AC odor removal and cleaning

[Fudd]

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.

I just did the same thing (on the same day!) however I used both Kilma Cleaner and then a second round immediately afterwards with Kool-It. I waited an hour blew the AC for 10 minutes between applications. BTW: when Tesla sent me the price proposal for the Ranger to do it, the invoice stated a can of "Kool-It"... I figured if they use it, I'll try it, too.

Finally, yes, I experienced the same thing blowing air out as the can emptied... I was more careful with the Kool-it. May have left an ounce of the stuff at the bottom as a precaution...

 

[RandomJohnny]

Service center tried to take care of my ac smell. Mine only smells after driving for a bit, park say 15-20 mins, then get back in car. Lasts for about a minute or 2 then goes away. Vinegar smell. I was there for other stuff but figured I would have them take care of the smell.

They were out of filters but told me that really all was needed was to clean the evaporator with kool it.

Didn't work and now it smells worse in the same scenarios. Smells like vomit for a couple minutes. I preferred the vinegar smell.

My service center is like 2 hours away and based how they handled everything else yesterday (basically, didn't fix a damn thing I had on my list and initially told me that the bubbles on my dash were due to sun exposure so not covered under warranty (no joke and main reason I went)) I'm pretty disappointed on the overall experience.

Not sure if it is worth contacting them again to have a ranger come out as I'm sure they will probably charge me. I guess I'm just going to do it myself. Ordered two cans of kilma and gonna have to figure out a way to get new filters.

Anyone else have the same experience with SC? Only use kool it and not change filters and it fixed the issue?

 

[talkingevs]

Service center tried to take care of my ac smell. Mine only smells after driving for a bit, park say 15-20 mins, then get back in car. Lasts for about a minute or 2 then goes away. Vinegar smell. I was there for other stuff but figured I would have them take care of the smell.

They were out of filters but told me that really all was needed was to clean the evaporator with kool it.

Didn't work and now it smells worse in the same scenarios. Smells like vomit for a couple minutes. I preferred the vinegar smell.

My service center is like 2 hours away and based how they handled everything else yesterday (basically, didn't fix a damn thing I had on my list and initially told me that the bubbles on my dash were due to sun exposure so not covered under warranty (no joke and main reason I went)) I'm pretty disappointed on the overall experience.

Not sure if it is worth contacting them again to have a ranger come out as I'm sure they will probably charge me. I guess I'm just going to do it myself. Ordered two cans of kilma and gonna have to figure out a way to get new filters.

Anyone else have the same experience with SC? Only use kool it and not change filters and it fixed the issue?

FYI mine had those bubbles when I picked the car up from the dealer day 1. They are not caused by sun exposure but poor quality control in building the dash piece. They replaced mine under warranty no questions asked and seemed to know of the issue.

 

[Az_Rael]

Gah! I just learned I can't buy a ozone generator (at least one big enough to do the job) in California due to CARB rules. All the various models on Amazon show as unable to ship to my location.

Sigh. Well, that will certainly complicate this project. I can neither confirm nor deny if I will attempt to obtain one via other means.

 

[Eno Deb]

Gah! I just learned I can't buy a ozone generator (at least one big enough to do the job) in California due to CARB rules. All the various models on Amazon show as unable to ship to my location.

Sigh. Well, that will certainly complicate this project. I can neither confirm nor deny if I will attempt to obtain one via other means.

You can, just not from Amazon. I think I bought mine through walmart.com sometime last year.

 

[Az_Rael]

You can, just not from Amazon. I think I bought mine through walmart.com sometime last year.

Awesome, thanks! They did let me place an order, hopefully it will ship.

 

[Jedi2155]

I'd be careful of using Ozone generators to be honest.

Ozone Generator: What Manufacturers Don't Tell You | Molekule Blog

 

[Eno Deb]

I'd be careful of using Ozone generators to be honest.

Absolutely. They should only be used in unoccupied areas. Never use them as air purifier where people or pets are present. But they are effective against persistent smells stuck in wood, carpets, textile materials etc. in my experience (although I don't know if they also help with the Tesla A/C smell).

 

[Az_Rael]

I'd be careful of using Ozone generators to be honest.

Ozone Generator: What Manufacturers Don't Tell You | Molekule Blog

Yes, the one I bought will permanently damage your lungs if it was used in a space with people. Just like using any chemical, appropriate cautions need to be taken. I just hope it works.

I finally got a hold of a human at my service center and they have the OEM filters in stock. I ordered 2 sets and they are supposed to call me back once they are delivered to the SA so that I can pay and pick them up this weekend. They really need those available to order on the website. I shouldnt have to take up their time with easy stuff like ordering cabin filters.

 

[SigNC]

How did you manage that? From what I can tell getting in touch with the service center is virtually impossible without showing up.

 

[Common_Loon]

I initially thought this was a dumb product, but I ended up buying the AC intake filter just so random leaves and crap can't fall in the long deep tunnel with no way for me to grab it easily. I wonder how many of the bad smells is from stuff falling in and rotting. Anyway, for $20 it was not a big ticket item to try.



View attachment 438592

Link?

