Remove bad odor when Ac is turned on?

[rimz808]

Hey guys and girls,

 

Wondering if anyone knows a trick on how to get rid of that musky smell from the AC vent when first starting up the car and AC turned on? Usually happens in warm/humid weather like here in Hawaii. Only happens for a few minutes, then it goes away. But when weather gets warm, every time the AC first goes on, the smell happens. Same thing happens with my house AC.

 

Others have told me it's because there's left over water and turning up the heat full blast and let it evaporate the condensation in the AC. Haven't been able to get rid of the smell after doing that. Wondering if anyone knows another trick?

 

 

Mahalo,

Ryan

[JBlack151]

I would start off by changing out your cabin filter first. That helped a lot on my friends Maxima who was having the same issue after he recently quit smoking.

[MAYBEN]

 

Lots of people don't know that these filters should be replaced yearly..

[duramax]

Lysol works great. Spray in vets and turn the air on so it just circulates.

[BrianT]

The other to consider is to turn off the AC a mile or so from you destination and allow the blower to keep running to dry out the HVAC system. My Ram will smell if I don't do this.

[MAYBEN]

The other to consider is to turn off the AC a mile or so from you destination and allow the blower to keep running to dry out the HVAC system. My Ram will smell if I don't do this.

 

The G8 had this issue.. They sent out a TSB and installed a relay to turn the fan on every so often.. I've been sitting in the car with everything off and it popped on and scared the crap out of me lol..

[GerryC]

Don't try to cover it up with sprays, change the cabin air filter. In most vehicles they can be accessed via taking off part of the cowl, or behind the glove box. I did mine last month and it took 10 minutes. Look around online for the best price. Dealer wanted $66 for one filter, I got 3 shipped from O'Reily Auto for that price.

[redneck08sierra]

 

Lots of people don't know that these filters should be replaced yearly..

 

or manufacturers became cheap and removed them all together! Freakin GM in the GMT900's/08+

[Aholder]

We recommend to our customers that you put the a/c on fresh air before you turn the vehicle off. There's really no "fix".

[scootertrash19]

I use a spray product called Frigi-fresh, very easy to use, it will kill bacteria in the HVAC system, most NAPA parts stores sell it, and as previously mentioned replace the cabin filter if equiped.

[NickPic83]

good question here as lots of vehicles dont have cabin filters now. my current truck and my last one do not have cabin filters

[hoss]

My Chrysler 300M doesn't have a cabin filter. I get the musty smell also when the AC first comes on.

[Mark L]

or manufacturers became cheap and removed them all together! Freakin GM in the GMT900's/08+

 

Wow, news to me.

 

So what filters the outside air?

 

Seems stupid not to have a filter to replace.

[bakchoi]

I use 1Z Klima Cleaner.

[redneck08sierra]

Wow, news to me.

 

So what filters the outside air?

 

Seems stupid not to have a filter to replace.

nothing and I know. supposedly there is some mod you can do to the ac box under the glove box area to install one manually. I have seen many posts saying 02 was the last year GM trucks had an in cabin filter, don't know if this is true but I do know in the GMT900 platforms/08+ they do not

[Z71_Denali]

yeah, i spent a good 30 minutes searching for my cabin filter, before realizing there wasn't one

 

i think they removed them so that there's less maintenance. i just hope the system never gets that musty smell like a bad cabin filter gets.

[Mark L]

nothing and I know. supposedly there is some mod you can do to the ac box under the glove box area to install one manually. I have seen many posts saying 02 was the last year GM trucks had an in cabin filter, don't know if this is true but I do know in the GMT900 platforms/08+ they do not

 

yeah, i spent a good 30 minutes searching for my cabin filter, before realizing there wasn't one

 

i think they removed them so that there's less maintenance. i just hope the system never gets that musty smell like a bad cabin filter gets.

 

 

 

Yeah that's dumb, that's like having an HVAC system in a house with no filter, could you imagine what'd it would do to the furnace and exchange unit?

 

My Mercedes has a cabin filter, just changed it last Fall actually, makes a huge difference.

[chrisalecia]

yeah, i spent a good 30 minutes searching for my cabin filter, before realizing there wasn't one

 

i think they removed them so that there's less maintenance. i just hope the system never gets that musty smell like a bad cabin filter gets.

 

02 was the last year. However, the configuration is the same. On my 10 Tahoe the filter location even has the screw location for the filter door. I cut the plastic, made a door out of flat stock aluminum and mounted with one screw. There's very detailed write ups on the full size GM forum as well as Tahoeyukon forum. I can see if I still have the info if you can't locate it on the web.

 

For a filter I use the Fram cabin filter. It has carbon in it and I haven't had any musty issues thus far. Overall it's a simple mod with a dremel tool.

[ChargerMatt]

I had my cabin filter replaced with a HEPA filter and it was gone instantly. HEPA because I suffer from allergies.

[MrHot88]

There's a product that I use called a Purge,simply turn ac on on high, spray into vent and in the the car, close the door , wait 15 mintues, problem solved,works everything.

 

IMO its the best on the market, we use it to remove bad smells in duct systems.

When changing the cabin filter it it with a couple of light shots of spray ,really works:)

 

It doesn't hide the odor,it kills it,GONE!

 

Kevin

[rimz808]

There's a product that I use called a Purge,simply turn ac on on high, spray into vent and in the the car, close the door , wait 15 mintues, problem solved,works everything.

 

IMO its the best on the market, we use it to remove bad smells in duct systems.

When changing the cabin filter it it with a couple of light shots of spray ,really works:)

 

It doesn't hide the odor,it kills it,GONE!

 

Kevin

Kevin,

 

Where can i find this? Local auto store, convenience store?

[-CM-]

As posted by others, you can turn off the A/C and let the fan run before shutting off the engine, but you have to remember to do that. A better solution is to have the "afterblow" function enabled. This will turn on the fan after the engine is shut down to dry the A/C condenser coils.