Musty "Locker Room" Odor

[Az_Rael]

Bumping this thread. So my smell had gone away for a while after the SC treatment, but it didn't last long and is back.

So now I am attempting to troubleshoot it a little better and possibly apply a DIY solution. But I ran into a roadblock very quickly.

I bought a small cell phone operated borescope and an AC foaming style evaporator cleaner. Now I needed to gain access to the evaporator core. So I pulled out the cabin air filter and was going to borescope through the blower fan and see what it looks like down there. Alas, the door that closes off the system (to recirculate mode) was closed and I couldn't access the blower motor. Switched the climate to fresh air, then turned the car off. Nope - the door always closes. (Which makes me think @thecloud 's method may not be so effective). If the car was running and set to fresh air, the door was open, but the blower fan was on (and it can't be turned to 0).

So it appears the car is never in "fresh air" mode while off, at least in the latest software version (the "chill" update)

Sigh. So I need to figure out how to disable the blower fan while leaving the fresh air door open. Or access the drain line, which is my other option.

Will post more details if I figure this out.

 

[Vince Cobelo]

I had the same problem and finally figured it out for my car. The bowling alley in the joint between the leather and the alley itself. If any moisture got in there from any source say a water bottle spill or the slightest rain came through a open sunroof the smell would return. That is what caused the smell in my car. Now I am far more careful about not letting moisture in (I am in Florida so even summertime humidity was causing it if I left the windows down in the garage.)

Previous to finding the source I checked the sunroof and headliner for any leaks as suggested in other posts. But this is definitely where my problem was.

 

[selfbp]

I get this odor in my A/C and my S isn’t even equipped with the Pano roof either. I’ve tried the fresh air setting and switching it on and off throughout my daily drives to freshen up the system while moving. Helped maybe 30-40% of the odor go away (don’t ask how I got my percentages...Very intricate professional Calculus/ trig/ differential Level 12 problem) but the car itself was only 3 months old when the odor appeared. I will note that leading up to it I ALWAYS had the Ricirculate setting activated. So I suspect the moisture has gotten into my system and set there for the long time I’ve been on recirculate. I may tear down my frunk and check the filter in a few days and check for moisture and smell still remaining. Might have to put the car in a bag of rice overnight or something..

 

[thecloud]

I haven't had the musty A/C smell for a long time. When I did, putting the system into fresh air mode ("CUSTOM") got rid of it after a few days. I remember that I could distinctly hear the door open and close inside the ventilation system when switching from AUTO to fresh air and back, and it would remain in the selected mode. Sounds like something may have changed in a later update.

 

[selfbp]

I haven't had the musty A/C smell for a long time. When I did, putting the system into fresh air mode ("CUSTOM") got rid of it after a few days. I remember that I could distinctly hear the door open and close inside the ventilation system when switching from AUTO to fresh air and back, and it would remain in the selected mode. Sounds like something may have changed in a later update.

I usually hear it open back up when I start mine up in the mornings. Maybe its because I'm relatively new

 

[jjh1234]

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.

My BMW dealer recommended Frigi-Fresh as well. They also put an ozone machine in my cabin for a while. I changed all the cabin air filters and always switched the A/C recirculate from AUTO to Fresh air. Never came back.

 

[Az_Rael]

After digging through the old (illicit) service manual copy I have, it looks like I can get to the drain line from inside the cabin by the driver's footwell. I have gotten to the drain from the frunk side, but I thought that might be too far away from the internals for my foaming cleaner to do a good job.

So this weekend I will take out the panels on my center console and stick my borescope camera up the near end of the drain and see where it leads. Will post all the gory details here if I am successful.

 

[Az_Rael]

OK, did some exploration today. Accessed the drain line from the drivers footwell



Hardest part was getting the drain hose off - ugh. Got my handy dandy Amazon cell phone borescope out and stuck it in the drain hole (Depstech makes a really nice one). Here is what was up there:

I could see some green nastiness on the fins so I applied my can of Klima Clean via the drain hole using a towel to keep the mess down. It smells like alcohol and a light scent going in. Left it do its magic for 20 minutes, then turned the system on and the fan on high to let it air out. Car is sitting in the driveway now with the windows down and the fan running (yay camper mode!).

Once the alcohol flashes off, it doesn't seem to leave behind a really strong scent, so I am pleased so far. Won't really know how well it works for a few weeks, so we will see.

 

[Calimenti]

Did that do the trick?

My S is 6 months old and I suddenly have a musty odor. No leaks anywhere inside the car. I read this entire thread and I think I have recirculate on. I have to check.

 

[Az_Rael]

Did that do the trick?

My S is 6 months old and I suddenly have a musty odor. No leaks anywhere inside the car. I read this entire thread and I think I have recirculate on. I have to check.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to test my solution long term. My S ended up in an accident a few weeks later and was totaled.

 

[Calimenti]

Oh no I’m sorry to hear that!

 

[dermchick]

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?

 

[dermchick]

I have a 1-1/2 year old Model S D75 and I have had a horrible smell develop in the last month. I have shampooed the mats, vacuumed fully, no vomit, no pets, nothing in the frunk. I keep it pretty spotless and I don't feel any wet upholstery. I don't want to carry passengers because of it. The right rear tail light fogs up slightly when I wash and rinse the car and goes away, but I didn't think much of it. I am otherwise racking my brain to fix the problem. I love this car more than any car I have ever owned but this smell thing is really distressing to me. I feel like I am living in the movie "Grumpy Old Men."

 

[Tesseract]

Another area to check just to be safe is the rear truck well. I had a leak develop somewhere in the rear glass or possibly trunk seal.(Service appointment has been scheduled but the wait time is a few weeks currently so I will update with the official cause.)

After further investigation bc of the musty smell I noticed that my charging cable was slightly damp...I lifted up the rear truck well liner and the blue padding was completely saturated. Whether this is the exact cause of my oder or not I cant say until its dry and the leak is found.