Junghyuk2

i have 06 250..
I went to dealership for 10k service, also with brake TSB,
it took them 2 days to finish all the work,
drove es350 for 2 days, which was nice...
since it was taking them more than a day, i asked them to check the a/c as well, because, starting about 2 weeks ago, there is bad smell coming from the vents, when outside air coming in, or when i turn the a/c on, when a/c is on, it only lasts few mins and goes away..

i get a call from service advisor today, saying he wants me to reschedule for a/c fix..which it'll take them full day or two..

on the receipt, tech noted, 'there is a procedure available to remedy odor from a/c vent, cust advised to reschedule'

service advisor really didn't mention much about what needs to be done, just said full day worth of work needs to be done on the car...

what do you guys think that needs to be done? anyone with similar trouble?

again, thanks for the help as always, CL rules..

p.s. i had to ask my brother to pick up the car, so couldn't feel the new pads yet, i hope it feels better, and no dust & squeaking...

RocketGuy3

iTrader: (1)

I have a similar problem that I asked the board for help with. Based on what I was told, "a day or two" sounds like too much. Should be a simple problem.

A couple people suggested running the heater at full blast for a few minutes. I tried that, and it didn't work (but I think I might not have done it long enough). Another suggestion was to buy some sort of spray and spray the vents. I'm not sure what to buy, though, so I haven't really proceded with that...

Apparently the smell is caused by mold.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Moldy smell from the A/C vents? Is it more prominent with the A/C off with fans on?

You can kill that moldy smell if you turn on your heat to max with the fan on to max. Do it for about a couple of minutes and you "kill" the odor.

I hope this helps!

Junghyuk2

thanks, ill try those as soon as i can..
and RocketGuy3, yeah, i saw your post when i searched the forum..
exactly, that's what i figured also, full day worth of service doesn't sound right,
besides, i don't want to take apart the new car..
i wanted to see, if there was like a TSB or something like that.
and i think tech might have sprayed something, cuz there is lysol type of smell when i got into my car, so hopefully that helps as well..

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

The tech may be referring to TSIB #EG017-06, entitled "Excessive Sulfur Odor." It calls for replacement of the catalytic converter when customers complain of excessive sulfur odor during stop-and-go driving and heavy acceleration. I don't know if the odor you described could be called a "sulfur" odor...

Javier

IS250 4 Me

If the smell is similar to rotten eggs, then it is the sulfur odor.

Junghyuk2

it's more like wet clothes not fully dried smell..lol..
there were some part numbers tech listed under the problem section, ill list them after work..
thanks guys..

Bichon

Probably not. That TSIB refers to odor coming from the tailpipe, not the A/C vents.

The problem that Junghyuk2 describes is affectionately known by folks in the HVAC field as "Dirty socks syndrome".

The way that this would be addressed by the shop would be to first make sure that drain and tube that carries condensate from the evaporator coil to under the car is clear. Then they'd clean the evaporator coil and condensate pan with a special cleaner.

I concur with the other posters that recommended running the heater at full blast to try to eliminate the problem, as that may be all that is needed.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

If the heater method comes up short, take a look here at some professional quality cleaners for a/c systems.

The other thing to consider is keeping your air on the recirculate setting while running the a/c. This reduces the amount of moisture condensed from the air if you live in a humid place (as I now do). It also prevents the evaporator from icing up (as my MR2 did when in humid climates).

Junghyuk2

Thanks guys..
I'll definitely try heater fix this weekend..

TimboIS

likely they'll just spray some sort of deodorizer in the vents and ductwork.

ba-b4

I smelled this kind of musty damp smell from lots of other cars AC systems after I switch from AC to regular fan. I thought it was normal, guess not???