Funky smell... Cabin filter?

[JD S4]

2011 S4 with alacantra. Low miles - 32k. Immaculate condition and well cared for. Frequently have smelly cabin. Allllmost smells like old food in the car. I keep tons of air fresheners in the car and it's vacuumed weekly, dusted, etc. I've poked around a ton looking for the old breakfast burrito under the seat and there is nothing there. Will a cabin filter help? Anyone had this before? I live in Boulder but I'm one of the few who shower daily, so it's not me.

Thoughts? Where should I look


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[skhan91]

2011 S4 with alacantra. Low miles - 32k. Immaculate condition and well cared for. Frequently have smelly cabin. Allllmost smells like old food in the car. I keep tons of air fresheners in the car and it's vacuumed weekly, dusted, etc. I've poked around a ton looking for the old breakfast burrito under the seat and there is nothing there. Will a cabin filter help? Anyone had this before? I live in Boulder but I'm one of the few who shower daily, so it's not me.

Thoughts? Where should I look


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

I'd start with taking a look at the cabin air filter first. I got a charcoal activated filter for my rs4. It worked well and never had to deal with any funky smells

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

[whiped]

I switched to a carbon cabin intake filter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00URDQ676

and have these air purifiers tucked in the backs of my front seats: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N414NHI/

I'd poke around inside the engine bay between the firewalls to make sure nothing funky is in there. (Decaying leaves for example)

[jonwoods]

Clean out the crap under the front cowl (between the engine and the firewall) too. The cover pops off with a couple of screws. This is supposed to be a maintenance item but it's often missed. Rotting detritus or a dead animal or two in there could certainly stink things up in the cabin. There was a small forest worth of leaves and crap in mine when I bought the car and it had been recently dealer serviced.

[Dr GP]

The smell could be from the A/C system. Especially if you(Like ME) do not run the AC cycle in the cold weather,. On many cars, this allows bacteria to thrive and grow. And then when the HVAC is turned on, the bacterial smell is circulated in the air. Get a bottle of Lysol spray. Turn on the AC and spray the Lysol into the fresh air intake.( not the engine intake). This will not only sanitize the HVAC system, it will take away any odors coming from it.

[JD S4]

I'd start with taking a look at the cabin air filter first. I got a charcoal activated filter for my rs4. It worked well and never had to deal with any funky smells

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

I'm going to do this.. It's driving me nuts

I switched to a carbon cabin intake filter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00URDQ676

and have these air purifiers tucked in the backs of my front seats: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N414NHI/

I'd poke around inside the engine bay between the firewalls to make sure nothing funky is in there. (Decaying leaves for example)

Thanks for the link(s). I just installed CR15 this weekend so nothing under the cowl..

Clean out the crap under the front cowl (between the engine and the firewall) too. The cover pops off with a couple of screws. This is supposed to be a maintenance item but it's often missed. Rotting detritus or a dead animal or two in there could certainly stink things up in the cabin. There was a small forest worth of leaves and crap in mine when I bought the car and it had been recently dealer serviced.

Thank you, Sir.

The smell could be from the A/C system. Especially if you(Like ME) do not run the AC cycle in the cold weather,. On many cars, this allows bacteria to thrive and grow. And then when the HVAC is turned on, the bacterial smell is circulated in the air. Get a bottle of Lysol spray. Turn on the AC and spray the Lysol into the fresh air intake.( not the engine intake). This will not only sanitize the HVAC system, it will take away any odors coming from it.

I use mine all the time. Don't think that's it.. But I'm going to try this anyways.

[mcoomer]

The smell could be from the A/C system. Especially if you(Like ME) do not run the AC cycle in the cold weather,. On many cars, this allows bacteria to thrive and grow. And then when the HVAC is turned on, the bacterial smell is circulated in the air. Get a bottle of Lysol spray. Turn on the AC and spray the Lysol into the fresh air intake.( not the engine intake). This will not only sanitize the HVAC system, it will take away any odors coming from it.

