Smelly stinky socks / mold in Model 3 AC

[Randy-12]

I had the smell earlier this summer after 15 months of having the car.
It is always on automatic and cabin overheat is on. I have yet to change those settings.
But I had the smell.

Mobile tech came in and pulled the filters out and did the spray. He recommends doing the clean 3 times or 1 complete can of the spray.
My filters we clogged with pollen and gunk. I park inside and when at the office there are no trees around, but still they were bad.
I looked at them myself. The tech told me that he recommends changing the filters out every spring and that should keep the smell away.

After watching the video it does make sense what he says.
For $20 I may just put the kit in. Won't hurt so it could only help.

 

[P3dStealth]

NY area and multiple friends with up to five year old M3, never serviced the cabin filters and no smell

Maybe a southern thing

I'm in NY. It only happens in summer and you only smell it on the initial startup of the AC. People who use cabin overheat or precondition the car before entering don't smell it because when they get in the system already cleared out the initial musk. Depending on where you are in NY there are far worse smells.

 

[kpanda17]

I'm in NY. It only happens in summer and you only smell it on the initial startup of the AC. People who use cabin overheat or precondition the car before entering don't smell it because when they get in the system already cleared out the initial musk. Depending on where you are in NY there are far worse smells.

My two Ts are 2023, bough Dec 22 and Mar 23, therefore fairly new
funny I have my filters and spray ready, been waiting for the stink that has not come
the wife has an amazing nose and has not detected anything to date

 

[XPsionic]

My two Ts are 2023, bough Dec 22 and Mar 23, therefore fairly new
funny I have my filters and spray ready, been waiting for the stink that has not come
the wife has an amazing nose and has not detected anything to date

Took my car about 14 months before it started stinking. Before that it was so clean and fresh!

 

[P3dStealth]

My two Ts are 2023, bough Dec 22 and Mar 23, therefore fairly new
funny I have my filters and spray ready, been waiting for the stink that has not come
the wife has an amazing nose and has not detected anything to date

Yes I thought I was in the clear like my first year or so too... Good move keeping the filters and spray in stock. I do this now also.

Just so everyone knows this filter is the same filter as oem Tesla. It's made in the same factory. I've tried 5 different filters.

Purolator PBC41506 PurolatorBOSS Premium Cabin Air Filter with Febreze Freshness fits Select Tesla Models https://a.co/d/74FZXas

This filter is almost a perfect clone.

Spearhead Odor Defense Breathe Easy Cabin Filter | Fits 2017-23 Model 3, 2020-23 Model Y Like OEM | Up to 25% Longer Lasting w/Activated Carbon (BE-111) https://a.co/d/0R9pT6x

 

[EnzoXYZ]

Its a design fault. On our Model Y the filter is right next to the fins of the evaporator. The fins are very wet every time I change the filter. Why in the world would you design a system where the filter is right next to something damp. Add salt to this poor design with terrible location to put the cabin filter. We also have a '15 Model S with the cabin filter located under the hood which is way easier to change but this car doesn't have foul smell issue. Too bad cuz it would take 15 seconds to change the filter.

Class action needed on this black? mold we are smelling/ suffering.

WHY ARE WE DOING ALL THIS TO A $65K LUXURY SUV?

 

[Tronguy]

Um. About a year and a bit ago, one of Tesla's software updates would run the AC for a time after one parked the car. Before, it wouldn't do that.

My thought was that they were trying to fix the issue, by drying out the evaporator before turning off the car.

I can see where it wouldn't help 100% of the time, though: Any time fresh, humid air from outside the car has to go past the evaporator coils water's going to condense on said coils.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

Its a design fault. On our Model Y the filter is right next to the fins of the evaporator. The fins are very wet every time I change the filter. Why in the world would you design a system where the filter is right next to something damp. Add salt to this poor design with terrible location to put the cabin filter. We also have a '15 Model S with the cabin filter located under the hood which is way easier to change but this car doesn't have foul smell issue. Too bad cuz it would take 15 seconds to change the filter.

Class action needed on this black? mold we are smelling/ suffering.

WHY ARE WE DOING ALL THIS TO A $65K LUXURY SUV?

100% this.

i don't buy the "water comes in over the hood and then rushes down and soaks the filter" theory one bit.... i wash my car regularly and a lot of water goes down the hood and my filter doesnt smell....

 

[kpanda17]

12 and 10 months in with two Ts
No filter changes and no smells yet

 

[stopcrazypp]

Its a design fault. On our Model Y the filter is right next to the fins of the evaporator. The fins are very wet every time I change the filter. Why in the world would you design a system where the filter is right next to something damp. Add salt to this poor design with terrible location to put the cabin filter. We also have a '15 Model S with the cabin filter located under the hood which is way easier to change but this car doesn't have foul smell issue. Too bad cuz it would take 15 seconds to change the filter.

