Mine smells like magic marker, is that what you guys are smelling? My 2011 AMG E63 did the same thing before this car, goes away after a minute or two. A bit annoying, but in the Mercedes Forum it was deemed normal. Its certainly doesn't bother me except for the first minute or so, its more annoying to hear the kids complain that it smells than anything else.
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AC odor removal and cleaning
- Thread starter Lanzer
- Start date
MarsOrBust
Member
Nope, mind smells like a wet dirty sock. Musty and yes it does go away after a bit but totally gross smell.
This can not be normal. There is a reason for this and hoping the 2021 has addressed it.
This can not be normal. There is a reason for this and hoping the 2021 has addressed it.
andrewsjra
Member
XLR82XS
D M C
what did they say? I have scheduled service for the same in three weeks and they are going to charge but if they find that we did not abuse the AC then it will be covered and it will be up to the Tesla technician to decide. Please let me know your thoughts.
bnsfengineer
Active Member
Its really not that bad to diy. If they want to charge you weigh the difference of the cleaning kit and about 35 min of your time. RPM has the cleaner and new filter for under $50. I did this on my early 18 M3 only once and the bad foot odor has not come back!
I did mine myself also. Purchased the filters on amazon, and used sprayed in the cleaner. When I had done by Tesla last year they showed me they use the same exact cleaner. It basically is one screw and the rest are clips.
Total was about $30 for set of two filters, and $15 for evaporator cleaner. It took about 20 minutes. When you pull the filters out you spray the full can of the evaporator cleaner on the AC coil next to where filters go and then run AC on high for about 15 minutes.
Total was about $30 for set of two filters, and $15 for evaporator cleaner. It took about 20 minutes. When you pull the filters out you spray the full can of the evaporator cleaner on the AC coil next to where filters go and then run AC on high for about 15 minutes.
I haven't read all 35 pages of this thread, but I had the stink on my early 2018 with about 50k miles. I had not replaced the air filters at all, which, oops. So I bought some aftermarket filters on Amazon and replaced them myself but did not spray the coils. It was pretty easy, but this didn't eliminate the smell.
After some research, I bought a cheap ozone machine for like $65 on Amazon. I let that run in the car with the AC on recirculate for about 90 minutes. NOTE: DO NOT DO THIS WITHOUT RESEARCHING OZONE MACHINES. I summoned the car out of the garage, opened all the windows, and let the car sit for about an hour to air out. The car still smelled like bleach or pool chlorine, so I pulled it back in the garage and left the windows down overnight.
The next morning I opened the garage about an hour before I left for work just to be safe. The car still smelled faintly of chlorine, but no stink. More than 2 months later, the smell is still gone. Every once in a while when the car sits somewhere really hot and really humid, I will get a whiff of it, but once I turn the car on and get the air flowing it goes away in seconds. I bet if I had sprayed the coils it wouldn't ever smell.
After some research, I bought a cheap ozone machine for like $65 on Amazon. I let that run in the car with the AC on recirculate for about 90 minutes. NOTE: DO NOT DO THIS WITHOUT RESEARCHING OZONE MACHINES. I summoned the car out of the garage, opened all the windows, and let the car sit for about an hour to air out. The car still smelled like bleach or pool chlorine, so I pulled it back in the garage and left the windows down overnight.
The next morning I opened the garage about an hour before I left for work just to be safe. The car still smelled faintly of chlorine, but no stink. More than 2 months later, the smell is still gone. Every once in a while when the car sits somewhere really hot and really humid, I will get a whiff of it, but once I turn the car on and get the air flowing it goes away in seconds. I bet if I had sprayed the coils it wouldn't ever smell.
M109Rider
Active Member
Ozone will work for sure. However, if it’s too strong, it will eat anything rubber based in your car.
ozone deteriorates rubber.
if you know what you’re doing, it’s fine.
If the car is NEW, book a service call, Make sure to point out that its foul smelling but you just got the car. It should be covered under warranty.
Mine was 5 months old when I started to smell it and I was able to talk them into Covering it under warranty for it... but then I had a family emergency and couldn't make it to the service center and cancelled my appt. Now I just paid the $140CAD to have the filter replaced and system cleaned and things are minty fresh.
Mine was 5 months old when I started to smell it and I was able to talk them into Covering it under warranty for it... but then I had a family emergency and couldn't make it to the service center and cancelled my appt. Now I just paid the $140CAD to have the filter replaced and system cleaned and things are minty fresh.
Trilodroid
Member
My 2021 Model 3 when new smelled terrible, like fumes from some petroleum product, for about a month or three... I think it was whatever glue they used to put the car together. That was in the winter. When summer came, this humid state I live in turned the AC into a new kind of stink city. Mildew or mold or something... it is really really bad on rainy days. My old Japanese brand car did the same thing after about 7 years. Took about 6 months in my poor Model 3. I haven't done the DIY cleaning or called mobile Tesla support yet... trying to wait out some of these rainy weeks. I did notice if I let the car get super hot during dry weeks the smell would disappear, based on some other people talking about mold and mildew dying at 140 degrees F or something like that. Well the stink definitely came back when it started raining again. I have a sensitive nose, so this smell is absolutely killing me.
And for those saying don't use recirculate... I think that'd work in a dry weather place, but it is the opposite here. If you let the outside humid air run through the vents after the AC has cooled it down, water will condense everywhere very quickly.
I've also just ordered some of those silica dry stuff out packets from Amazon... I'm considering sticking them around places after I get the coils cleaned, etc. Maybe it'll help a little. Maybe I'll stick them on or in the AC filter, if it doesn't look like they would damage anything that is. If anybody has done this already, I will try to find your post and see what I'm getting myself into!
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