My AC air smells wicked bad, what does that mean?

[KPC1.8TQuat]

So it's finally getting consistently warm up in New England and I'm using my AC almost daily. When I don't need the AC I use the economy button, not sure if that really makes a difference or not. Anyway, now when I start the car with the AC on, I get a wicked bad, strong smell. Almost smells kind of like sour milk. It eventually goes away when the AC gets really cool, but it's happening every time I turn the car on, and it didn't do this last summer.

Any ideas?

Cheers

[Asharp27]

This is a random stab/ soloution from another application BUT first check your cabin filter and if that checks out. It could also possibly something in your AC tubing, i.e: mold/mildew or a collection of other things.

[rs4dreamer]

I've heard that it's pertinent that you turn off your AC 15 minutes before parking your car, so the components can dry out, and mold cannot grow deep in the system. A great fix (in addition to you turning your AC off earlier from now on) would be for you to pick up an AC cleaner such as this one; http://www.detailersdomain.com/index...PROD&ProdID=41
from Phil at Detailer's Domain. That should do the trick

[jrau13]

I could totally tell you where from the northeast by the title of the post, aka "wicked".

Not making fun just haven't heard that in a while, the wife is from the area.

[Gondi Stylez]

Close your legs maybe?



























I kid, I kid

[KPC1.8TQuat]

Close your legs maybe?



I kid, I kid

Hahaha, I'll warn my girlfriend next time

...good thing she doesn't read these.

So you guys think it's just mildew or mold, and nothing catastrophically wrong with my AC system?

[Mac]

Checking the pollen filter may be a good start. I just bought a "charcoal activated" one that is supposed to reduce smells coming in from outside.

I also think I remember reading on here something about blasting the heat on full for a few minutes to get rid of any excess moisture that is still in the system.

[SlappyB6]

Stop farting in your car, duh!

Seriously though, like everyone has already said, check your in-cabin filter, and then do an A/C system flush, it'll work wonders.

[DELUX]

This is the correct answer after suffering these symptoms every summer for the 4 years I've owned my car.

When it is hot and humid and you run your A/C, it will INSTANTLY create condensation the moment you turn your A/C off. This condensation forms a smelly mold and this results in the smell. If you turned your A/C on in the middle of the winter, it would not smell, nor the first few times when it gets hot.

For Example,

It started getting hot a few weeks ago so I've been using my A/C daily for a few weeks. The other day, it started smelling and then I remember that I'm not properly venting the moisture out of the ventilation system as I taught myself to do a few years back.

In order to prevent this, you need to turn the compressor off before you finish driving and vent the system out with neutral air. This dries any condensation in the system and prevents mold from forming. The key is preventing that moisture.

If your system is smelly now, start doing this and it'll dry up in a few days. Put it on econ @ 70 degrees for 10 minutes or something with the windows open on a nice day and that should dry the system up.

Changing the filters won't solve this problem as the smell is produced post-filter. The only exception is that if you're experiencing this problem during cold weather as well and not only in hot A/C situations. In that case, your filter is probably dirty.