Both my wife's 2020 Model Y and my 2021 Model Y have the same issue, almost immediately after delivery. I have scheduled a service with Tesla, and they want me to approve at $125 repair cost per car. Something tells me that this is a design/build issue. I live in Colorado, where the air is dry, and mold/bacteria simply does not grow. I've never had this issue in any of my previous cars. Does anybody have any insight into this?
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
My Model Y smells, does it happen to yours?
- Thread starter Wjli2020
- Start date
Have you read through this thread? Lots of helpful info.
Tesla always estimates, and prints on the invoice, what the service would cost, so that the consumer is aware of that cost. IF the work is covered under warranty (which your service definitely is!) than that $$$ figure is ignored, and your invoice will say $0.
NJEV-Don
Member
Don’t assume it’s going to be a warranty coverEd repair. My car was 10 months old and having the issue. I scheduled mobile service to replace the filters etc and wanted and expected it to be covered but I had to pay. It might depend on the service center etc. Honestly kind of annoying. Hope you have better luck.
Then don't approve the estimate. I had an estimate to replace a small trim panel that I felt was a factory defect. They quoted me $127 to replace it. I didn't approve it, and when the mobile service guy came I told him if it wasn't covered under warranty, to leave it alone. He looked and said it is a covered fix. He also said a lot of times they put a charge in 'just in case' before they look at the car, then determine it's covered.
NJEV-Don
Member
I get that but I got charged for changing the smelly air filters etc. they were less than a year old and the Tesla manual says they need to be changed every 2 years. I felt it should have been covered under warranty and they felt differently.
LionelHutz
Member
This is not correct. I'd booked a service appointment for this issue on my 8 month old Y as was given an estimate of $144. Service Center specifically confirmed that I'd need to pay: "Cabin filters and cleaning are considered maintenance items and not covered under the Basic Vehicle Warranty."
sarrama said his cars had this issue "almost immediately after delivery." He didn't tell us how long he/she waited before having Tesla address the issue.
We still don't know how old his 2021 car is (the 2020 is out of warranty)
dduffey
Member
I agree, I picked mine up and the next day scheduled for service and put in an order for new filters (~2 weeks). They only charged me for the filters (because I said I would do it myself) but they ended up doing the labor for free. So it wasn't covered under warranty and was "good will." It didn't include the kool it cleaner though.
Schulz1983
Model Y LR AWD: Matte PPF, Vossen HF-1
For what’s it’s worth I will try to sum up my experience.
I’ve never had a car with stinky cabin filters. This is my first vehicle. From what I have discovered from taking the Y apart (wasn’t willing to pay Tesla) I don’t think it is a design issue. I found my issue resolved itself when I deactivated cabin overheat protection. That running during the day was allowing continued moisture which lead to the smell. I also found that auto likes to turn recirculate on (most ICE vehicles don’t use it as I never did unless it was super hot out) and it stays on when you park. I always turn off recirculate now when I get to a destination (can be overrode without turning auto off) and haven’t had the issue occur again.
I bought the filters from Tesla and bought the cleaner online. Issue has been fixed for a while now. I think it is the software causing the issue, not the hardware. Just my two cents anyway.
As far as changing the filters. I took the side console panel off first and took the screw out. Once that was removed I dropped the panel under the dash and left the wires connected. I didn’t need to remove the plugs to change the filter. Put the panel under the dash back and then put the side panel back on. Took maybe 5 minutes outside of waiting on the cleaner. If you don’t like to do things then paying Tesla might be the answer. I just couldn’t see paying the $165 or whatever it was when I did it for $45. I’m going to change the filters every 12k miles but I don’t believe I will need to use the cleaner again.
I’ve never had a car with stinky cabin filters. This is my first vehicle. From what I have discovered from taking the Y apart (wasn’t willing to pay Tesla) I don’t think it is a design issue. I found my issue resolved itself when I deactivated cabin overheat protection. That running during the day was allowing continued moisture which lead to the smell. I also found that auto likes to turn recirculate on (most ICE vehicles don’t use it as I never did unless it was super hot out) and it stays on when you park. I always turn off recirculate now when I get to a destination (can be overrode without turning auto off) and haven’t had the issue occur again.
I bought the filters from Tesla and bought the cleaner online. Issue has been fixed for a while now. I think it is the software causing the issue, not the hardware. Just my two cents anyway.