Class action needed on this black? mold we are smelling/ suffering.

WHY ARE WE DOING ALL THIS TO A $65K LUXURY SUV?

People put out that theory before, but it haven't been proven. For example there are aftermarket filters with plastic parts to separate it from the fins, but it doesn't seem to make a difference for the cars that developed the smell. For many, the smell doesn't seem to be coming from the filter.

 

[Kandiru]

It is my conclusion the evaporator has nothing to do with the vinegary odor which in my case went away immediately after replacing the filters and installing the hood dam preventing water leakage into the cabin air intake. I am still odor free two weeks and three car washes after that. Now time to fix the damn rattle I introduced after reattaching the panel below the glovebox (wires knocking).

 

[stopcrazypp]

It is my conclusion the evaporator has nothing to do with the vinegary odor which in my case went away immediately after replacing the filters and installing the hood dam preventing water leakage into the cabin air intake. I am still odor free two weeks and three car washes after that. Now time to fix the damn rattle I introduced after reattaching the panel below the glovebox (wires knocking).

That may be a false positive as plenty of people reported the same and then the smell returned not too long after. This is because the filter is carbon infused. That means it has odor absorbing properties and can absorb odors while it is new. Once the carbon is fully saturated, if you don't solve the root cause, it will return not too long after.

A real solution instead would last for months. That's why as mentioned above, the suggested solution is not fully tested yet until that person returns a year later and it still is odorless (and lasted significantly longer than otherwise; for example plenty of people do a coil clean and it lasts them a year, so need to make sure it is specifically from this change).

 

[RMannino]

Bought used 2020 M3LR in Oct 2022.
Very bad smell!
Changed to charcoal filters and used Klima cleaner.
Added water dam under frunk hood and Farmogo air inlet filter(best air flow).
Has been over a year and no smell at all.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Bought used 2020 M3LR in Oct 2022.
Very bad smell!
Changed to charcoal filters and used Klima cleaner.
Added water dam under frunk hood and Farmogo air inlet filter(best air flow).
Has been over a year and no smell at all.

The thing is the filter change + proper coil cleaning is a proven solution that can last about a year, so it's hard to say if the water dam and air inlet filters necessarily contributed anything if you did that also.

However for the guy in the video, I don't believe he did a coil clean (at least it was not mentioned).

 

[SkepTeach]

We've had a few Model 3s over the last several years and every one of them developed a bad smell within a few months of ownership. Wondering what are the odds that the Highland will have corrected this issue when it comes available in the US?

 

[rotarypower101]

The 3rd party software apps/hardware that are able to augment certain functionality, do any of the various implementations possibly allow a user to defined HVAC drying cycles?

Would control over that functionality even be possible if it were deemed worthwhile?

Making the guess it could, as even security systems seem to be accessible, access to the batteries control systems, motor settings, almost any access seems to be able to be manipulated.


Could a concerted effort by the user base to request user defined actionable control from those tools possibly be a methodology that could be a viable long term solution that doesn't require repetitive vigilant user maintenance?

People that manually run their HVAC after each cycle seem to commonly claim to have the longest duration success from user reports.

 

[JimShaw]

I had the smell earlier this summer after 15 months of having the car.
It is always on automatic and cabin overheat is on. I have yet to change those settings.
But I had the smell.

Mobile tech came in and pulled the filters out and did the spray. He recommends doing the clean 3 times or 1 complete can of the spray.
My filters we clogged with pollen and gunk. I park inside and when at the office there are no trees around, but still they were bad.
I looked at them myself. The tech told me that he recommends changing the filters out every spring and that should keep the smell away.

After watching the video it does make sense what he says.
For $20 I may just put the kit in. Won't hurt so it could only help.

That's exactly why I did it

 

[Gyrolion]

There is now a part 2 of this video, and the problem seems to be something different, or atleast it is way more complicated.

 

[kpanda17]

There is now a part 2 of this video, and the problem seems to be something different, or atleast it is way more complicated.

Amazing analysis
Would be great to see Tesla engineering weighing in

 

[beachsideev]

Well I have to give him credit for his tenacity. I think his observations regarding the bottom filter absorbing water are valid. It seems like a simple test would be to use one of those foam filters on the bottom along with an oem on the top. I might buy one and give it a shot as I need to do mine anyway.

However there is still the question of the coils holding some of the smell. In my experience, if I only replace the filters and don't spray the coils with disinfectant, the smell comes back pretty quickly.

Edit:

Those xtechnor filters appear to have a plastic frame:

Amazon.com