Smelly stinky socks / mold in Model 3 AC

[Freedom]

For everyone, does this smell go away after like 10-15 seconds of the AC turning on? Or is it persistent? I have something like this, (smells like glue to me) for the first 15 seconds and goes away. Sometimes its not even there.

 

[Need]

For everyone, does this smell go away after like 10-15 seconds of the AC turning on? Or is it persistent? I have something like this, (smells like glue to me) for the first 15 seconds and goes away. Sometimes its not even there.

It goes away after 10 to 15 seconds. To me, it smells like vomit.

 

[vickh]

It goes away after 10 to 15 seconds. To me, it smells like vomit.

spoiled milk/yogurt to me...

 

[MikeyC]

30-60 seconds for me. To me it smells exactly like vinegar.

Mike

 

[alangold]

A few people have reported them covering it, but they make most people pay for a replacement filter. The people that got it covered, were told it was "good will" so it does not appear to be a warranty item (filters in general are consumable items anyway for most manufacturers).

As for advice, it tends to get moldy because it doesnt dry out, and some people have worse time than others with it, based on how they have their AC set. I have never had the issue, and I drive with the HVAC on auto all the time, and I DO NOT have on recirculation.

I think you are likely on the hook for paying for it, but might be able to get them to "good will" it as long as you havent burnt that bridge with "fire and brimstone" ("you cant charge me for this!! this is a warranty item! I want to talk to the manager!") but it sounds like you might have done that already, so its unlikely they will "good will" anything.

After you get the replacement resolved one way or another, I suggest not using recirculate for long periods of time if you are doing that, making sure your car is up to date and you are not refusing updates (of you are doing that) and letting the HVAV system do its thing when you get out of the car.

Yes I read that you should not use recirculate all the time - good reply

 

[alangold]

Wow makes me really look forward to me M3 - what happened to “new car” smell

 

[CertLive]

Stand your ground people with the service centres. You should not be having to outlay for a problem that has been happening since the 3 was produced. I also had the bad smell within a couple of weeks of purchase on a late 2019 model 3. A software update was released to mitigate it by simply pre warming the car and closing something as it pumps out the initial bad smell and then when you get in it should be clear but this does not tackle the fact that it is still happening and then years later still happing. You get hit with it on first use of the day getting in the car lovely. Tesla should replace the filters and clean the AC for free as it seems to be a design flaw. First car I ever purchased that actually did this mouldy smell from new.

 

[vickh]

Stand your ground people with the service centres. You should not be having to outlay for a problem that has been happening since the 3 was produced. I also had the bad smell within a couple of weeks of purchase on a late 2019 model 3. A software update was released to mitigate it by simply pre warming the car and closing something as it pumps out the initial bad smell and then when you get in it should be clear but this does not tackle the fact that it is still happening and then years later still happing. You get hit with it on first use of the day getting in the car lovely. Tesla should replace the filters and clean the AC for free as it seems to be a design flaw. First car I ever purchased that actually did this mouldy smell from new.

anyone here have luck w/ SC treating it as goodwill more than once? I did once when car was new

 

[stopcrazypp]

Stand your ground people with the service centres. You should not be having to outlay for a problem that has been happening since the 3 was produced. I also had the bad smell within a couple of weeks of purchase on a late 2019 model 3. A software update was released to mitigate it by simply pre warming the car and closing something as it pumps out the initial bad smell and then when you get in it should be clear but this does not tackle the fact that it is still happening and then years later still happing. You get hit with it on first use of the day getting in the car lovely. Tesla should replace the filters and clean the AC for free as it seems to be a design flaw. First car I ever purchased that actually did this mouldy smell from new.

If you have it within a couple weeks new, that is one thing. If it's a year or more, then there are plenty of examples of it happening to other brands and I don't believe I have seen Tesla cover it under warranty or goodwill (certainly very rare).

The fan update isn't to pump out the smell. The smell is from mold/mildew due to the filter/evaporator area not drying out enough. The update runs the fan after the car is parked for a while to dry out the evaporator. It was mentioned in other threads, other cars do the same thing. That solved the problem for a lot of people, but for people where it's a chronic problem (and the duct inside the car may already have mold/mildew) that doesn't necessarily work.

 

[CertLive]

If you have it within a couple weeks new, that is one thing. If it's a year or more, then there are plenty of examples of it happening to other brands and I don't believe I have seen Tesla cover it under warranty or goodwill (certainly very rare).

The fan update isn't to pump out the smell. The smell is from mold/mildew due to the filter/evaporator area not drying out enough. The update runs the fan after the car is parked for a while to dry out the evaporator. It was mentioned in other threads, other cars do the same thing. That solved the problem for a lot of people, but for people where it's a chronic problem (and the duct inside the car may already have mold/mildew) that doesn't necessarily work.

