I never stated that preconditioning would do that, i.e stop microbial growth. Preconditioning, running the AC lowers the humidity level in the cabin. Fresh air from outside flushes out any lingering odor. The only time I can sense any odor inside my Model Y when first getting into the Model Y is when I don't precondition for at least a few minutes.jcanoe: I don't understand how preconditioning would circumvent any microbial growth in the HVAC.
I know the odor of mold and mildew, had it in my previous vehicle. I recall two distinct odors. One smells of mold, the second odor is like vinegar.