dduffey
Member
How would that be easy? Would have to replace the blower or add some complex air handler.
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UGH - The smell of it. [AC Smell]
- Thread starter KenR
- Start date
How would that be easy? Would have to replace the blower or add some complex air handler.
It’s algae growth.
Stagnant air in the duct is not the cause of stinky air conditioning. The problem is microbial growth on the evaporator coil from the continuously wet and dark environment. As the growth accumulates over time, it begins releasing a sour odor when the temperature of the evaporator coil drops - basically every time you turn the air conditioning on. Very humid weather exacerbates the condition.
The remedy is periodically cleaning the evaporator with a product like Kool It. A permanent solution would be installing an evaporator with a permanent anti microbial coating applied to it.
Stagnant air in the duct is not the cause of stinky air conditioning. The problem is microbial growth on the evaporator coil from the continuously wet and dark environment. As the growth accumulates over time, it begins releasing a sour odor when the temperature of the evaporator coil drops - basically every time you turn the air conditioning on. Very humid weather exacerbates the condition.
The remedy is periodically cleaning the evaporator with a product like Kool It. A permanent solution would be installing an evaporator with a permanent anti microbial coating applied to it.
I'm doing this right now, currently running the ac for 20 mins to clear out the Klima cleaner, we'll see how long it lasts. One good bit of news is tesla moved the location of the screw to the bottom of the access panel in the 2021's.
android04
Active Member
Most likely there will be no visible difference besides the different part number. If you look at the part number for the filters on epc.tesla.com, they are at revision -C on them. When I last bought filters 2 years ago they were at revision -A. I think -C is a recent change they made within the last month or two, and hopefully it helps people with the odor issues.
I have a M3 2021. Got it end of December and this past week, I already got this AC smell! Our other MY 2021 is only 5 months old and also got this smell! With so many people having this issue, it seems more like a defect... Drove an ICE car for 6 years and didn't even face this issue?
Anyone got this under warranty if it happened within the first year? I understand this summer is super humid but didn't expect to change a filter within the first year neither. Your thoughts?
Anyone got this under warranty if it happened within the first year? I understand this summer is super humid but didn't expect to change a filter within the first year neither. Your thoughts?
I got the smell in 3 months in dry Arizona (it's humid now. They covered it.
With tesla so quick to make updates and improvements, i'm surprised they haven't fixed this issue.
There is water getting in from the intake and being blown right into the paper air filters. I just took a good look at the whole setup from the inside with a GoPro on a stick. There is a big cylindrical fan pretty much right after the intake and no real baffle to divert water.
There is brown water all on the fan and intake. I was wrong before when I said it wasn't my filters. It is. I cut them apart and they stink now.
Also I found out that when on high fan AC low my HVAC module leaks water into the car through a seam.
There is brown water all on the fan and intake. I was wrong before when I said it wasn't my filters. It is. I cut them apart and they stink now.
Also I found out that when on high fan AC low my HVAC module leaks water into the car through a seam.
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Ok so I used this cleaner from homedepot and it seems to work pretty good. There is no smell in my car. Its also a lot of spray so I think I have a little less than half still left. It foams a lot. There is no tube but I used a standard spray can straw to spray it in. If you read the reviews there are a few others that used it for cars. I can confirm it doesn't stain the carpet or plastic of your car either.
I used these filters. They are a really good copy of the OEM. They are the exact size and same number of pleates. They also have real carbon rocks sandwiched between just like OEM. As far as I can tell the only difference is the pull tab doesn't have that plastic glue on it and the carbon rocks inside are bigger bits.
I cut open the old filter and even though it seemed like the outside was dry and didn't smell the inside carbon rocks were wet and smelled. The carbon is fine like coarse sand almost. Mostly the bottom filter was wet inside not the top. New filter on top in pictures to compare.
AC-Safe Air Conditioner Foaming Coil Cleaner AC-921 - The Home Depot
Suited for use with almost any coils, the AC-Safe 19 oz. Air Conditioning Coil Foaming Cleaner is a heavy-duty detergent easily removes dirt, grease and oil. With a special 360° valve. It can be sprayed
www.homedepot.com
I used these filters. They are a really good copy of the OEM. They are the exact size and same number of pleates. They also have real carbon rocks sandwiched between just like OEM. As far as I can tell the only difference is the pull tab doesn't have that plastic glue on it and the carbon rocks inside are bigger bits.
I cut open the old filter and even though it seemed like the outside was dry and didn't smell the inside carbon rocks were wet and smelled. The carbon is fine like coarse sand almost. Mostly the bottom filter was wet inside not the top. New filter on top in pictures to compare.
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What do you and others think about the idea of not installing a cabin filter, but instead only using a filter at the air inlet? I’m talking about a filter similar to this one:
Amazon.com: XTechnor Tesla Model 3 Air Intake Filters Cabin Air Vent Intake with Activated Carbon Air Conditioning Air Intake Inlet Cover for 2017 2018 2019 2020 Tesla Model 3 : Automotive
Buy XTechnor Tesla Model 3 Air Intake Filters Cabin Air Vent Intake with Activated Carbon Air Conditioning Air Intake Inlet Cover for 2017 2018 2019 2020 Tesla Model 3: Air Intake - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
smile.amazon.com
I wonder if that would possibly help?
In addition to not having very much surface area for filtration, what’s going to stop something like this from getting wet?
SabrToothSqrl
Active Member
All I know is my wife was charged over $100 for this defect. That and I drove my 1995 Chevy Tahoe over 200,000 miles without smelly AC and my 2009 Tahoe for over 150,000 miles without smelly AC and our Mazda Tribute over 100k without smelly AC.
They can make it so when your wipers are on (it's raining) the car defaults to recirculation. It would at least help slow it down. But yea it's inevitable that the filter will get wet with dirty water and eventually smell.
They made the air intake too simple.
I don’t know how much of an impact the surface area will have. Does it make a real world difference? After all, aren’t cabin filters a relatively new thing? I wonder what would happen if you ran no filter at all?
However, these intake filters would be relatively easy to replace. If you have to, replace every 3 months. At $20 bucks a pop, isn’t really a big deal (and I’m sure you can find them cheaper if you search around).
Candleflame
Active Member
I had the issue of musty smell after 1 year for the first 5 to 10s of the ac being on. Went away after a filter change and the old filters were quite dirty. Id say the minimim changing interval is yearly.
At $35, annual factory cabin filter replacements seems like a better deal.
As for the impact of less filter surface area, it will either create more of a restriction and thus poor performance, or it will not filter as well.
dduffey
Member
Cabin filters are not a new thing, they have been a thing as long as AC has been a thing.
You absolutely want one as it protects the coils. Without one any dust in the cabin will go through the coils on recirc. It would be like removing your house AC filters.
It would be a tremendously expensive mistake.
You absolutely want one as it protects the coils. Without one any dust in the cabin will go through the coils on recirc. It would be like removing your house AC filters.
It would be a tremendously expensive mistake.
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