juicybusa

Had a huge problem with this on a new chevy in 05. As unlikely as this seems here's the story. Bitched and complained incessantly as the smell was making me physically ill.. Smelled like rotten a@# inside the car. Noticed coolant had turned a dark color and for the heck of it took the top off the recovery tank and took a whiff and damn near puked. Took it to dealer and they said dark coolant was normal and that if it wasn't leaking no way I could smell that in the cabin. Finally got regional service rep involved who tried to say the same thing. I challenged them to find a new car on the lot with coolant that looked or smelled like this. After this challenge they agreed to address this. Turns out this was an issue with a batch of coolant hoses that had not been properly cured from the vendor and was chemically reacting with the coolant causing the darkening of the coolant the rank odor. Drained and flushed system and replaced hoses with correct replacements and new dexcool and smell was gone. btw when mechanics drained rank coolant it smelled so bad it made 2 technicians sick and they had to leave work.

MJCarnegie

Wow, your case sounds far worse than mine. Now I'm embarrassed to have mentioned it at all!

Mike

AustinG35

It's mildew. The best way to reduce this to completely 'dry' out your A/C before you turn off the car when you park. After your replace that in-cabin filter (which if it's like the G35, every 15k miles) if you run the A/C alot, you need to turn it off, but leave the fan turned on a couple of blocks before you park the car so that no cold air (condensation) is blowing anymore when you turn the engine off. If you run the A/C often and just turn the A/C off with the car, the colder air stays in the system after you park, which is where the mildew will grow.
It will definitely be more noticeable after rain too.

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

There is a product made specifically to fix this situation but for the life of me I cannot remember what it's called right now. It may be caused by fungus/mildew/mold growing inside the ducts for he A/C system caused by the constant dampness of the condensation. I have used it in the past on a '96 Maxima that had the funky A/C smell and it worked great. You can find it if you go to an auto parts stores if you ask them for something to get the smell out of your AC.

You might also try Lysol. If I remember correctly, you turn on the A/C system full blast at eh warmest temperature and set it to bring in outside air. While it's on, spray the Lysol into the intake vents for the system located at the base of the windshield. It should fix it. That being said, there is some reason why it has been recommended by some to use the product specifically for this instead of Lysol, but again, I cant remember what that is.

It's hell getting old...

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

Found it!

Buy Frigi-Clean® and Frigi-Fresh® | BG Frigi-Clean® and Frigi-Fresh® AC products | Frigi-Clean® and Frigi-Fresh®

I believe Austin G35 is correct about the cause and how to prevent it. If your A/C system is always in recirculate mode, it can cause this. I believe that in AUTO mode our cars normally cycle between Recirc and fresh air to prevent this. Are all you folks with the A/C funk running the system constantly without turning it off and running it in Recirc mode?

chasemyaccord

iTrader: (2)

I get this all the time. I try to shut off A/C a few minutes before arriving at my destination, but sometimes I just forget. I hate the smell, and it's embarassing having a $40K+ car and your A/C stinks (although my g/f's ES350 does this from time to time as well).

For some reason, mine smells less if I run it in recirculation mode. I had the same problem with my Accord, but it went away after I sprayed some Lysol through the intake vents (although that's also around the time I ran out of refrigerant). I'll have to try that Frigi-Clean stuff if I can find it. It's also time for me to swap my in-cabin filter, so hopefully all this will provide some relief...summer is practically here in Cali and I love my A/C (although sometimes it's TOO cold if I keep it on auto).

gxerboi750

never use frigi-fresh stuff. sure it smells great for a while but it's gonna stink again. frigi fresh will leave a residue (coating) on your a/c evaporator and that's gonna attract mold and dirt which is the reason why your a/c stinks. i have found some a/c deodorizing chemical that comes in a spray bottle that's sold in GM dealerships. (GM makes s#i++y cars, but their chemicals are the best). Water mixed with bleach works good too just dont get it on your interior. Put the solution on garden-type spraying bottle with a flexible hose, remove your a/c filter and reach inside till you feel something that feels like a cheese grater- that would be your a/c evaporator. SPRAY AWAY!!! make sure you "hose down" the entire unit. no wories, the evaporator box should be sealed and all the solution will just drain down the drain tube like it's supposed to. that should kill all the stinky mold and prevent them from growing back. No residues from bleach solution!!!

Infiniti93

I definitely agree with the fart theory

redwillow

Does anyone have the part # for the oem CHARCOAL in-cabin filter?

beestea

Dealer charged me like $75 for the frigi-fresh service (i was so desperate to get rid of the smell i paid for it) and it smelled great when I picked the car up, the next morning not so much.

I have tried all of the remedies listed on here except for the bleach + water (Im really tempted to give that a shot) and none work long term.

I agree that turning off AC before parking might prevent it ... but come on thats a huge pain in the ***.... something with the design of the AC system is the root cause.

SM_Shadowman

I think if you want an activated charcoal filter you need to go aftermarket. But maybe I'm wrong -- not sure it matters much for a cabin filter anyway. Check out here:

http://www.autoanything.com/Parts/Pa...loName=filters

15951

Mold/mildew in the evap is the issue. There are a lot of products out there - this one works great:

1Z einszett Klima-Cleaner - A/C Odor + Bacteria Cleaner

Zeus

I just started noticing this funny smell this weekend. I have a 2010 with 8k miles. I remember when I first bought the car there would always be a big puddle of condensation after I parked. Now the puddle is no larger than a couple inches round. I tried to look for the a/c drain line, but was not able to. Maybe it’s plugged??

Has anyone else noticed that their car no longer produces that much condensation?

RedG37SNC

1 Professional LYSOL Brand No-rinse Sanitizer
2 AirPlus A/C Cleaner Scented Kit 10531-S
3 Airguard
4 AirSept
5 Frigi-Clean
6 interdynamics AC Cleaner and Deodorizer


Need to kill the fungi and mold.

Frankyg37s

iTrader: (3)

is there a diy on this???mine only smells funky for 10 sec when i turn on a/c is this what everyone i speaking of