Zero Odor down the frunk vent. Let’s see how long that lasts

 

[enemji]

I also put this on the intake vent to prevent intake of leaves etc. let’s see how that goes.

 

[Jejunjm]

Do the current model ys have this problem? I now have random bad smells after 10 minutes of driving. Makes me furious

 

[beachsideev]

Yes.

 

[Country Roads]

Do the current model ys have this problem? I now have random bad smells after 10 minutes of driving. Makes me furious

Bad smells after 10 minutes of driving seems like a different issue. I think most of us experienced it for only the first 30-ish seconds. Others can comment.

And I’ll just add my experience to the mix - had the musky odor in my new-to-me 2023 Model 3. Read this 23 page long thread and then changed out the filter and did the spray foam on the coils. Immediate improvement. I also changed the cabin overheat protection to air only (no AC). I now wonder if this is the most important thing to do - keeps the cooling system from running intermittently while parked which lets it thoroughly dry out which prevents or kills the mildew.

 

[enemji]

Has this problem been solved with highland? if so, how?

 

[rossini]

This thread is very informative but at the end of the day, we are all dealing will a ridiculously unacceptable issue that in my experience only occurs in a Tesla and these brilliant engineers do nothing to solve for the problem. FYI, they now REFUSE to use that spray on the evaporator coil and will ONLY replace the air filters which does absolutely nothing. $75 later, the smell returns in spades immediately. Yes, it's just for 3-45 seconds but it's repulsive and quite frankly, embarrassing with other people in the car that all grimace at the smell. Try taking the car to Carmax or any dealership to obtain a trade-in estimate. They immediately smell that FUNK and you lose thousands in equity. Private car sale, the same thing but worse because they smell it and say no thanks as they should. Total BS and the fact there is a 23-page thread on this says it all.

 

[Flybyglass]

This thread is very informative but at the end of the day, we are all dealing will a ridiculously unacceptable issue that in my experience only occurs in a Tesla and these brilliant engineers do nothing to solve for the problem. FYI, they now REFUSE to use that spray on the evaporator coil and will ONLY replace the air filters which does absolutely nothing. $75 later, the smell returns in spades immediately. Yes, it's just for 3-45 seconds but it's repulsive and quite frankly, embarrassing with other people in the car that all grimace at the smell. Try taking the car to Carmax or any dealership to obtain a trade-in estimate. They immediately smell that FUNK and you lose thousands in equity. Private car sale, the same thing but worse because they smell it and say no thanks as they should. Total BS and the fact there is a 23-page thread on this says it all.

All true. Just make it a routine to change filters every 6 months and I use 2 cans of KLIMA following the can procedure. I added the clip to Tesla files as mentioned in post #385. Also with each filter change check the intake all the way back to the metal screen for trapped debris.

 

[Jejunjm]

check the intake all the way back to the metal screen for trapped debris.

How?

 

[KenC]

It's the start of the 6th summer for my Model 3, and I've finally gotten the musty smell in the cabin. I changed the filters once, several years ago, to a set that looked identical to OEM. I didn't use any coil spray back then.

So, a week ago, I changed my filters again, with a set that also advertised they were HEPA, and had charcoal, Xtechnor. I was surprised at how many pine needles were caught in my old filters after 3 yrs since my last change:

After vacuuming as best as I could with one of those Dyson handheld w/attachment, I used a can of Klima, then installed the Xtechnors. Easy. A bit disappointing when you hold it up to the light:

You hope the charcoal fills the cylinders like the image they advertise. Maybe, if the filter laid flat, the charcoal would have a nice even layer, but our filters are up on their sides, so the charcoal falls to the bottom of each cylinder. Anyhow, they seem to work well, and the Klima did its job. The ventilation smells fine.

I did have an intake filter but I felt it restricted the airflow a bit, so I removed it. I may put it back on to prevent the pine needles and other debris from getting all the way down to the carbon filters again.

As for the plastic clip, has anyone tested the idea by driving around with AC, then stopping and pulling their filters to see if they have moisture collecting? Seems like an obvious way to test the notion of whether that's the reason for the mildew smell.

 

[Flybyglass]

How?

Lift off the back frunk cover that has the intake slots (it has 12 white attach buttons) then look down the intake with a flashlight and check for debris.

 

[stopcrazypp]

It's the start of the 6th summer for my Model 3, and I've finally gotten the musty smell in the cabin. I changed the filters once, several years ago, to a set that looked identical to OEM. I didn't use any coil spray back then.

So, a week ago, I changed my filters again, with a set that also advertised they were HEPA, and had charcoal, Xtechnor. I was surprised at how many pine needles were caught in my old filters after 3 yrs since my last change:

View attachment 1054973

After vacuuming as best as I could with one of those Dyson handheld w/attachment, I used a can of Klima, then installed the Xtechnors. Easy. A bit disappointing when you hold it up to the light:

View attachment 1054975
You hope the charcoal fills the cylinders like the image they advertise. Maybe, if the filter laid flat, the charcoal would have a nice even layer, but our filters are up on their sides, so the charcoal falls to the bottom of each cylinder. Anyhow, they seem to work well, and the Klima did its job. The ventilation smells fine.

I did have an intake filter but I felt it restricted the airflow a bit, so I removed it. I may put it back on to prevent the pine needles and other debris from getting all the way down to the carbon filters again.

As for the plastic clip, has anyone tested the idea by driving around with AC, then stopping and pulling their filters to see if they have moisture collecting? Seems like an obvious way to test the notion of whether that's the reason for the mildew smell.

The original video that suggested it already did that test and it did reduce the wetness of the filter. However the smell people have may not necessarily be coming from the filter, so that doesn't necessarily fix the problem.

 

[rossini]

The original video that suggested it already did that test and it did reduce the wetness of the filter. However the smell people have may not necessarily be coming from the filter, so that doesn't necessarily fix the problem.

This. The only thing that fixed mine was when the evaporator coils were cleaned with the spray. I'm pretty certain that mildew builds up on the coils and the smell returns pretty quickly. That's why it's so mind-blowing to me that Tesla now refuses to clean the coils when replacing the filters.