 

[dave999z]

I have not read this whole thread so don't know if this will add anything, but I had this problem really bad in my VW GTI. The dealership would run this cleaning process, circulating that stuff throughout the vents, etc. But they must not have actually changed the cabin filter. Turns out that is ALL that it took. Bought a $9 cabin filter on Amazon and changed it myself with no tools in like 5 minutes. Smell completely gone. Smell started to come back the next summer, changed cabin filter again, gone. Not sure if that'll help on the M3. But it was pretty annoying the dealership would go to such great lengths and not solve the problem, when it was just the cabin filter.

 

[Az_Rael]

How did you manage that? From what I can tell getting in touch with the service center is virtually impossible without showing up.

I know, right? I should buy a lotto ticket. Previously I would call and just get a full answering machine. Once I got an answering machine that I could leave a message on, but no one ever called back.

I did get the impression that they had never actually ordered my parts over a month ago since she said the order was still in the system (they were supposed to call me when the parts were in). I just lucked out this time and they had them in stock.

 

[evannole]

For those unable to get the filters from their service center: Schedule a service through the app, as my service center suggested when I dropped in. They told me to describe the problem and that Mobile Service, which had the filters available, would contact me. They did so by text and offered to come service the car, but I told them that I would do it myself if they'd just leave the filters at the service center for me to purchase and pick up myself. This worked like a charm. I cleaned the coil and changed the filters two weeks ago and have not smelled a hint of foul odor since.

 

[SigNC]

For those unable to get the filters from their service center: Schedule a service through the app, as my service center suggested when I dropped in. They told me to describe the problem and that Mobile Service, which had the filters available, would contact me. They did so by text and offered to come service the car, but I told them that I would do it myself if they'd just leave the filters at the service center for me to purchase and pick up myself. This worked like a charm. I cleaned the coil and changed the filters two weeks ago and have not smelled a hint of foul odor since.

What cleaner did you use? Just curious. 1 can or 2?

 

[evannole]

What cleaner did you use? Just curious. 1 can or 2?

One can of Klima. Sprayed it mostly on the evaporator (on the left in the slot from which you remove the filters), but a bit to the right as well. I wore gloves, goggles and a paper mask - probably overly cautious but not a burden and the can did have an awful lot of fine print.

 

[SureValla]

My experience to date:
- Smell developed in early June, went in to the SC for the fix, was told no parts, mobile would reschedule.
- Mobile kept putting me off and smell got worse so I called SC and got another SC appointment
- I called the day of the appointment to verify they had parts, they did even though mobile did not
- SC did the spray and installed new filters. Spray was under warranty, I paid for the filters but not the labor to install the filters as the spray process involves removing the filters anyway. I convinced them it would be easy for them to just put in new ones. This cost me $36 total with tax. Smelled like a new car as I drove away
- 3 weeks later it smelled again
- Found the process online to run the ac with defrost on for 30 minutes on HIGH temp and max fan (1 door and all windows down). Smell has not returned but its only been 24 hrs

I do not use cabin overheat protection
I only use auto ac set 100% of the time to 68 deg meaning I let it decide to recirculate or not
I have 23000 miles on my car, VIN 7XXX, delivery april 2018
I did not have this issue in the summer of 2018

 

[PoitNarf]

My experience to date:
- Smell developed in early June, went in to the SC for the fix, was told no parts, mobile would reschedule.

I do not use cabin overheat protection
I only use auto ac set 100% of the time to 68 deg meaning I let it decide to recirculate or not
I have 23000 miles on my car, VIN 7XXX, delivery april 2018
I did not have this issue in the summer of 2018

This has been exactly my experience as well, also VIN in the 7XXX range. I took delivery late March 2018. I did not notice any smell at all last summer either. It's very interesting that neither of us noticed any smell until around June of this year.

 

[Dag]

My journey through this issue:
- Smell developed in June 2018, went in to the SC for a fix, was told they could not replicate the smell but they used the evaporator cleaner anyways under warranty.
- Smell returned May of this year. Bought a pair of filters from the SC and a can of Klima-Cleaner online to clean/replace. I also started to run the fan only on high 10-15mins before the end of my drives. Smell returned after 2-3 weeks.
- In July I tried the process to run the AC with defrost on for 30 minutes on HIGH temp and max fan. Smell returned after a few days.
- Considering the Lysol process (spray Lysol directly into the air intake in the frunk) but I don't think that will help.

Cabin overheat protection is set to only fan
I use AC in auto on most of my drives

 

[model3fan]

Service center tried to take care of my ac smell. Mine only smells after driving for a bit, park say 15-20 mins, then get back in car. Lasts for about a minute or 2 then goes away. Vinegar smell. I was there for other stuff but figured I would have them take care of the smell.

They were out of filters but told me that really all was needed was to clean the evaporator with kool it.

Didn't work and now it smells worse in the same scenarios. Smells like vomit for a couple minutes. I preferred the vinegar smell.

My service center is like 2 hours away and based how they handled everything else yesterday (basically, didn't fix a damn thing I had on my list and initially told me that the bubbles on my dash were due to sun exposure so not covered under warranty (no joke and main reason I went)) I'm pretty disappointed on the overall experience.

Not sure if it is worth contacting them again to have a ranger come out as I'm sure they will probably charge me. I guess I'm just going to do it myself. Ordered two cans of kilma and gonna have to figure out a way to get new filters.

Anyone else have the same experience with SC? Only use kool it and not change filters and it fixed the issue?

Who designs a dash that can't hold up to sun exposure in the first year? Sheesh