Ok, I have a 2003 Maxima SE. Just recently, there has started to be this mildew nasty smell coming from the vents, more prevelant when I turn the air conditioner on, but I can also smell it when it's not on. I've just had the in-cabin filter replaced ($80 freaking dollars!) and they deorderized the system, but it was an extremely short lived fix. HELP. The smell is nasty and is worse initially but gets a little better after the air has been on for a while. All I know is it's gross and people notice it immediately. Has anyone has a problem like this and if so, how did you get it fixed...I despise that the 2007 Maxima is losing horsepower so I'm keeping this car for a longer period of time now and want to make sure it stays in tip top shape. Thanks for any help or recommendations you can give me! Todd

 

i guess you bought seinfelds car...

 

hmmm one time my cousins car smelled really bad... we thought it was a leak somewhere, but later found a bottle of chug o lug milk that had exploded because of the heat under the passengers seat

 

This is covered in the FAQ's or How To's.

Basically run some lysol throught the HVAC system.

 

I have the Same problem when i turn the A/C on, I kinda hold my breath. it only seems too happen on hot days....

 

I had the same issue in my 2001, changed the in-cabin micro-filter, and didn't initially see (smell) a favorable difference. About 3 months later I said to myself, "hey, the awful mildew/moldy smell is gone!" Hopefully you'll have the same experience.

 

Mine smells like **** Ohh well I just roll with my windows down

 

Me too, it happens when I first turn on my AC, I just live with it since I can't figure out what it is.

 

You can replace the incabin filters, try that!

 

You can maybe read wtf people say before posting, try that!

 

this happened to my old explorer a couple years ago. I took it in to have it checked out, only to have them tell me that they found 'little chunks of cat dung' down inside my engine. Once the engine got hot, the crap smelled worse. I wouldn't rule that out in your case, because neighborhood cats love crawling in and around car engines cause they stay pretty warm in the cooler parts of the year. just a thought...

 

it smells because of the ac. Mold forms once u have been using the ac and then turn off your car. The best thing to do is roll down your windowns and turn on the heater full blast for a while, and then drive the car in econ mode. And then the smell should go away. hope this works
and this is why i dont really use my ac. and if u do use your ac, try to turn it off mb 5 min before u get to where ever u are going so all the moisture goes away.

 

Thanks for all the comments, glad to know I'm not the only one that has had issues with it!