As far as changing the filters. I took the side console panel off first and took the screw out. Once that was removed I dropped the panel under the dash and left the wires connected. I didn’t need to remove the plugs to change the filter. Put the panel under the dash back and then put the side panel back on. Took maybe 5 minutes outside of waiting on the cleaner. If you don’t like to do things then paying Tesla might be the answer. I just couldn’t see paying the $165 or whatever it was when I did it for $45. I’m going to change the filters every 12k miles but I don’t believe I will need to use the cleaner again.
dduffey
Member
I don't have cabin overheat protection on and still have had the issue every summer and use the cleaner every time. This year the 3 didn't even make it through the full summer season, although it is not bad enough to change again now (it's only a minor wif on a hot and rainy day) ... But next summer it will come back with a vengence.
I wasn't aware that Auto doesn't control recirc ... I was pretty sure that recirc would come back on in Auto but just tried it again and it didn't come back on automatically so this may make things better, thanks.
I suspect that in MD you won't have this issue as prevalent as other hot/humid regions, but let us know if you don't need to use the cleaner again next summer. So far all of my experiments have failed outside of coil cleaning and new filters.
Schulz1983
Model Y LR AWD: Matte PPF, Vossen HF-1
How many miles are you getting between filter changes? You have to watch auto mode. When I got home this evening recirculate had activated again. I turned it off before shutting the hvac down. You want that flapper door open as the Y runs the fan for 20 minutes after parking. If the flapper door is closed (recirculate on) I don’t believe the coils are getting dried off. Most manufacturers recommend replacing filters every 12k miles. I hit 12k when I changed these and they were pretty dirty.
dduffey
Member
My 2018 only has 23k miles, and have cleaned/replaced in 2019, 2020, and 2021 summers.
I believe the firmware now automatically will turn off the coils and blow fresh air (recirc off) for a bit after exiting the vehicle, no matter how you have the climate controls set.
Yes, I recall recirc also coming back automatically in the past after turning them off in Auto mode. But wasn't able to repro that today, so maybe it doesn't now or it will only turn on under certain conditions.
dduffey
Member
I've owned a Buick Regal, Toyota Camry, MR2, RAV4, Celica, Sienna, Honda Fit, Civic, BMW X3. Only the RAV4 ever had this issue for me (same house) and it had a TSB and warranty fix.
I came from that history, no issues for decades and the one that did was a major resign and fix, to both our 3 and Y having this issue EVERY summer since new.
I don't think that is coincidence. I agree that this may not just be "JUST" a Tesla thing but it is definitely "A" Tesla thing.
My 2017 Chevy Volt developed an AC system odor. This happened even though I was very disciplined about turning off the AC and running the blower fan for 10 minutes whenever I drove the Volt during the summer. The odor would come and go, mostly smelled like vinegar. The dealer cleaned the evaporator when they replaced the cabin air filter. The problem did not return during the remaining 12 months that I owned the Volt. (The Tesla Model Y became available about a year sooner than I thought I would receive my Model Y.)
TomServo
Active Member
13+ months old and no stinky smell - yet. We live in the Mississippi River Valley here in St Louis and it gets HOT and HUMID for months on end and the A/C works hard. I'm a disabled vet and will try changing my filters by myself, if I can't I'll gladly pay Tesla to do it. Am hoping I can get at least 2 years from the filters before I need to deal with it.
BTW many early C6 Corvette's were afflicted with this and GM's solution was to fun the HVAC fan about 2 minutes after you shut off the car. I guess that cleared the COLD air from the ductwork which prevented condensation from forming and then sitting in the heat and going bad. Once they did that the problem was cured.
BTW many early C6 Corvette's were afflicted with this and GM's solution was to fun the HVAC fan about 2 minutes after you shut off the car. I guess that cleared the COLD air from the ductwork which prevented condensation from forming and then sitting in the heat and going bad. Once they did that the problem was cured.
dduffey
Member
In GM vehicles there is an HVAC setting called After Blow. Usually only the dealer can set the After Blow feature to run. After Blow will run the HVAC fan for ~5 minutes after the vehicle has been driven, parked. There are other conditions too such as the vehicle must remain parked for 25 minutes before the HVAC fan will run. Not sure if this is to conserve the 12V battery in these ICE vehicles or to wait until the evaporator coil has warmed up a bit. Tesla engineers added a similar function to Tesla vehicles, the HVAC blower in the Tesla Model Y will run for ~20 minutes to help dry out the evaporator. In the Tesla vehicle there is no concern about draining the 12V battery by running the HVAC fan for 20 minutes as the Tesla will automatically charge the 12V battery whenever this is required even when the Tesla is parked.
Similar threads
