XLR82XS
D M C
Just keep the temp set to a reasonable degree. I.E. don't use LO like some people.
-
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
andrewsjra
Member
I contacted the mobile ranger who serviced my model 3 for the odor and he’s going to do it again free of charge since it’s under warranty. Not sure why the odor came back so quickly. Definitely not like last time where it lasted nearly a year. I rarely use recirculating air but recently have due to the smoke and ash from the California wild fires. Hopefully the smell goes away for a longer amount of time.
israndy
Supercharger Hunter
Yeah, same. Recirc is what Elon suggested in case of impurities. With all the smoke of late I cannot remember a time I wasn’t on recirc. I just did the kool-it this spring and some smell is back. Perhaps not the moldy smell but not pleasant.
silentcorp
Member
Yes, your sample size of one is clearly absolute! Regardless of the hundreds of posts here, on the official Tesla forum and the Teslamotor subreddit showing a ton of variables that are leading to this issue you have it all figured out. And F the guy that disagrees, super classy! Anyone that owns a Delorean is infallable!!! How dare they!
joebruin77
Active Member
(Sorry if this has been mentioned or suggested earlier in this 34-page thread, but I didn't have time to read all 34 pages to check).
I recently started to smell a very unpleasant "mildewey" odor whenever I turned on the AC. So I opened the frunk, removed the the cover over the fresh air intake, took a spray bottle filled with a 50/50 solution of water and Pine-Sol, sprayed 6 or 7 good sprays of the cleaning solution into the air intake while the AC was on, and let it run for several minutes. I then turned off the AC and let the fan run for several more minutes pulling in the outside air. Finally, I wiped down as much of the inside of the air intake as I could with a MF towel and put the cover back on. The mildewey ordor has been eliminated.
I recently started to smell a very unpleasant "mildewey" odor whenever I turned on the AC. So I opened the frunk, removed the the cover over the fresh air intake, took a spray bottle filled with a 50/50 solution of water and Pine-Sol, sprayed 6 or 7 good sprays of the cleaning solution into the air intake while the AC was on, and let it run for several minutes. I then turned off the AC and let the fan run for several more minutes pulling in the outside air. Finally, I wiped down as much of the inside of the air intake as I could with a MF towel and put the cover back on. The mildewey ordor has been eliminated.
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
In the middle of summer in Houston, you don't have a choice. If it's 100F and 95% humidity in the middle of July, fan setting 10 + fresh (non-recirc) will not cool the car. If you want the temperature in the car to get comfortable, you have to use recirc.
Not to mention that if you have slightly milder temperatures where fan setting 10 + fresh is adequate, that will add ~50 Wh/mi to your energy usage vice an identically comfortable combination of settings using recirc.
andrewsjra
Member
I had mentioned I had the A/C service replacement done recently and the smell came back within 2 weeks. I previously did the same service a year ago and it lasted a long time. In contacted the mobile ranger and they came back to my house to redo the clean and filter replacement free of charge. So far so good.
asus389
Member
XLR82XS
D M C
July in south Florida with 95% humidity I have no issues with cabin cooling non-recirc. Set at 73F AUTO and the fan speed rarely reaches 10 - most of the time 7. Maybe the ceramic window tint factors in to this. (windshield especially)
So, the smell came back about a week after my second Koolit treatment, and a Lysol blast...
But, as silly as this sounds, I never changed my filters after either of my Koolit treatments. They looked and smelled fine. About two weeks ago, I replaced the filters with aftermarket filters from Taptes and did another Lysol blast (before putting the new filters in).
NOW the smell is gone. I smell absolutely no hint of it, whereas I did after both Koolit treatments. And better yet, I can actually smell things from outside the car where that wasn’t the case before.
If it comes back, I’ll do all three (remove old filters, Koolit, Lysol blast, put in new filters). That combo seems to work. But so far so good, and this is the longest I’ve gone without any hint of the smell since it started about 6 months ago. So so happy.
But, as silly as this sounds, I never changed my filters after either of my Koolit treatments. They looked and smelled fine. About two weeks ago, I replaced the filters with aftermarket filters from Taptes and did another Lysol blast (before putting the new filters in).
NOW the smell is gone. I smell absolutely no hint of it, whereas I did after both Koolit treatments. And better yet, I can actually smell things from outside the car where that wasn’t the case before.
If it comes back, I’ll do all three (remove old filters, Koolit, Lysol blast, put in new filters). That combo seems to work. But so far so good, and this is the longest I’ve gone without any hint of the smell since it started about 6 months ago. So so happy.
XLR82XS
D M C
I must have Unicorn Tesla cars. Never any A/C smells - ever. Still have factory installed filters. (They will get replaced per interval in the maintenance guide)
Thankfully after I cleaned mine with Kool It and replaced the filters, the smell never came back, granted I tried not to use Recirc at all since then, maybe that helped.
Now that its getting cooler here I haven't used A/C in a while, I don't foresee it coming back at the soonest until next summer.
Now that its getting cooler here I haven't used A/C in a while, I don't foresee it coming back at the soonest until next summer.
MarsOrBust
Member
XLR82XS
D M C
There's the problem as I've been telling people for almost a year. Do not use RECIRC.
MarsOrBust
Member
It is a manufacture issue and it is not covered under warranty.
Pretty sad. I wonder if the 2021 with a heat pump works differently.
Pretty sad. I wonder if the 2021 with a heat pump works differently.
andrewsjra
Member
I have a 2018 model 3 and has had it serviced for the smell 3 times. The second time was recent and the smell came back within 2 weeks. A ranger came back to redo the service at no extra charge. The smell is gone but usually comes back within a year. I always do what they say and use fresh air, turn the A/C off before arriving to my destination and sometimes turn the heater on to evaporate the condensation. I just think of it as a yearly service that includes the air filter replacement. Too bad the nasty smell is there but it’s my reminder it needs service. If you know what your doing you can do this all yourself. Many companies sell the cleaner and filters including RPM Tesla and Abstract Ocean sells HEPA filters.
Similar threads
