Musty "Locker Room" Odor

[EarlyAdopter]

When I had the 2 year service done on my '14 Model S I noticed there was a line item for replacement of the "A/C dessicant bag." Dessicants remove moisture from the air and can help remove musty smells when there is dampness chronically present, like in A/C condensers.

I don't recall seeing that when I had the 2 year service done on my previous '12 Model S. Not sure if the dessicant bag was added as a new feature, or if replacement of it was later added to the maintenance schedule. Could be worth a look.

 

[Live_Wire]

So while at my SC today for an avatar update I brought up the smell problem. The tech stated he could smell it too. I have a new appointment with the SC in a few weeks where they will be addressing the issue. It is most likely coming from a leaking seal on the pano roof as the car has been parked outside in the rain lately and that is when the smell started. I will advise as to what the outcome is. Good thing I have an extended warranty

 

[Az_Rael]

So while at my SC today for an avatar update I brought up the smell problem. The tech stated he could smell it too. I have a new appointment with the SC in a few weeks where they will be addressing the issue. It is most likely coming from a leaking seal on the pano roof as the car has been parked outside in the rain lately and that is when the smell started. I will advise as to what the outcome is. Good thing I have an extended warranty

Do you have any visible stains around your pano? I checked mine and didn't see any. I will be interested in what they find

I thought I had aired mine out, but it still smells after being parked. If I run the A/C the smell goes away, but it seems to be getting worse as it gets hotter not better.

I live in the desert, excess moisture should not be an issue, ugh.

 

[Live_Wire]

I don't have any stains directly around the pano but I do have a water stain on the passenger side b pillar. If I had to guess, that is probably the culprit and where the water is going down to. No real smell when I put my nose to it though. I have a tan headliner so easy to see the discoloration.

 

[Az_Rael]

Well, my mystery odor may have been solved today. I went through a car wash (I am a terrible person, I know) and got a small stream of water dumped on my head while going through. So my pano is leaking. That probably also explains the stain on the B pillar, although its in a different place - water was probably running along the track to there.

Scheduled an SC visit for next Saturday.

 

[Live_Wire]

At least you found it. I believe the pano roof gaskets are a known point of water intrusion. I have my appointment scheduled for that fix as well. This seems to be the culprit so hopefully this post helps others out with the same problem.

 

[NoMoGas]

I have had my Model S for only a few months (new to me 2012) but I just recently noticed a musty smell in my vehicle. It does not come from the AC or vents like others have complained of and I cannot find any water intrusion coming into the vehicle from rain. I also had my rear appliqué upgraded to the new version about a month ago and I have not seen any water intrusion into the hatch like the other known problem. While my car was at the service center, the loaner I had been given had the exact same, except much stronger, smell. Does anybody else have a similar issue and/or have a resolution or possible causes?

I know you found the leaky roof but run this test too... after a good rain or car wash, open the trunk. That'll tell you if you have the well known water infiltration issue with the tail lights.

 

[Live_Wire]

Nope don't have any water coming in back there. Car is at the service center today.

 

[Live_Wire]

I just picked up my S from the service center today and it seems like they did an awesome job. They found that water was getting in through the pano roof gaskets down the passenger side b pillar like suspected. They installed all new gaskets and new style pano roof rack tracks and other associated parts as well as a new b pillar trim piece. I am very happy with the service I received from them and hopefully this will put an end to the musty smell!

 

[Live_Wire]

and to be exact they retrofitted the panoramic side appliqué right hand and left hand with the new versions and all supporting gaskets and hardware. This also makes my S look newer and i love it.

 

[Brian-MS90D]

Glad for the good outcome. If it makes you feel any better, this issue is not exclusive to Tesla. I have an ICE with a large panoramic sunroof and its drain line kept getting disconnected because it was ran too tightly. The car would flex going around a corner and then pull the drain line off the sunroof attachment. Every time it rained I would end up with a pool of water in the rear interior and a musty smell. It took 4 service visits (reconnecting drain line at sunroof each time) before the service department finally realized the problem, stripped a lot of the interior panels off, and re-ran the drain line with more slack.

