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AC odor removal and cleaning

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The high heat kills the germs that make the smells. It will come back again.

Another note, this does happen with other cars. My experience with Toyotas were the same. Rule of thumb is if you use the AC, try to turn it off maybe 5-10 mins before your destination and let the air still run to dry out the humidity so it does not stink later.
Yeah, I've had this in other cars too.

The rule of thumb may be a bad idea in a Tesla now though. Since a recent software update the fans will automatically turn on to dry the evaporator about 15 minutes after parking the car if you have used the A/C. It'll probably not do that if the A/C was off when you parked ...
 
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This looks like it will reduce airflow significantly though. Would be better if it was a wire mesh.

I don't think HVAC is pumping nearly as much air as you think it does. I've been running it for the last 2 days, AC is just as cold as usual.

I will try manually setting AC to high tomorrow to see if it has any issue with higher volume of air.
 
I just brought my model 3 into Costa Mesa service center they wanted $220.00 to do the work!!!! What a joke. I turned around and left without getting it done. I am going to try and do it myself. I was using overheat protection with AC. :(.

I tried the warranty angle and they said that is not an option. They also told me that three others were in for the same reason today! You know it's a big issue when the only service pricing posted in the service center is for AC cleaning. I should have taken a pic!
 
Besides, in super hot weather the car turns the AC on to cool the battery no matter what user setting I have chosen. (I believe the owners manual talks to that) So no matter what I do to try and prevent AC smells, the thermal management algorithm is going to override and turn the AC on even while parked.

The car uses the forced air HVAC system to cool the battery? It's the same circuit?
 
The car uses the forced air HVAC system to cool the battery? It's the same circuit?
There's a separate section that can be disconnect or connected to the freon loop, which cools the battery coolant resevoir (freon <> battery coolant heat exchanger). It doesn't use cold air (freon <> air <> battery coolant). But it does use the AC system to cool the battery as needed.

This looks like it will reduce airflow significantly though. Would be better if it was a wire mesh.
If you look beneath where that aftermarket grill goes, you'll find that while the opening at the top is very wide, it almost immediately necks down to something like half the area or less. So it seems doubtful it will have a negative impact.
 
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I got two filters from my tesla service centre. $21 CAD each before tax.
 

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After a year of owning the Tesla Model 3, the car is starting to build the smell of mildew when the AC turns on. The smell goes away after a few minutes, and lucky for my fiancé, she can't smell it, but I can't get over dealing with the smell on a daily basis.

The Tesla service center deemed AC smell as something that is not covered under warranty, so it's up to us the car owners to figure this out.

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Cleaning the AC condenser is technically pretty easy. You just need to find the AC drain pipe, stick the included tube up to the condenser, and just inject the cleaner.

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Unfortunately, the Model 3's drain pipe is pretty hard to reach as it's smack in the middle of the car and hard to get to without lifting it. Also, the cabin filters are place right behind the condenser, so it's not a good idea to just blast all the cleaning foam from the drain pipe.

Lucky for us we can clean from a location we can see the condenser. Tesla released DIY documents on how to replace the air cabin filter, and using that guide, you can remove the cabin filters, and that gives you a clear sight of the condenser.

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Here is what the condenser looks like

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The is a ton of empty space on the opposite side of the condenser, so I couldn't just stick the tube in and spray away.

There is probably many ways to clean the evaporator. You can probably spray a bunch of mold and mildew cleaner on the condenser and call it a day. Though I already bought a foam cleaner, and so it's time to build something that can let the foam cleaner work its way into the condenser. If you are using a liquid mold and mildew cleaner, look for something that doesn't contain bleach or any chemicals that create harmful fumes.

The idea here is to contain the area where the foam would be delivered. I happen to have packing material for a portable hard drive, otherwise I would just cut up a plastic tupperware.

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The tube is fed to the middle of the cover, and the back is taped with velcro.

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I then found a piece of wood and taped velcro to the end.

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The cover happens to be about the same height of the cabin filter. So I just need to move around as I spray the foam cleaner.

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The whole contraption goes into the cabin filter box like this

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It was pretty easy to spray the cleaner from this point on. I barely had enough foam to cover the whole condenser. I suggest using the Nextzett Klima cleaner which has much more foam content.

After letting he cleaner work itself for 15 minutes, run the fan for a couple of minutes and we're all set to put everything back. Next day the AC smell is gone, and I'm a happy camper. Hope you find this useful!

Tesla firmware after Fall of last year will let the fan run for a few minutes after the AC turns off, leaving moisture out and inhibiting mildew growth. Hopefully we don't have to deal with the smell long after this fix.

Thanks for the great post. I tried your method and seems to have worked.
 
Last time I cleaned the AC I didn't get to replace the filter as they were out of stock. There was still a slight smell the next day and it gradually got worse. I've cleaned the AC one more time and replaced the filter a few days ago, and this time I can't smell anything so far. Looks like replacing the air filter plays a big role in removing the odor. (big surprise) I'm glad Tesla does not overcharge for the air filters.
 
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Agreed. I tried the ozone treatment but did not change the filters. It worked great for a few days but has since crept back somewhat indicating that there is some residual funk in the filters.
Next stop - replace filters and re ozone ftw.
 
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Last time I cleaned the AC I didn't get to replace the filter as they were out of stock. There was still a slight smell the next day and it gradually got worse. I've cleaned the AC one more time and replaced the filter a few days ago, and this time I can't smell anything so far. Looks like replacing the air filter plays a big role in removing the odor. (big surprise) I'm glad Tesla does not overcharge for the air filters.

Well, Tesla charges ~$40 for the filters? I can buy a cabin air filter for my wife's car for $10-15, so you could argue that Tesla is overcharging. :)

I had same experience as others - I cleaned the evaporator but didn't replace the filters because the service center was OOS. the smell came back. I tried the technique of running on "HI" for ~30 minutes yesterday, We'll see if that works. On one hand, the car didn't get very warm, so I'm curious if "HI" actually heats the filters/evaporator that much. But I was doing it while plugged into a free L2 charger, so it didnt' cost me anything to try.
 
I just did the Klima Cleaner and got the replacement filters from Tesla for ~$34+tax. So far so good...

Do be careful with the foam cleaner near the end though because I ended up blowing a lot of the foam away near the end of the can as it was only gas left with no foam. Also when I turned on the air vent after 20 minutes I saw some of the liquid leak through gaps at the bottom of the HVAC assembly.
 
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