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AC odor removal and cleaning
- Thread starter Lanzer
- Start date
akidesir
Member
Ya it’s unfortunate.. but it’s not overly hard to service it yourself. Hardest part is getting on your knees to get to that small t20 screw to remove the door for the filters
OK, update 1 week later from ozone treatment: I noticed there was a light chemical smell left over after the ozone treatment. It was only noticeable at startup, so that wasn't too bad. However today, 1 week from initial treatment, I noticed a hint of the vinegar smell again. So...not a long term fix. This is with 2 brand new filters.
I wanted to take a look at the foam that @Atari2600 found. I don't have as nice of a borescope, but sure enough, there is foam surrounding the coils.
You can see here I have a nice bug/roach caught up in mine. Yay.
Here is one of the corners - looks like the foam goes all the way around:
Here I used the hook accessory to squish the foam to see if it is indeed foam. It is squishy. (I was unable to retrieve said bug, my skillz with a borescope are not that good)
Here is the foam on the side - also squishy
Here you can see the moisture drops collecting at the base of the coils and running right down to the foam. I had driven the car in 100 degree heat shortly before I did this inspection - I have not applied any new cleaners, so this is moisture from the system.
Looking at this design, I doubt we will be able to solve this long term. Unless someone figures out how to disassemble enough to get real access to this to replace the foam with sealant or some other waterproof seal.
I doubt Tesla will fix this, even though they should. They would have to recall every 3 made to date.
I wanted to take a look at the foam that @Atari2600 found. I don't have as nice of a borescope, but sure enough, there is foam surrounding the coils.
You can see here I have a nice bug/roach caught up in mine. Yay.
Here is one of the corners - looks like the foam goes all the way around:
Here I used the hook accessory to squish the foam to see if it is indeed foam. It is squishy. (I was unable to retrieve said bug, my skillz with a borescope are not that good)
Here is the foam on the side - also squishy
Here you can see the moisture drops collecting at the base of the coils and running right down to the foam. I had driven the car in 100 degree heat shortly before I did this inspection - I have not applied any new cleaners, so this is moisture from the system.
Looking at this design, I doubt we will be able to solve this long term. Unless someone figures out how to disassemble enough to get real access to this to replace the foam with sealant or some other waterproof seal.
I doubt Tesla will fix this, even though they should. They would have to recall every 3 made to date.
Atari2600
Active Member
Well this sucks. Is this a normal design for evaporators in cars? I don’t want to jump to conclusions.
I guess annual disinfecting will be normal maintenance now.
MagnusMako
Member
So this guy Richard Harty has posted up a video on youtube about how to clean the HVAC system and create a band-aid fix for it. There seems to be a design flaw that allows the intake to get clogged up with debris and in turn preventing condensation from the A/C to evaporate, thus allowing the mildew to form.
Here it is if anyone is interested:
Here it is if anyone is interested:
Eno Deb
Active Member
I think this is a good mod (better than this perforated plastic piece that is sold on Ebay). However, I had the A/C smell even though there was nothing in my intake (my car is a "garage queen" that almost never parks under trees), so this is definitely not the only (and probably not the most common) source of the smell.
Eno Deb
Active Member
Zorak03
Member
I got into my Model 3 today and as soon as the AC kicked on a horrible smell filled the cabin. I am worried maybe a small animal has crawled up in the internal area of the car and died.... if this is the case I don’t know how I’m gonna fix this. A few months ago I saw a kitten go under the car and jump up in the space behind the front wheel. I quickly forced it out.
Is there any way to remove the protective cover that is under the front end and access the area for inspection? I could spray water in that area to hopefully flush anything out but don’t know if that’s a wise idea. I’m about 300 miles from the nearest S.C, and while there is a local ranger, I’m sure they would charge me an arm and a leg to come out because this probably won’t be covered under warranty.
Any one have a diagram of that’s behind the front end/AC system?
Is there any way to remove the protective cover that is under the front end and access the area for inspection? I could spray water in that area to hopefully flush anything out but don’t know if that’s a wise idea. I’m about 300 miles from the nearest S.C, and while there is a local ranger, I’m sure they would charge me an arm and a leg to come out because this probably won’t be covered under warranty.
Any one have a diagram of that’s behind the front end/AC system?
IdaX
Member
This is happening to me too. Must be a common problem after 1+ years of model 3 ownership!
See this other thread too AC odor removal and cleaning
See this other thread too AC odor removal and cleaning
Zorak03
Member
I hope this is the case but it literally smells like something dead and it happened suddenly. I drove the car a few hours before and nothing, got into it the next time and gagged. It’s pouring rain but iv shinned a flashlight around as much as I could behind the front wheels. I can’t see anything that could be the culprit though.
Atari2600
Active Member
Mine had nothing in it and I think the logic is misguided.
The odds of things getting in there that are too big to pass through the screen to the filters is slim. I have over 18,000 miles on my model 3 and I had no debris in there. I had some in my filter as expected and I cleaned it out.
Second is the logic of an evaporator can only dry out from outside air. If you have a cold evaporator and you have hot humid water soaked air at 95% humidity or higher that will actually cause more condensation until the evaporator warms up to air temperature. Take any cold beverage in an aluminum can(if it's PBR please raise your standards) outside on a muggy day and see how "dry" it becomes. The air in the car however should have lower humidity(not always true but most of the time) and recirculating over that should be just as effective.
I rate this at 0% chance of being the source of the AC smell.
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I also had the bad smell issue.
I cleaned the evaporator with 2 cans of a foaming cleaner and changed the filters.
Have not had the issue yet.
I am super conscious now of turning off the re circ when not needed. I think the re circ is on too much and that is the source of the smell.
I would rather have to turn on re circ rather than turn it off like in most vehicles.
My $0.02
Vin
I cleaned the evaporator with 2 cans of a foaming cleaner and changed the filters.
Have not had the issue yet.
I am super conscious now of turning off the re circ when not needed. I think the re circ is on too much and that is the source of the smell.
I would rather have to turn on re circ rather than turn it off like in most vehicles.
My $0.02
Vin
That one bug was very small, I would think there would need to be a lot of them for that to be the source. Always possible though.
Good question. I did some googling, and found sometimes a closed cell foam is used to seal the evaporator housing (at least in building HVACs). Closed cell foams are water resistant (and maybe water proof?), it all depends on what Tesla sourced. I would assume they can also be treated with anti-microbial coatings, etc. Whatever Tesla chose, it certainly isn’t draining properly.
Atari2600
Active Member
I thought closed cell foam was "generally" rigid? I guess I could spray the heck out of it next time and attach my hook and see if liquid squishes out of it. Anything that holds liquid is an issue.
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talkingevs
GO AVS! 2022 CHAMPS!
It's been 2 weeks since I did it myself now and still smelling great! Took about $50 and 1 hour of my time. Didn't create any elaborate tubing, just sprayed in there and done. Yea it is an inconvenience and shouldn't be happening but I think people are overreacting about this a little bit
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