AC odor removal and cleaning

[vickh]

I have the smell right when I get in the car. But I turn off recirculate air, and it goes away pretty fast.
t.

Does that fix the problem or just time (b/c I don't turn off recirculate and mine goes away too)

 

[itsjulia]

Hi! I have the same issue since I picked up my car from the body shop tesla sent my car to. In the beginning, I thought it was paint/glue smell since the body shop left paint drips all over my seats, but it's been over a month and the smell still lingers when the air is on, so I'm pretty sure it's mold in the vents/cabin filter. I had my car for less than 4 months and had less than 2000 miles when it started to smell... That's pretty disappointing. Tesla just quoted me $300 for change the cabin filter and clean the AC. They say it's not covered under warranty and they can't do anything about it so I'm left with pretty much a brand new car that smells like an old one. Thinking of using Lysol to clean the smell out - Scotty Kilmer recommends that on youtube. But still will have to get the air cabin replaced for at least a $100... hmm

 

[0mpg]

Hi! I have the same issue since I picked up my car from the body shop tesla sent my car to. In the beginning, I thought it was paint/glue smell since the body shop left paint drips all over my seats, but it's been over a month and the smell still lingers when the air is on, so I'm pretty sure it's mold in the vents/cabin filter. I had my car for less than 4 months and had less than 2000 miles when it started to smell... That's pretty disappointing. Tesla just quoted me $300 for change the cabin filter and clean the AC. They say it's not covered under warranty and they can't do anything about it so I'm left with pretty much a brand new car that smells like an old one. Thinking of using Lysol to clean the smell out - Scotty Kilmer recommends that on youtube. But still will have to get the air cabin replaced for at least a $100... hmm

If it were me I would buy the air filter from the service center for 35 bucks and replace it yourself. It’s not difficult and the tesla maintenance page has instructions.

 

[Dr. J]

If it were me I would buy the air filter from the service center for 35 bucks and replace it yourself. It’s not difficult and the tesla maintenance page has instructions.

Two air filters.

 

[Vintre]

I sprayed the Evaporator with a foaming cleaner, $25 CDN and replaced the two cabin filters, $47 CDN.

Did it all myself.

Will report back after a few weeks.

Fingers crossed.

Vin

 

[Rusty1]

I just sprayed my evaporator with a foam cleaner and vacuumed my filters. After spraying them heavily with Lysol, I put them back in. I still have the vinegar smell. I will try replacing them.

I am a little aggravated that Tesla won’t fix this. A new car shouldn’t smell like a locker room...

 

[hitokiriheero]

I have this issue too. Model 3 about a year old. I had to take out the filters and scrub it with a toothbrush. Then I sprayed the hell out of it with lysol. There's a lysol smell now but at least the mildew smell is one. I tried to buy the filters from the service center but they say it's all out of stock (at least in socal)

 

[dcdttu]

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.

Unfortunately for me, this firmware fix didn't solve my smell issue. I notice that the vents turn on about 5-10 minutes after turning the car off and exiting, but the smell is still pretty strong when I get in. Being in Humid-in-the-summer Austin seems to be the problem. Those Cali designers didn't have to worry about humidity I guess.


EDIT - after reading other comments it looks like I need my A/C cleaned so that the new firmware upgrade will keep it from happening again. Since mine started smelling before the firmware fix was in place, it will continue to smell until they fix it.

 

[RandomJohnny]

If anyone has the fogging procedure performed by tesla please post an update. What exactly do they use? Does it leave an after smell or is there no noticeable smell at after fogging? Curious if the fogging actually kills the microbes and removes odor or just masks the smell

thanks.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

I just sprayed my evaporator with a foam cleaner and vacuumed my filters. After spraying them heavily with Lysol, I put them back in. I still have the vinegar smell. I will try replacing them.

I am a little aggravated that Tesla won’t fix this. A new car shouldn’t smell like a locker room...

Air filters get dirt and dead bugs on it, replacement once a year is a good idea . 42$ CAD from the Service Center for two.

 

[KenR]

If anyone has the fogging procedure performed by tesla please post an update. What exactly do they use? Does it leave an after smell or is there no noticeable smell at after fogging? Curious if the fogging actually kills the microbes and removes odor or just masks the smell

thanks.

So bummed.. I had my head light replaced again....and he showed me the can as we were chatting about it. So for $180 I would get new filters and him spraying that stuff down the vents. Grrrr should have took a picture of that can...dang it. But it did say FOAM and it was bluw with yellow lettering from what I remember.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

So bummed.. I had my head light replaced again....and he showed me the can as we were chatting about it. So for $180 I would get new filters and him spraying that stuff down the vents. Grrrr should have took a picture of that can...dang it. But it did say FOAM and it was bluw with yellow lettering from what I remember.

Sprayed down the front and then recirculated? What was the procedure? I just got the foam from Amazon.ca and will change the filters out next week per the OP's instructions.