When you have a common fault which is effecting a wide range of users while it is being fixed it should be done so and remedied under warranty or goodwill. But it seems to me it is still happening to new cars to this day. I have owned a few cars and more than one EV the model 3 was the first to present such a smell through the AC. I have been in cars where the AC has not been serviced in years with no egg / mould smell. This is experience and I am sure the same of a lot of others from reading. Quote " The smell is from mold/mildew due to the filter/evaporator area not drying out enough. " ok so fix it. You load in bad filters fix it. Again stop pinning the issue onto users Tesla, bulletin it and pro actively replace them for people until you bother to make a more reliable AC system. Replace the filters again and again at no cost to the user until you fix the problem itself. Maybe the cost of 100,000 filters might make someone budge.

 

[CertLive]

anyone here have luck w/ SC treating it as goodwill more than once? I did once when car was new

If there is proof of one single SC doing it then they all should do it. Otherwise you are not treating customers fairly.

Common issue? https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tesla+ac+bad+smell

 

[stopcrazypp]

If there is proof of one single SC doing it then they all should do it. Otherwise you are not treating customers fairly.

Common issue? https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tesla+ac+bad+smell

Not true at all, plenty of issues that where an SC even have covered it more than once (sometimes under warranty, although typically goodwill) and it does not set a precedent at all, even if you bring a copy of the invoice. It's still up to the discretion of the individual SC and the severity of the specific case (especially for issue like this where there can be a large variation in severity).
Unless Tesla issues a TSB that makes it official policy, it's irrelevant if there is a handful of cases where they cover it.

 

[aspec818]

Is anyone’s fans NOT turning on after you exit you car and have been using the ac? My car used to run the fan for about 10 minutes after but it stopped doing that. And of course I’m getting the stinky sock smell when the ac kicks in now.

 

[MikeyC]

Is anyone’s fans NOT turning on after you exit you car and have been using the ac? My car used to run the fan for about 10 minutes after but it stopped doing that. And of course I’m getting the stinky sock smell when the ac kicks in now.

I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure but I never hear the fan running when I get out of the car in 90+F temps when I've been using the AC. Are there some conditions that have to be met for the fan to run? Mine is in a locked garage so I don't have my car lock itself: it is unlocked when in the garage. Is locking it required or some other conditions required for the "dry off fan" to operate?

Mike

 

[aspec818]

I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure but I never hear the fan running when I get out of the car in 90+F temps when I've been using the AC. Are there some conditions that have to be met for the fan to run? Mine is in a locked garage so I don't have my car lock itself: it is unlocked when in the garage. Is locking it required or some other conditions required for the "dry off fan" to operate?

Mike

My car always locks itself when I leave so it’s not that. This is getting annoying as I just replaced the filter/cleaned the condenser a few months ago and put less than 2k miles on my car since. I haven’t used much ac during that time.

 

[Rmchrger]

Something to try for the ones having continuous problems. With the way the duct is designed, there is nothing forcing the cleaner foam all the way through the evaporator. Some of the foam wil take the path of least resistance and just go fwd into the duct. I used some temporary pieces of cardboard in place of the filters to force the foam farther into the evaporator. Cheap, easy and worth a try.

 

[ElectricNerd]

It's not just a Tesla problem. Our Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has it even worse, and Toyota tells me it's because I keep the recirculate on. First off, recirculate comes on by default upon vehicle startup even though I turn it off. Unlike the Model 3/Y, I can't spray the cleaner onto the evaporator or even through the drain line, and trying to force it down the front vents doesn't work.

It smells like old mildew/sweaty socks to us. The Tesla did this once since we bought it and I did the cleaner when I swapped out the cabin air filter.

 

[roblab]

I used to live in Santa Ana, then LA and Riverside, but have moved north to Napa Valley. I have never had any problems like this on any car I've ever owned, but I have never run the system on recirculate. I don't get the reasoning. Outside air is cleaner and drier. The only time I switch to recirc is when we go past the feed lots near Harris Ranch, and then immediately put it back on outside air. I would guess this is the problem. Quit using recirc.

 

[MikeyC]

Something to try for the ones having continuous problems. With the way the duct is designed, there is nothing forcing the cleaner foam all the way through the evaporator. Some of the foam wil take the path of least resistance and just go fwd into the duct. I used some temporary pieces of cardboard in place of the filters to force the foam farther into the evaporator. Cheap, easy and worth a try.

When I cover mine in foam, I usually wait about 10 minutes and while the coil is still wet but most of the foam has dissipated to liquid, I put the filter door back on with no filter inside and run the fan full blast for a couple minutes. That draws the cleaning solution from the foam through the coils/evaporator and out the other side where it (still) drips out the bottom onto the ground. After that, I install the new filters.

Mike

 

[android04]

If anybody is replacing their filters, AutoZone now sells air filters for the Model 3. They are specific for it and two come in the box. They seem like good quality, but I won't be installing them yet (I haven't had the stinky socks smell). The filters were around $30 IIRC.