 

[Az_Rael]

I just picked up my S from the service center today and it seems like they did an awesome job. They found that water was getting in through the pano roof gaskets down the passenger side b pillar like suspected. They installed all new gaskets and new style pano roof rack tracks and other associated parts as well as a new b pillar trim piece. I am very happy with the service I received from them and hopefully this will put an end to the musty smell!

Nice! They also replaced my pano and the rear fixed glass seals, but with the original design one so no upgrades for me. The cleaned my B pillar to remove the stain. I haven't taken her through a car wash yet to see if that fixed the leak, but I am hopeful. The car smells less musty now and I only get a hint of it from the vents now, which is a different problem I think.

 

[andyaycw]

I've had this musty locker room odor in every car I've had...from my 2010 Mazda which I had for ~5 years...to a brand new 2015 Lexus (that I had for only a few months)...and then I noticed the smell coming from my 2015 Tesla (also purchased brand new) after just 2 weeks.

The solution for me? Turning the AC "on". I've found that has been the culprit for all of my cars. Turning the AC "off" or leaving it on "Auto' and just leaving the air running has very consistently led to the musty odor coming out eventually.

 

[Az_Rael]

Well, my musty smell is back full fledge. I think it's coming from the vents now vs the roof leak issue before. Gonna have to take it back and see if they can do a duct cleaning service or something.

I had great luck one time by spraying a can of ozium into the vent intake on a prior car, but the chemical smell it caused lasted a couple weeks, which wasn't fun. But it seemed to kill off the mildew smell for the rest of that summer But I am hoping Tesla has a service instead of my bad DIY option.

 

[thecloud]

Well, my musty smell is back full fledge. I think it's coming from the vents now vs the roof leak issue before..

Try putting your A/C system into fresh air mode instead of recirculated air mode (which is usually the default in Auto). The fresh air mode is the icon that has an arrow coming in from the left; recirculated mode is the icon that goes around in a complete circle.

When you do this, the climate control display will change from AUTO to CUSTOM.

I switch back to AUTO mode when I'm driving, but I make sure to put it back into fresh air mode when I leave the car to dry out any condensation in the vents. It will take a few days but eventually the musty smell should be gone.

 

[Az_Rael]

Try putting your A/C system into fresh air mode instead of recirculated air mode (which is usually the default in Auto). The fresh air mode is the icon that has an arrow coming in from the left; recirculated mode is the icon that goes around in a complete circle.

When you do this, the climate control display will change from AUTO to CUSTOM.

I switch back to AUTO mode when I'm driving, but I make sure to put it back into fresh air mode when I leave the car to dry out any condensation in the vents. It will take a few days but eventually the musty smell should be gone.

Interesting, I will try that. So you leave it on fresh air while it's parked it sounds like.

 

[Az_Rael]

Well, I tried the fresh air technique and it helped, but did not eliminate the problem. So it's back at the service center as of yesterday (Van Nuys instead of Burbank this time). They said they have a duct cleaning product that is super strong that is supposed to kill all the mildew, etc. Hopefully it will work for the season at least. I don't mind doing something like that once a summer if needed.

 

[JonathanD]

There's a good product called Frigi-Fresh for that. I used it on a BMW M3 that had a musty smell. Made the vents smell great, but the musty smell didn't go away until I found the tub of sour cream under the passenger's seat that had been there for a week.

 

[SarahsDad]

I had similar issue with my former car BMW M5. Was told it was because condensation on the AC coils didn't have time to dry out before entering my garage, then developed mildew. Took a whole can of Lysol Crisp Linen and sprayed into AC intake with fans on high, that did the trick. Also learned to switch off AC a few minutes before arriving home to let the coils "dry", and occasionally parked outside in the hot sun to eliminate any moisture. Never had any more problems. Luckily no issues with my Model S...

 

[Az_Rael]

occasionally parked outside in the hot sun to eliminate any moisture

Which is why I can't figure out why this is even a problem for me here. My car spends 9 hours a day baking in 100+ heat in the sun. There must be more than a small amount of condensation going on.

I did check my condensation drain by taking apart my frunk and it was clear. (And that is the craziest design ever by the way - it exits above the battery pack)