 

[KenR]

I didn't do it. I just asked about it. When I heard the price I balked. And he showed me the filters and can

 

[Goosby]

I’ve decided to pay Tesla to replace filters and clean the hvac system. Annoying that the fix isn’t quoted as being under warranty, but I figure if I pay now then I’ll have grounds to complain later for warranty cleanings if the smell returns. Also, I noticed my AC hasn’t been very cold when it’s warm outside, so maybe there will be enough similarity in the AC diagnostics that they’ll just warranty the entire visit. If I’m able to chat with the tech next week, I’ll update the thread with the process/cleaning agent used.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

I didn't do it. I just asked about it. When I heard the price I balked. And he showed me the filters and can

Cost is mostly labor, the materials are ~ 60 USD. Just need to know what not to do, I heard from others that they spray the stuff into the system and run the recirculation for a bit.

 

[KenR]

I’ve decided to pay Tesla to replace filters and clean the hvac system. Annoying that the fix isn’t quoted as being under warranty, but I figure if I pay now then I’ll have grounds to complain later for warranty cleanings if the smell returns. Also, I noticed my AC hasn’t been very cold when it’s warm outside, so maybe there will be enough similarity in the AC diagnostics that they’ll just warranty the entire visit. If I’m able to chat with the tech next week, I’ll update the thread with the process/cleaning agent used.

Take a pic of the can. And a receipt. I was told $180 for AC Cleaning and Filter Replacement by SC

 

[dendenyc]

Forgot to post and update, I did this last weekend and my car no longer smells like a dogs azzhole.

I used 2 cans of foam I got from my local Pepboys and just blasted it inside the entire filterbox (took filters out first of course) making sure I get full coverage on the entire condenser. I waited 20min then ran the AC to dry and rinse stuff out, I watched the bottom of the car till the drips were clear which is what you want to see from the condenser. I repeated the whole process again blasting and drying before I replaced the filters. The first day after I did smell a light reminisce of the funk but since then its been smelling fresh and clean. The whole process cost me $60 including 2 filters from my SC.

Pro Tip: you can wedge your phone in the space above filterbox with the camera pointing directly into the box so, this way you use it like a scope to see where you need to spray the foam. I took a few pictures of the process if anyone's interested.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Forgot to post and update, I did this last weekend and my car no longer smells like a dogs azzhole.

I used 2 cans of foam I got from my local Pepboys and just blasted it inside the entire filterbox (took filters out first of course) making sure I get full coverage on the entire condenser. I waited 20min then ran the AC to dry and rinse stuff out, I watched the bottom of the car till the drips were clear which is what you want to see from the condenser. I repeated the whole process again blasting and drying before I replaced the filters. The first day after I did smell a light reminisce of the funk but since then its been smelling fresh and clean. The whole process cost me $60 including 2 filters from my SC.

Pro Tip: you can wedge your phone in the space above filterbox with the camera pointing directly into the box so, this way you use it like a scope to see where you need to spray the foam. I took a few pictures of the process if anyone's interested.

Please post

 

[plasmo]

Warranty covered mine. Just did it a week ago. 30k miles

I have this problem now, and I just set up a service appointment (booked out 2 weeks) at Tesla.
They better cover it on my warranty. I'm at 5k miles.

 

[Skione65]

Forgot to post and update, I did this last weekend and my car no longer smells like a dogs azzhole.

I used 2 cans of foam I got from my local Pepboys and just blasted it inside the entire filterbox (took filters out first of course) making sure I get full coverage on the entire condenser. I waited 20min then ran the AC to dry and rinse stuff out, I watched the bottom of the car till the drips were clear which is what you want to see from the condenser. I repeated the whole process again blasting and drying before I replaced the filters. The first day after I did smell a light reminisce of the funk but since then its been smelling fresh and clean. The whole process cost me $60 including 2 filters from my SC.

Pro Tip: you can wedge your phone in the space above filterbox with the camera pointing directly into the box so, this way you use it like a scope to see where you need to spray the foam. I took a few pictures of the process if anyone's interested.

Forgot to post and update, I did this last weekend and my car no longer smells like a dogs azzhole.

I used 2 cans of foam I got from my local Pepboys and just blasted it inside the entire filterbox (took filters out first of course) making sure I get full coverage on the entire condenser. I waited 20min then ran the AC to dry and rinse stuff out, I watched the bottom of the car till the drips were clear which is what you want to see from the condenser. I repeated the whole process again blasting and drying before I replaced the filters. The first day after I did smell a light reminisce of the funk but since then its been smelling fresh and clean. The whole process cost me $60 including 2 filters from my SC.

Pro Tip: you can wedge your phone in the space above filterbox with the camera pointing directly into the box so, this way you use it like a scope to see where you need to spray the foam. I took a few pictures of the process if anyone's interested.

@dendenyc,

Two things. I’m interested if you could post those Photos it would be greatly appreciated. Also what specific spray did you use?

Ski