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How to remove the odor / mold smell from your AC
- Thread starter 08micev
- Start date
Rothgarr
Active Member
For the last few days, I've had an unusual smell coming from mine -- but it's nothing like what has been described yet here on the forum. It smells more like a cross between paint and mint. So it's not a bad smell, necessarily... just an unexpected new smell.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
Eno Deb
Active Member
No, you don't need to leave the HVAC on.
This behavior started after a firmware update sometime in early 2019.
I think my AC smells like some sort of toxic industrial chemical. But when my mother got in the car, she immediately claimed that it smelled like spoiled milk. I think we(M3 owners) are likely all smelling the same thing and just describing it differently.
CyberGus
Not Just a Member
What you need is a 100-watt UV light inside the duct, pointing at the filters. Let's call that "Bio-hazard Plus" mode.
not everyone has the time to waste sitting in the car for five minutes after they park to fix a problem that the car should fix on its own.
I just looked up how to do replace the inner planum thing. Looks like a 45min job if you're handy. Honestly I'd just pay the service center to do this job for $58. I wouldn't do this for less than $200 myself.
1 Remove the rear underhood apron. See Underhood Apron - Rear (Remove and Replace).
2 Remove the outer HVAC plenum. See Duct - HVAC Plenum - Outer (Remove and Replace).
3 Remove the hood latch cover. See Cover - Hood Latch (Remove and Replace).
4 Remove the underhood storage unit. See Underhood Storage Unit (Remove and Replace).
5 Remove the LH and RH wiper arms. See Wiper Arms (Remove and Replace).
6 Remove the LH and RH shock tower cover. See Cover - Shock Tower - LH (Remove and Replace).
7 Remove the cowl screen panel. See Panel - Cowl Screen (Remove and Replace).
8 Release the clips that attach the inner HVAC plenum, and then remove the inner HVAC plenum from the vehicle.
1 Remove the rear underhood apron. See Underhood Apron - Rear (Remove and Replace).
2 Remove the outer HVAC plenum. See Duct - HVAC Plenum - Outer (Remove and Replace).
3 Remove the hood latch cover. See Cover - Hood Latch (Remove and Replace).
4 Remove the underhood storage unit. See Underhood Storage Unit (Remove and Replace).
5 Remove the LH and RH wiper arms. See Wiper Arms (Remove and Replace).
6 Remove the LH and RH shock tower cover. See Cover - Shock Tower - LH (Remove and Replace).
7 Remove the cowl screen panel. See Panel - Cowl Screen (Remove and Replace).
8 Release the clips that attach the inner HVAC plenum, and then remove the inner HVAC plenum from the vehicle.
TX_M3P+
Member
Mobile Service is on the way to my house right now to hopefully replace the inner plenum. I'll update this thread when the work is done.
TX_M3P+
Member
Mobile Service did not replace any parts, just cleaned the evaporator coil and replaced the filters for $168. I brought up that I have read that the inner plenum needed to be replaced and the tech told me that they had resolved the issue in FW. So, new FW supposedly leaves the HVAC on for 5 or 10 minutes after you leave the car the help ensure that the excess condensation is taken care of.
I'm looking at the parts explosion and I fail to see how changing Find Number 3, Plenum fixes it. The plenum is upstream of the blower and the evaporator.
When air hits the cold evaporator, water vapor condenses out of the air and things get wet. With moisture, mildew and bacteria can grow thus the causes funky smells.
This plenum is too far upstream to be moist and doesn't appear to be touching any moist components. I've not fan of the evaporator and filter design of the Model 3 because the filters touch the evaporator. This cause moisture condensing on the evaporator fins to be wicked up to the filters.
My car needs a filter change and cleaning anyways, so I will take apart the car later this week to get to the plenums and take some pics. It appears to be a easy to access by removing the cowling in the Frunk.
July '19 Model 3 AWD here ... *zero* smell after 10k miles ... and i live in North Texas which can get very humid / hot
a few things i Do / don't do:
- cabin overheat with fan only, never AC
- AC is set on AUTO 100% of the time ; i dont fiddle around with circ/re-circ on/off and i never tinker around with AC off and fan on before arriving
- I always use navigation for every drive so FW likely preps AC system before arrival to minimize condensation?
a few things i Do / don't do:
- cabin overheat with fan only, never AC
- AC is set on AUTO 100% of the time ; i dont fiddle around with circ/re-circ on/off and i never tinker around with AC off and fan on before arriving
- I always use navigation for every drive so FW likely preps AC system before arrival to minimize condensation?
I Don't bother with chemical sprays and $/£10 a pop which mostly just mask the bad smells.
I got an ozone generator, these can be found on Amazon for not much money. Run inside the car for 30 mins (MAKE SURE NO LIVING THING IS INSIDE THE VEHICLE & VENT AFTERWARDS OUTSIDE), swap out your pollen filters and job complete. Some of the latest cars actually have this already built-in, Later-generation BMW 5 series for example have one of these built into the HVAC system.
Again, follow the instructions and precautions.
I got an ozone generator, these can be found on Amazon for not much money. Run inside the car for 30 mins (MAKE SURE NO LIVING THING IS INSIDE THE VEHICLE & VENT AFTERWARDS OUTSIDE), swap out your pollen filters and job complete. Some of the latest cars actually have this already built-in, Later-generation BMW 5 series for example have one of these built into the HVAC system.
asus389
Member
Under Safety and Security, I believe, there is a menu option for Cabin Overheat Protection. It has 3 option, Off, No A/C, AC.
I just changed the selection to No A/C. The internal temp of the car can get higher as the A/C doesn't run when the car is just parked.
It would actually be nice if the cabin overhead with A/C mimicked the way the car acts when arriving home and running the fan for a bit. Would be beneficial to have the cabin overhead w/AC turned on, and it does its job with the AC and cools the car, but then turns off the AC and runs the fan for a few min to dry off the evaporator. Bet they could write code to fix that pretty quick.
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