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That's actually a genius idea, to dry out the A/C coils by running the fan after use. That's not only something a regular car cannot do (because it is not powered after it is off), but also homes cannot do that either (because they cannot blow air to/from the outside).
This is probably among the stuff that Elon was talking about "revolutionizing HVAC".
Probably this is just a glitch rather than a fix. They haven't programmed it to resume the drying after it is interrupted.
Tesla isn't very good at notifying users about what is going on with the car.
Wonder what the replacement cost is for that fan?
What is it about this hvac design that requires the use of the fan (to prevent stink)? No other car or truck I've had, has this issue.
It's actually recommended on house ACs to stop then every day and run them in coil dry mode as far as I know. Other cars just can't do it because they cannot recharge the 12V battery without the engine running... Some petrol cars do develop bad smells over time.
Do you mean to say how many hours can the fan run before it needs replacement? I'd imagine that it is designed to last for the lifespan of the car. The fan in your home furnace will last 10-20 years.
As others have mentioned, not everyone has this issue, but here is a good article.
Why Your Car AC Smells Bad and How to Fix It | Ultra-Fresh
"If moisture becomes stuck or for whatever reason cannot find its way out of the AC unit, by drainage or evaporation, the water will pool inside the unit and around the coils creating moisture inside of the AC unit."
It is probably true that all cars have some excess moisture, even if they don't smell bad, so doing this drying process will help the car generally.
The fan motor in your home a/c is much larger, heavy duty, runs on a/c (typically 240) and is designed to withstand high temperatures (130 df to 150 df).
Typically car fans are much smaller, runs on dc voltage (12 volts) and are difficult to replace (many labor hours - removal of a dash, for example). These motors are completely different. The reliability of one does not automatically translate to the other.
That is why I was asking the question.
Perhaps this design has poor drainage. That would explain the pooling of water (in the evaporator) and the required fan run after the car stops.
I've owned over 14 cars and trucks (camaro, 3 hondas, bmw, lexus, infiniti, corvette, dodge sprinter, ford) and not one had a smell. I have rented cars at least a hundred times - not one had a smell from the a/c.
This is why I was puzzled by this issue. Thanks for the explanation. Still learning about this car.
Wanted to circle back on this. Took car to service center. They ran a thermal test which it failed. Superbottle, and valve actuator. They explained that the actuator has I think 3 positions, and it would stay stuck in one position leading it to continue cooling for hours. Crappy thing is I have brought this to their attention multiple times. Finally someone had a thought to test something rather than tell me the car is supposed to do that.
Really get tired of all you owners don't know anything line from service. We never tell you anything when you buy the car. Expect you to know everything. Yet when you need service you are an idiot.
Really get tired of all you owners don't know anything line from service. We never tell you anything when you buy the car. Expect you to know everything. Yet when you need service you are an idiot.
Before this Xmas firmware release, I believe my M3 fan would run anytime the AC was on for even a few seconds; therefore, I was careful to not to enable the HVAC if not needed, to preclude the AC up to an hour drying time. With the Xmas firmware you can not check/adjust the seat heaters without enabling the HVAC. I think the AC might be enabled by default for a few seconds when adjusting the seat heaters? If true, the HVAC will probably go through the dry cycle after departing the car. Unfortunately, over time this could waste a fair amount of energy. I would not call this drying time a feature, it is a work around so solve a design problem. Never had this smell problem with any vehicle previously owned other than when the AC drain tube got blocked (which could be simply fixed)
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Hope they do NOT fix this open door to stop the long drying cycle. At least the owner has a work around when the AC has only been on for a very short time ..ie no need to dry.
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