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Smelly HVAC

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Bit of a weird one guys! But, for at least 6 months to 1 year, I've noticed a smell eminating from my vents that can only be described as dog sh!t with perhaps a tinge of vomit and vinegar. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, its always immediately after I enter the car and start driving. It only lasts for about a minute until the vents have purged that air I guess then it's completely fresh.

Anyone else's M3 do this? Has someone sh@t in my frunk without me knowing?!! It's what it smells like.

Anyway, be interesting to see if I am the only one experiencing this.
 
Some people report that the smell problem comes back after just a few months... It depends on the humidity where you live and your habits: leaving AC on AUTO vs manual, having cabin overheat protection on with AC, that sort of thing. YMMV

EDIT: In my case it held for 18 months initially, then I got the smell 12 months later but just a few days in the worst, most humid of our summer. The smell has since gone away without me replacing again. Parts are ready in my garage...
 
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I did wonder about the cabin filter but my cars only done 13k miles, and therfore a lot less than that when I started happening. I'll change it regardless now y0ou've mentioned though. Thanks .
Some people have the issue sooner than others. I think all you can do is let the AC do its thing ... also, those noises you hear after stopping is the car drying out the filters (I believe.)
 
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Its the aircon evaporator getting a bit mouldy. I had it during the heatwave this summer.
You can clean the evaporator and replace the filters, though for every YouTube video showing how to do this, there's as many comments saying that it didnt solve the issue.
I ran the heating at max for an hour one night and that seemed to solve it for me. Might be worth a shot?
 
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I just traded i an M3 at 3 years 32K miles with the original filters. no issues at all. Like everyone says its circumstances and to some degree luck as to whether bacteria or mould takes up residence in the system
 
Its the aircon evaporator getting a bit mouldy. I had it during the heatwave this summer.
You can clean the evaporator and replace the filters, though for every YouTube video showing how to do this, there's as many comments saying that it didnt solve the issue.
I ran the heating at max for an hour one night and that seemed to solve it for me. Might be worth a shot?
That is probably why I have not had an issue. I think my wife does this every day on her way to work even in the summer :rolleyes:
 
I had the same issue with my Model 3, less than a year after buying.

Took it in to the SC under warranty and they used some spray to clear it out. That fixed it.

Until about 2 weeks ago, the issue returned. Turning the AC on a few minutes before I enter the car, clears the smell. I'm tempted to leave it for now, as my Model Y collection date is only a few weeks away and I'm trading the 3 in.

Hope that helps.
 
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I was going to change the filters myself, but after looking at the CleverleyEV youtube vid (looks awkward to do) and realising my 2 year anniversary is due this month I ended up deciding to let Tesla do it as part of the 2 year service visit.

£169 all in, for the service and parts (they also swapped both wiper blades), I was quite happy with that.

(They also swapped the charge port harness/realigned the boot lid/swapped out autopilot computer due to boot loop issues & I'm glad they were all covered under the warranty looking at the invoice they sent me that had the list price on it!!)
 
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Probably because the Nextzett brand isn't available in Amazon UK? The product name I was linking is in the link string: Nextzett Klima-cleaner . It's listed on the canadian Amazon site but it's now twice as pricy at 51$, I believe I paid 25$ for it a year ago. Look for any AC radiator cleaner foam I guess? Maybe other people will have specific brands to recommend that you get in the UK...
 
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Filters are £15 from Tesla. You will need 2 pieces. Having recently replaced mine myself, I can confess whilst doable, a bit of a faff. If you have other items requiring attention, recommend adding to a service request. Jason Fenske did a video on YT recently about how reasonable Tesla repair and parts can be, so worth getting a quote for jobs.