Atari2600
Active Member
I think I did 45 minutes first run then 30 minutes second run. first time I ran it from the outside air intake. Second time I ran it in the car.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
AC odor removal and cleaning
- Thread starter Lanzer
- Start date
Definitely be careful with these Ozone generators. Ozone is very aggressive and reacts with anything it comes in contact with. It will cause damage on the plastic materials. Not an issue of you use it rarely, but don't make this a regular thing.
To be fair, the issue of smelling AC is nothing new. My old (ICE) cars had this issue and I made it a habit to turn off the AC and let the fan blow only a few minutes before I parked my car. This helped a lot. Of course these days it's easy to have the software the car run the fan alone for a few minutes after you parked it automatically. I haven't red through all pages here. Is that what Tesla is doing now?
To be fair, the issue of smelling AC is nothing new. My old (ICE) cars had this issue and I made it a habit to turn off the AC and let the fan blow only a few minutes before I parked my car. This helped a lot. Of course these days it's easy to have the software the car run the fan alone for a few minutes after you parked it automatically. I haven't red through all pages here. Is that what Tesla is doing now?
BozieBeMe2
May I have this dance?
Our 2015 85D came with the ozone generator but that feature was removed from the control panel by a firmware update.
Sure could use it now!
Air ionizer and carbon filter for cabin air purity ( as per the Tesla Dual Motor Model S and Autopilot The Tesla Team • October 10, 2014)
When the car has been parked, seats are empty, run the ionizer for 20 minutes - No more stink!
Can someone please clarify the best at home level brake service. What interval and what exact parts are needed? I don't live or drive in the mountains nor is there any extreme cold here in GA. I'm going on 25K total miles and almost 20 months ownership. I really don't want or need to waste money so what do you recommend that what makes sense please? Thank You
probably best to start a new topic. Here’s a quick answer -
If your area gets salt in the winter might need the calipers removed & the slides cleaned and greased.
tesla would also suggest the brake fluid be tested and replaced if necessary.
brake pads inspected for wear, but shouldn’t need changing at 25k miles.
Eno Deb
Active Member
That's what I like about Klima Cleaner: it's fragrance free. You can smell it a bit while applying it, but the smell is completely gone after an hour or so.
It's now half a year since I treated the evaporator and changed the filters and the stink still hasn't returned.
A lot of people mentioned that a software update in 2019 had the fan run after the car is parked. Software update log is really hard to find so I haven't found exactly which update had this implemented.
It's been almost 6 months since I cleaned the evaporator and replaced the filters, no smell in the car. Fingers crossed!
BozieBeMe2
May I have this dance?
In my opinion, (and we all know what opinions are worth) if Tesla had kept the ozone generator intact, the logic could look at the 'body in seat' sensors and run these same fans. The fans, along with the ozone generator would cure this bateria based smell.
The thing is, in our car, a little software is all that's needed
Eno Deb
Active Member
The ozone concentration generated by in-car ionizers isn't nearly high enough to kill mold. If it was it would be very unhealthy (and it's already considered unhealthy even at low concentrations). See:
Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners | US EPA
BozieBeMe2
May I have this dance?
I think I have misspoke, Tesla used an ionizer not an ozone generator.
An ionizer is a device that disperses negatively (and/or positively) charged ions into the air.
and by definition of ozone generator, that would be bad to have running in a car - Duh!
Eno Deb
Active Member
BozieBeMe2
May I have this dance?
by using ozone,
For you CPAP users!!!
Just lifted this from:
.bestcpapcleaner.com/what-is-the-difference-between-soclean-and-soclean-2/
SoClean gets rid of 99.9% of germs, viruses, molds, fungi, and bacteria.
So-Clean 2, uses ozone and then passes the exhaust thru a charcoal filter
.3blumin.com/are-ozone-cleaners-safe/
Here are the official service manual instructions for the evaporator cleaning. (see What's the deal with Tesla service manuals? for more info on the service manuals)
I actually used the HVAC drain shown above to route the hose and shoot the foam up into the evaporator heater core housing.
The design is fairly bad as the drain is a. big b. facing forward c. sitting right above high volteage lines (also seen in the service manual shot above).
Other manufacturers do/did the same and some have moved away from this to a down/rear facing drain away from the chassis.
To access this drain on our cars, you need to remove or at least loosen the front material splash shield.
The design is fairly bad as the drain is a. big b. facing forward c. sitting right above high volteage lines (also seen in the service manual shot above).
