Smelly A/C not going away

[yemenmocha]

Yes, I've searched and read the posts about using various anti-bacterial sprays. It works for few hours of drive time and/or 2-3 uses of the car. In addition to trying 2 different sprays (that work temporarily), I've also tried the heat blast strategy of having it on high heat for 30 minutes of driving with both A/C on and off. In fact, I tried this in conjunction with the spray on the last attempt. The dealer didn't find anything and charged me for a new cabin air filter & sprayed some stuff in there too. Again, it lasted a few days. *Filter is brand new. *I turn off the A/C a few minutes before turning off the car to get fresh outside dry air through everything. *I use the fresh air predominantly, only recirc. occasionally. *Smell is intense mildew only for the first minute or so, and then goes away for the most part (no, it's not me getting accustomed to the smell) *Smell returns immediately when you switch off the A/C *Smell returns when you switch from recirc to fresh air, or vice versa. Do you have this similar problem and just tolerate it? Or do you not have this problem at all? I live in one of the driest parts of the country so it can't be the ambient humidity, and I always turn off the A/C before turning off the car. What is especially maddening is that this smell arose the FIRST time I started using the A/C this year. I've had top down weather for the Fall through Spring without one use of A/C. Any advice beyond the above is appreciated.

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[AJ997S]

I have the same smell when the vent is on 'Low' (cool setting) with the A/C off, only last a minute or two. As soon as I turn on the A/C it goes away. If I turn on the heat the smell's not there. My filter is new also.

[Verde]

Not sure if this will work in your case, but I'm a big fan of using baking soda to get out (car) odors. When my used 997 was delivered, the transporter had put the top down in his rig and it inherited some horrible smells. Really horrible. I sprinkled the rugs and underseat areas with baking soda, put the top up and in a few days (adding more at times) it soaked up all the malodorous smells.
You may be able to ladle some in to the air intakes or wherever you think the smells are coming from. BTW, you didn't mention where you store the car, but is there a chance that something crawled in and died in there? Not kidding, it wouldn't be the first time.

[stevepow]

Does your M3 have it too? I used to have the worst time with that "Sour AC Smell" in BMWs when I first started the car. Seems like it could take a few years for it to develop in a new car. I don't have it yet in my 911...and I was hoping that maybe it would never do that...


It is interesting that when you turn off the AC, the smell returns. I always figured that it was stale air in the system that got blown out on 1st start-up of the day. But it sounds like you have looked into it in a good bit more detail - and that might rule out the stale air theory.

[yrralis1]

You've done everything . I had this with a 96 993tt and the methods you describe did work for me. I believe that you ought not have any smell --even for 30 seconds . I do have to swing by the local shop this week and I will ask . Hopefully you'll get it fixed by then but if not maybe I can find out something else to add to yoir list .

[JenK]

that problem is common in bmw's. Try going to bimmerfest.com and search for smelly ac. I remember there is a fix. also, you might want to write to Mike Miller, the BMW tech guru. He answers 'all' questions! I can PM you his e-mail address! Can't have smelly a/c in our atlas grey cabs!

[poorsche]

fabreeze worked for me

[gjnockie]

I had this problem on 2 BMW's I had. The dealer I bought them from said it was a common problem especially in S Florida. The BMW dealer had a special machine that cleans out the A/C condenser. They charged $150.00 to do it, but it works. I would check with some dealers in your area to see if they have this type of machine.

Also, some auto A/C service companies may have an Ionizer machine which they put inside the car and let it run for about 30 minutes. The Ionizer kills the bacteria by Ionizing the air as it goes through the A/C. This is also effective.

Good Luck... this can be a big problem.

[Dadio]

+ 1 on the condenser cleaning. Getting rid of mildew/mold smell would require removing the source. Cover-up sprays won't kill the mold and hence won't rid you of the problem. After you've had that done I would ask the dealer what can be done minimize the chance of the mold coming back. As it's moisture related you wantt to make sure the drain line in the tray under the condenser isn't plugged up.

[Michael2364]

The product to use is called STERI-FAB. We use it in the water damage restoration field. it is an awesome product that kills almost everyt
hing and is safe for most surfaces. When your AC is on recirc mode, there is a flap thet opens under the dash on the pass side in the footwell that draws inside air from the cabin back into the system. Try to find the softest and most fexible clothes dryer cleaning brush u can find and carefully try to snake the brush into the intake and clean away. Coat the brush with sterifaband repeat. The brush is usually 1-3 feet long so you can also remove the air cabin filter and get the product into the vent system from multiple locations. Just don't jam the brush in. Be careful and don't get it stuck and it works fine. The moisture usually settles in the lowest spot so I would try the recirc intake first. Also when the fan it running, you can spray some product in the intake so the fan would somewhat atomize the product and get to the areas you can't get to. You may need to repeat once or twice to get a complete kill of the microbes causing the odor. I did this on my 06, it took 3 applications, but it worked. Just be careful with the brush.

[yemenmocha]

Thank you for the information, everyone. I'm a little nervous about taking my car somewhere for what seems like a major service. Fear of joyrides in my car as well as people not being familiar with a Porsche could be problems. I'm paranoid?

The car interior doesn't have a smell. My A/C problem isn't that bad (yet?). It's just the A/C, and the fresh air through the vents after I turn off the A/C. What I thought was odd is that the smell appears when you switch the A/C on, or off, and then it minimizes or entirely goes away.

I doubt it is a dead animal though given the nature of this smell, and that I just had my car go through the dealer for oil service and to look at the A/C smell. It's not putrid or anything horrible, just an unpleasant mildewy A/C smell.

My M3's air conditioning in the same garage has a very, very light mildewy smell that comes and goes. I notice it maybe once per month.

[oregondave]

I've had this problem on several cars and based on shop advice (Lexus, for what that's worth) and lots of google searching, it's definitely mold/mildew growth on the condenser and possibly other parts of the A/C system. There are special fungicide sprays available just for this problem and as you generally need to spray it into the fresh air intake while the A/C is running. They Baxster/Shucks variety are all crap, but some A/C shops or online resources have pro sprays. I'll defer to more knowledgeable people on where the fresh air inlet is at on the 997. Baking soda won't do anything but mask the problem. One home remedy that probably works for a while is Lysol - it kills the source of the smell. I've never tried this as I gag at the smell of Lysol and would rather smell the mildew :-)

BTW, the special machines that dealers have are ozone generators, not ionizers. Ozone also kills the mildew / mold but you have to be careful as it also deteriorates rubber. Ebay has a few ozone generators - I have one and use it around the house and in the car - works well for odor removal.

[xbar]

I had a similar problem. Try Einszett Klima Air. It's a can of foam with a long tube that you empty into your AC vent. Wait 30 min and voila. It worked very well for me. Only $15.. worth a try!

[Fahrer]

The active ingredient in Lysol and other odor neutralizers is ethanol. The ethanol kills bacteria and neutralizes the acids lfet by them. The best way to bring Lysol or a similar product into your A/C system is to find the intake for the recirculation mode ( generally down in footwell area near the console on most cars) and spray the ethanol containing product into the intake while the system is set on recirc. You propbably only need to do this for 5 seconds. Aside from that I would generally use the A/c in normal mode ( not recirec) and shut it down ( fresh air only) for the last minute or two of driving. Parking the car outside does not help.

[rvhpno80]

Originally Posted by xbar

I had a similar problem. Try Einszett Klima Air. It's a can of foam with a long tube that you empty into your AC vent. Wait 30 min and voila. It worked very well for me. Only $15.. worth a try!

that cool, i am going to order some, just in case i start to get a smell, which i dont have now, but i remember my 996 had one...