AC odor removal and cleaning

[vickh]

Am i reading this right you had cleaning and filters replaced and still have smell?

no waiting for summer to end. It's not too bad in AZ since we don't get much rain/humidity

 

[IsthataTesl.a?]

Nice!! I've and this issue on my previous cars and learned to run the air with AC off a mile from home. Great to have this as reference in the future.

Some other thread indicate the software now runs the fans for awhile after parking to dry the condenser but I haven't tested it.

Switching to Fresh, Outside, or non-recirculated air is what you want to do. I mentioned this at a Tesla Club meeting over the weekend.

Always having the HVAC on Auto, or recirculated air all the time WILL cause problems.

Do your car a favor and switch to fresh air periodically, especially at the end of trips if you use recirculated air most of the time!

In a non-Tesla vehicle without cabin air filters I found instructions online (somewhere) about spraying a solution of water with some tea tree oil into the air intake outside the vehicle at the bottom, or leading edge of the windshield, where leaves end up. I believe the heat was supposed to be on, with the HVAC set to outside air. It's totally non-toxic and worked great!

 

[derotam]

You can check yourself: if you park the car after having used the A/C, the fan will come on about 10-15 minutes later. I'm not exactly sure which firmware version added this, but by now everyone should have it.

Have you tested this enough to show repeatability? Hopefully I will remember to test this when I get home today and for the rest of the week.

 

[ryanmrf]

I've got my SC appointment in the morning. Any suggestions on how to get them to waive the labor costs?

 

[asus389]

This is likely not mold you
Even if there was a small amount of mold, the amount of spores you would get from this very small amount is far less than the spores already floating around outside, on your clothes, or in your home.
The only way to tell, is do an air sampling in the car. My bet is you would find no more mold spores in the car than naturally found outside the car.

The health risk to this odour, is likely as risky as the air your breathing outside, or in your own home.

I get pretty sick in the presence of air conditioners that have grown mold or bacteria - both in buildings and in cars. It’s a concentrated source and it’s creating contamination in a small enclosed space. It’s best to deal with the issue.

 

[brkaus]

I've got my SC appointment in the morning. Any suggestions on how to get them to waive the labor costs?

Ask nicely?

I just paid it. It was a mobile service - considered it an overpriced filter delivery & training service. The guy was nice, showed me how to access it, what spray they used, how to reassemble, etc. Also gave me some advice on dealing with something stuck in the back seat vent on my S while waiting the 20 min for the foam to work.

He also replaced something in the 3's charge port per a tech bulletin.

 

[zosoisnotaword]

How long did Tesla take to ship out the filters to you with your expensive shipping???
I already Paid for my filters (Tesla charged my CC) 10 days ago, and still nothing in the mail.

They showed up two days after I paid for them.

 

[plasmo]

They showed up two days after I paid for them.

hmm.. ok thanks. I emailed them but have not heard back about the status on my filters yet. thanks

 

[CapnOMatic]

Check the other stinky car thread. Apparently it was a manufacture issue that will be covered under warranty.

FYI: I just had the mobile service come out and rotate my tires and he asked me if I had smell in my AC. I did not, he assumed that was because my car is garaged and there is low humidity where I live. He did say that they are looking at how to fix this somehow.

 

[M109Rider]

I get pretty sick in the presence of air conditioners that have grown mold or bacteria - both in buildings and in cars. It’s a concentrated source and it’s creating contamination in a small enclosed space. It’s best to deal with the issue.

I wasn’t suggesting you don’t deal with the issue.
I just wanted others to know the amount of spores or bacteria coming out of these vents is similar to what’s outside of the car already.
Meaning, it would likely be a minimal issue.

 

[derotam]

You can check yourself: if you park the car after having used the A/C, the fan will come on about 10-15 minutes later. I'm not exactly sure which firmware version added this, but by now everyone should have it.
That could possibly be counterproductive (since the above may not work if the A/C isn't on when you park, although I haven't tested that yet).

So I did a test just now and this is what I found...

Ok so I cant say if this is a NEW routine because I dont have an equivelent before test, but here is some more data for what my car is doing on 2019.32.1. So I turned on the AC on auto, no recirc for 5 minutes. Drove for 4 min same settings then parked. Within 1 minute all fans had spun down. Of course I had stepped away for a "sec" but at +17 minutes I noticed a fan running. I popped the frunk with the app to positively locate sound. It is the air intake fan. No airflow was detected in the cabin when I stuck my hand through the window. At +24min the fan turned off.

Other notes just to round out my test procedure...after I parked and got out with the windows open, I walked away till the car auto locked. I then turned off bluetooth on my phone. I also did not open the Tesla app until +17min when I heard the fan running to open the frunk.

 

[ryanmrf]

Check the other stinky car thread. Apparently it was a manufacture issue that will be covered under warranty.

Not in my experience.

The person I spoke to was nice and he sympathized with me. He admitted that this issue wasn't due to something I did wrong and wasn't part of normal wear and tear. And then he said:

"However, word came down from up-high that this specific issue would not be covered under warranty, so there's nothing I can do."

 

[SJC3]

Not in my experience.

The person I spoke to was nice and he sympathized with me. He admitted that this issue wasn't due to something I did wrong and wasn't part of normal wear and tear. And then he said:

"However, word came down from up-high that this specific issue would not be covered under warranty, so there's nothing I can do."

I hear you,Tesla has been inconsistent. The trends seems to be no warranty coverage which I think is wrong.

 

[Atari2600]

So on recirculate I do not smell anything but one day when I vented in outside air it smelled off, not strong vinegar smell. So I got this: Enerzen O-888 ozone generator to give it a try at the intake. It claims 11,000mg and I turned it on and it seemed pretty strong. The corona plate looks really cool energized but I promptly turned it off since I didn't want to breath it.

Think I need the bag on it or just place it at the intake?

 

[zannman]

So on recirculate I do not smell anything but one day when I vented in outside air it smelled off, not strong vinegar smell. So I got this: Enerzen O-888 ozone generator to give it a try at the intake. It claims 11,000mg and I turned it on and it seemed pretty strong. The corona plate looks really cool energized but I promptly turned it off since I didn't want to breath it.

Think I need the bag on it or just place it at the intake?

You could go that route, but I'd probably just put it inside with climate on Fan only recirc. Roll down a window a half inch or so, and let the ozone run for a half hour minimum IMO.

I've done this on other cars with much greater smell problems, but haven't had to do it on my Model 3 yet.

 

[MacGreiner]

So on recirculate I do not smell anything but one day when I vented in outside air it smelled off, not strong vinegar smell. So I got this: Enerzen O-888 ozone generator to give it a try at the intake. It claims 11,000mg and I turned it on and it seemed pretty strong. The corona plate looks really cool energized but I promptly turned it off since I didn't want to breath it.

Think I need the bag on it or just place it at the intake?

Place it inside the car via an extension cable and run it for 10 mins on recirc. Let it sit for half an hour and then air the car.
And yes. Don't breath it in.

 

[brkaus]

Running it inside won’t get the inlet plumbing. id do the bag. It’s easy.

I got the same ozone device. Have not tried yet.

I’d stay with shorter times. Ozone can be hard on rubber and some other materials.

 

[Zoglog]

I’ve had the exact same issue on my BMW since ownership.
Not covered by warranty either.
This is t just a Tesla thing.
Do some research, and you’ll find we aren’t suckers.

So your only defense is that another brand did the same shitty thing?

In my experience of car ownership I've never had this problem across 5 different brands and many of them much cheaper vehicles.

Sorry you had an issue with BMW but thats not what were talking about here.

 

[plasmo]

Yes, my car for the past week has smelled ok too. Weather has been cooler and less humid.

I'm still gonna plan on spraying with Klima-cleaner, and just got confirmation from Tesla today about the shipment of my new Filters, which I ordered through the Tesla App like others did here. Total cost for 2 filters + shipping = $47.22

View attachment 447668

Not happy. I paid for these filters 2.5 weeks ago (they already charged my CC) and still have not yet received my filters.
I left emails on their service email a week ago to find out what is going on, and no one has sent me a reply. Tried calling local service, but they are closed on weekends... what happened to Tesla's great service????

 

[insaneoctane]

Isn't ozone bad for plastics/polymers, which our interiors have lots of?