Of course this isn’t unique to Tesla but we have three other car ranging from 3-20 years older and mine have this persistent issue. It gets hot here but not humid.
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Vomit smell when starting air conditioning
- Thread starter plasmo
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jebinc
Well-Known Member
Brentt
Member
Interestingly, today, my a/c vomit smell is gone without doing anything. The weather is less hot today, maybe that has something to do with this. I have a Tesla Service appointment in 2 weeks about this, and afraid my problem will not be able to be replicated.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
It won’t need to be. They will just pull the filters, spray in anti mold and mildew goo, reinstall filters and your gone.
Brought my Model 3 in today for service appointment. It appears that the vomit smell occurs when the outside Temperature gets to around 90 degress or higher.
They took it in and "fixed" it by flushing the a/c tubes with something, but serviceman said that the latest update should have fixed this issue.
Now it smells like perfume air with a hint of vomit. They didn't charge me.
They took it in and "fixed" it by flushing the a/c tubes with something, but serviceman said that the latest update should have fixed this issue.
Now it smells like perfume air with a hint of vomit. They didn't charge me.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
I find it hard to believe someone told you a “software update” would fix what appears to be a physical design issue.
Anyone else get told that by the SC? My M3 is five weeks old, and on occasion, I get a faint whiff of sun-baked vomit already. 
davewill
Active Member
One thing I've heard helps (at least in other cars) is to turn off the air conditioning a few minutes before parking. Helps keep the condensation from sitting in the system.
I find it hard to believe someone told you a “software update” would fix what appears to be a physical design issue.
My understanding was that is what the software update is supposed to do. Run fan-only for some time after you leave the car.
I think I read that a software update was supposed to keep the fan on for a couple of minutes after the car shuts down in order to dry up any condensation in the lines and prevent the mildew buildup.I find it hard to believe someone told you a “software update” would fix what appears to be a physical design issue.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
Could be. Are there any other data points out there to support a software fix for the vomit smell?
mtndrew1
Active Member
My Model 3 doesn’t have this issue but I’ve had it on previous cars and the trick was to always make sure the recirculated air had been off for a while before shutting off the car. Not sure if that’s useful here.
Not that I'm aware of. I think those reports I read were on here and what people had been told by service/mobile techs. Who knows if it's true. Sometimes it seems like the standard response is: "it's a software bug, they're working on it."
SSonnentag
埃隆•馬斯克
Just about all of my cars have had this issue. Fortunately for me, I don't find the smell offensive at all, so I don't worry about it. It clears up in a minute or so, and as long as the air blows cold I'm happy. In fact, my Model S is the first car I can recall owning that didn't have this odor.
In fact, my Model S is the first car I can recall owning that didn't have this odor.I find it hard to believe someone told you a “software update” would fix what appears to be a physical design issue.
yep that's what they told me. Even though they cleaned the hvac vents, I still smell a faint vomit smell unfortunately.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
Wow, thanks for sharing. That “fix” seems odd as I thought the ax will run when off for dogs mode, “leave climate control on,” interior protection feature, etc. Doesn’t make sense to me, but that’s okay. Thanks again.
Update: Less than 1 week after service cleaned my hvac vents, the vomit smell continues and smells pretty much the same as before. It only happens when the outside temperature is hot (>90F). The smell goes away after about 2 minutes of A/C which I can tolerate but it is embarrassing when driving guests in such a nice car. Oh well. I might try the home self-fix others have posted to see if this makes things better.
jebinc
Well-Known Member
On my ICE cars of years past, when this happened, I would find the air intake (usually outside or access to the inside one behind the glove box), then I would run the fans full bore (no AC) and spray in a 1/2 can of Lysol. That would kill all mold in the entire HVAC system. I'm sure Tesla only cleaned the filter box, which is probably why your vomit smell returned so quickly.
Does anyone know where the air intake is (outside and in) on the Model 3? This remedy was well known in years past. Always worked for me and one "Treatment" usually lasted an entire summer season. YMMV.
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