Other manufacturers do/did the same and some have moved away from this to a down/rear facing drain away from the chassis.
To access this drain on our cars, you need to remove or at least loosen the front material splash shield.
asus389
Member
If one buys a Tesla now, will it likely develop this problem? Or will the software now prevent it? Is it too early to tell?
Capitol Shine
Former Vendor
You might need ventilation decontamination! Read about it in our blog post below.
Removing Odors From Cigarettes, Pets and More From Your Car - Capitol Shine Blog
Removing Odors From Cigarettes, Pets and More From Your Car - Capitol Shine Blog
My March 2018 Model 3 developed the AC odor about 6 months ago but I just lived with it since it became less of an issue as the weather got cooler. I've been meaning to do the cabin filter replacement and evaporator cleaning and finally had time to do it the other day. The whole thing took about an hour, including the 20-25 minutes of waiting for the foam cleanser to work.
I'm sure there are engineering reasons for why the air filter slot ended up where it is. The access to it is more difficult than it needs to be and every step of the process was more annoying than it should have been. I'm no gear head, but handy enough and tackling things like this usually don't bother me.
The side carpet panel couldn't have been designed to be removable without having to take down the panel under the glove box? I had to leave the glove box panel dangling by the wires during the process because the one attached to the LED was incredibly stubborn and would not come off (and I've done the DIY LED exchange in the rest of the cabin, so I know how easily the wire should detach).
They couldn't put the T20 screw at the bottom of the air filter cover where reaching it would be so much easier and wouldn't require a ratchet with space for only like 20 degrees of movement? Thankfully, I didn't drop the screw, but there is a pretty big hole into the center console area where it could have been easily lost.
The replacement filters wouldn't slide easily into the slot and fall into the compartment like the videos show. They required a lot of rocking and jiggling them back and forth to get them to go into place. Maybe the ones I got were warped or something.
Putting it all back together was no easy task too, especially trying to get the glove box panel aligned the right away. I still don't think I got it on right because no matter what I did, it would not go back on flush. It locked into place with the tabs and trim clips, at least.
I thought I read it was something like $140 for Tesla service to do it. The filters plus cleaner were around $50, so $90 to save my neck, back, and an hour of my time suddenly seems pretty reasonable. Plus they could done it at my work parking lot where I wouldn't have had to worry about the cleanser dripping out of the drainage system and potentially staining my driveway.
Anyway, so far the car smells a lot better, so hopefully it will last for a while.
I'm sure there are engineering reasons for why the air filter slot ended up where it is. The access to it is more difficult than it needs to be and every step of the process was more annoying than it should have been. I'm no gear head, but handy enough and tackling things like this usually don't bother me.
The side carpet panel couldn't have been designed to be removable without having to take down the panel under the glove box? I had to leave the glove box panel dangling by the wires during the process because the one attached to the LED was incredibly stubborn and would not come off (and I've done the DIY LED exchange in the rest of the cabin, so I know how easily the wire should detach).
They couldn't put the T20 screw at the bottom of the air filter cover where reaching it would be so much easier and wouldn't require a ratchet with space for only like 20 degrees of movement? Thankfully, I didn't drop the screw, but there is a pretty big hole into the center console area where it could have been easily lost.
The replacement filters wouldn't slide easily into the slot and fall into the compartment like the videos show. They required a lot of rocking and jiggling them back and forth to get them to go into place. Maybe the ones I got were warped or something.
Putting it all back together was no easy task too, especially trying to get the glove box panel aligned the right away. I still don't think I got it on right because no matter what I did, it would not go back on flush. It locked into place with the tabs and trim clips, at least.
I thought I read it was something like $140 for Tesla service to do it. The filters plus cleaner were around $50, so $90 to save my neck, back, and an hour of my time suddenly seems pretty reasonable. Plus they could done it at my work parking lot where I wouldn't have had to worry about the cleanser dripping out of the drainage system and potentially staining my driveway.
Anyway, so far the car smells a lot better, so hopefully it will last for a while.
Eno Deb
Active Member
Have to agree there. I don't understand why they make accessing the filter compartment so difficult. If it's any consolation, this "trend" started with the Model S facelift: before the facelift, you could easily get to the air filter from the frunk area. In the post-facelift vehicles, you basically have to remove the entire glove compartment, which is equally challenging as getting access in the Model 3 ...
FloridaGary
Member
The process of changing this filter reminded me I’m not 20 yrs old anymore. Most ridiculous diy I’ve ever seen.
Similar threads