This would get my vote as the culprit, especially if the smell is musty. Good idea to run the AC with recirc mode off periodically to prevent moisture from accumulating in the ducts.

Mike

[JD S4]

This would get my vote as the culprit, especially if the smell is musty. Good idea to run the AC with recirc mode off periodically to prevent moisture from accumulating in the ducts.

Mike

Thank you. Where is the fresh air intake located? LOL @ spraying lysol into engine intake. That would be awesome.

[JD S4]

I ordered charcoal cabin filter, the deoderizers from Whiped above and my favorite air freshener of all time - the squash Air Spencer CS-X3

https://www.amazon.com/Air-Spencer-C...+air+freshener

[Silverbullet S4]

When I first purchased the car, I had a similar issue but it smelled like a damp locker room. Took the car to the dealership several times and they first replaced the cabin filter. When that didn't do the trick, they cleaned the whole "system" with some anti-bacterial cleaner stuff. The problem (in my situation at least) was/is condensation buildup from the AC cycling. Even after all that, the locker room smell still came back. Went to a better "activated" filter and that made all the difference.

[agent47]

This is a common issue. I face this more during the rainy and fall season times when its not so hot outside but AC is still needed. Driving around with the AC running and then when the car is turned off , condensation settles on the cold coils. It just sits there and more accumulates with repeated cycles. Easiest way to get rid of it is to run the heater at full blast for a few minutes . That will evaporate all the nasty condensation and the funky smell will disappear.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

[JD S4]

When I first purchased the car, I had a similar issue but it smelled like a damp locker room. Took the car to the dealership several times and they first replaced the cabin filter. When that didn't do the trick, they cleaned the whole "system" with some anti-bacterial cleaner stuff. The problem (in my situation at least) was/is condensation buildup from the AC cycling. Even after all that, the locker room smell still came back. Went to a better "activated" filter and that made all the difference.

What is the activated filer? Charcoal carbon filter? in-cabin filter?

[jhoward]

Mines smells like cat pee when it rains- drives me crazy. Thanks for the tips


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

[Silverbullet S4]

What is the activated filer? Charcoal carbon filter? in-cabin filter?

Activated carbon filter that replaced the stock one under the glove box. When you remove the filter, you can also spray some Lysol in there to kill whatever nasties may be lurking.

[AUDacIouS4]

Mines smells like cat pee when it rains- drives me crazy. Thanks for the tips


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

Lol!! Cat pee!!! I hate that smell. I think ATF and gear oil smell like cat pee too.
What brand charcoal cabin filter are you guys using?

a slave of corruption no longer

[RWD2quattro]

Lol, stop farting in the car
Have you replaced your windshield or have you checked for leaks around sunroof, door seals? You may have an H2O leak. I had my windshield replaced on my IS about 4 years ago and had an odd smell when cold/wet. One day during a bad rain storm walla, found a tiny leak coming into cabin, took the car back and the morons had to remove windshield, clean seal area, add new sealant and reinstall windshield. They left a spot on top of windshield with no sealant. Luckily front upper section of roof dried out and smell went away after sometime. you'd be surprised how water finds it way into a car.

[JD S4]

Lol, stop farting in the car
Have you replaced your windshield or have you checked for leaks around sunroof, door seals? You may have an H2O leak. I had my windshield replaced on my IS about 4 years ago and had an odd smell when cold/wet. One day during a bad rain storm walla, found a tiny leak coming into cabin, took the car back and the morons had to remove windshield, clean seal area, add new sealant and reinstall windshield. They left a spot on top of windshield with no sealant. Luckily front upper section of roof dried out and smell went away after sometime. you'd be surprised how water finds it way into a car.

That's part of it..

and no, no replacement parts anywhere. I don't assume (could be wrong) that a leak is the issue.

[JD S4]

I've recently added the deodorizers, new charcoal cabin filter, sprayed a Lysol like spray into the fresh air intake, sprayed all of the areas under the cowl area and added my favorite "Squash" air filters. Will see what comes of it. It's sitting in the garage since we're actually getting some much needed snow this weekend.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine