Smelly feet smell from AC

[BLKMDL3]

Since I got my new X90D on 8/24 this terrible smell from the A/C. It comes from the vents. Tried bioweapon defense mode and it doesnt help. Driving me crazy! What should I do. It smells like dirty feet.

Here comes all the puns and jokes!
Should I make appt at SC?

 

[boaterva]

Since I got my new X90D on 8/24 this terrible smell from the A/C. It comes from the vents. Tried bioweapon defense mode and it doesnt help. Driving me crazy! What should I do. It smells like dirty feet.

Here comes all the puns and jokes!
Should I make appt at SC?

Brand new or CPO? Sounds like new new... that's weird, unless something got into the system. Might be condensation/mold? Something in the charcoal canisters?

If you can reproduce it, I'd definitely take it in ASAP, and be sure you know when it happens (time of day, etc.) so you can stick someone's face in it.

 

[JasJ]

I find if you make the AC run on fresh air for the first 60 seconds of getting in the car the smell goes away (until the next time you get in the car). The SC tried a 'treatment' but the smell came back in a few days. I live in Houston with 90% humidity which could be a factor. Definitely suspect a mold/mildew type of issue. The two loaner cars I had for a month each before my car was re-built did not have this problem.

My car goes back this week and it's on my punch list to check again.

 

[outie]

Of course you should make an appt at SC. They will clean it up or replace whatever got infested with smelly feet.

 

[BLKMDL3]

Brand new or CPO? Sounds like new new... that's weird, unless something got into the system. Might be condensation/mold? Something in the charcoal canisters?

If you can reproduce it, I'd definitely take it in ASAP, and be sure you know when it happens (time of day, etc.) so you can stick someone's face in it.

Inventory. 2k miles. It always happens.

 

[boaterva]

Inventory. 2k miles. It always happens.

Makes more sense. Inventory cars do sit around... may just need the canisters replaced. Be interesting to know the final issue!

 

[Cirrus MS100D]

OMG YES!

We’ve had the same thing happen about 3 or 4 times on our brand new Model S. Can’t quite place the location of the smell, but sometimes you can almost smell it from outside the car. Could be a guess, but seems like it only happens on recirculating mode after it’s been running for a little bit, then is stopped for about 5 minutes, then get back in the car.

I think it smells like garbage (like literally rotting garbage) my wife pegs it like a nasty diaper. But it doesn’t seem to last long and we absolutely cannot reproduce it. We’re almost at 2500 miles and 2 months. Last time it was detectable was probably 2 weeks ago. Since it’s been getting cooler in the northeast, haven’t run AC a for a bit, but we also don’t tend to use recirc very often when we do.

So many suggestions say mold, but our car had like <5 miles on it when we picked it up. How could mold have formed so quickly?!

 

[skhenry81]

Get your air filter replaced. I had this issue and they changed my filter and the smell was gone immediately.

 

[cybergates]

Get your air filter replaced. I had this issue and they changed my filter and the smell was gone immediately.

at least on other cars (infiniti and bmw) - that helped (changing cabin air filter) - does tesla have one (i'm sure it does).

 

[skhenry81]

Yes it does, I literally had mine changed on Friday after having the same problem the OP is talking about. The tech showed me the old filter and it didn't even look bad.

 

[boaterva]

Yes it does, I literally had mine changed on Friday after having the same problem the OP is talking about. The tech showed me the old filter and it didn't even look bad.

Are we talking about the charcoal canisters, the HEPA, or something else (a small version of the HEPA perhaps that all cars have)? Nice to know what's in the airflow that would cause the issue!

 

[arcus]

I find if you make the AC run on fresh air for the first 60 seconds of getting in the car the smell goes away (until the next time you get in the car). The SC tried a 'treatment' but the smell came back in a few days. I live in Houston with 90% humidity which could be a factor. Definitely suspect a mold/mildew type of issue. The two loaner cars I had for a month each before my car was re-built did not have this problem.

My car goes back this week and it's on my punch list to check again.

My experience is very similar. Also, switching to biodefense mode seems to do the trick, but as JasJ mentioned it tends to come back the next time you're in the car. Will add it to the list for my next visit, too.

 

[skhenry81]

I have a signature model so no Bio Defense filter. The filter he showed me was pretty small.

 

[vandacca]

I have a signature model so no Bio Defense filter. The filter he showed me was pretty small.

The Signature Models are fully loaded, so it comes with the Bio Defense Filter.

--edit--
Oh wait, you appear to have an old nose P85 S (this is a Model-X forum, so I assumed you had an X). The Bio Defense Filter only appeared on the refresh Model-S (no nose cone), so you have an older model without Bio Filter.

 

[VikH]

Since I got my new X90D on 8/24 this terrible smell from the A/C. It comes from the vents. Tried bioweapon defense mode and it doesnt help. Driving me crazy! What should I do. It smells like dirty feet.

Here comes all the puns and jokes!
Should I make appt at SC?

In previous cars with this issue, I have run the heat on max for 10-15 minutes with windows down to bake out the system. Sometimes this helps.

 

[lux_cars]

This is most likely a mold/mildew issue, likely coming from the evaporator. After the AC gets turned off when you exit the vehicle, water can collect in the evaporator and cause mold growth. This problem can be exacerbated if the drainage for evaporator is blocked for some reason.

Have it checked out and fixed soon otherwise the problem is only like to become more permanent. Not sure where the evaporator is in the MX but it will likely need to be accessed to fix or replaced if this is what’s I suspect it is.

2 things that help avoid mold growth:
1. Use fresh air instead of recirculate when HVAC is on.
2. Run the ventilation only for ~10 minutes without AC at the end of each journey when AC was used to dry out evaporator.

 

[JasJ]

Turns out my smelly feet odor was due to a faulty 'rainlight' sensor... So far no smell Day 2 with new rainlight sensor. Downside was no EAP for a day while the camera's re-calibrated (guess the sensor is in the camera package behind the review mirror)..

 

[lux_cars]

Turns out my smelly feet odor was due to a faulty 'rainlight' sensor... So far no smell Day 2 with new rainlight sensor. Downside was no EAP for a day while the camera's re-calibrated (guess the sensor is in the camera package behind the review mirror)..

View attachment 253245
View attachment 253246

“Odor is caused by humidity buildup due to faulty rainlight sensor.”

Interesting. Did they tell you how and where exactly the faulty sensor leads to buildup of humidity?

Also, I was under the impression that AP2 cars did not have a rainlight sensor but just a light sensor?

 

[JasJ]

“Odor is caused by humidity buildup due to faulty rainlight sensor.”

Interesting. Did they tell you how and where exactly the faulty sensor leads to buildup of humidity?

Also, I was under the impression that AP2 cars did not have a rainlight sensor but just a light sensor?

Something along the lines of the sensor was causing the car to not use fresh air.....


I too thought no rain sensor on AP2 car (which mine is). Maybe it's really a 'light' sensor in the place of a rain/light sensor of AP1. It did also fix my almost always on auto headlights

No odor this morning either...

 

[RobertF]

Since I got my new X90D on 8/24 this terrible smell from the A/C. It comes from the vents. Tried bioweapon defense mode and it doesnt help. Driving me crazy! What should I do. It smells like dirty feet.

Here comes all the puns and jokes!
Should I make appt at SC?

You might consider calling or taking to service center