Recently, my AC has produced a sour smell when first turned on.
The smell is really strong from the vents just when the car is started. After the first minute or two, the smell is gone. What is the problem, and how can I correct it? Thanks

 

im not totally sure. my 96 has a foul smell from the AC for a while. im thinking its fungus that has grown in the vents and pipes. look in to getting them cleaned.

 

So you think it's fungus..Hmmm I have the same problem. Stinky vents=. How would it get in there and start growing?

 

i cant say that i think its fungus. that is just what people suggested when i posted with the same problem. it sounds reasonable. if water gets in there and mildew starts growing....

 

Thanks Newman, I'm not mocking you. I am just also facing the stinky airvent vexation. I always feel like I'm writing in and sounding sarcastic.
But yeah, When did your vents start stinking?
Mine do it after a heavy rain or when on a really hot day and I turn the A/C to full blast.

 

Check the freon.

 

This tends to happen if you use the A/C and keep the setting at recirculating. If you switch it to open air, the smell should go away after a while.

It's a pain because when the A/C is in recirclating, the cabin cools off a lot faster, so you pay the price by having that nasty-a*s smell if you leave it there too long.

I've noticed this too in my girlfriend's aunt's Nissan Quest. Her A/C smelled like urine, and I noticed she kept her setting on recirculating. I asked if she always kept it there, and she said 'yes.' I had her switch it to open air, and it helped a lot.

 

Get an air freshener for a quick fix. but mold and mildew in the pipes sounds nasty. And cleaning it sounds time consuming, but can't go around having ur ac smell like crap.

Chung-Hsien

 

Doesn't the Maxima come stock with an in-cabin microfilter? Besides cleaning the air, shouldn't it help clean up the odor too?

 

Condensation from the AC unit builds up on the inside of the vent tubes. This can eventually lead to fungus. A lot of rental cars I had in FL had this problem and I believe its due to the relative high humidity they have in FL (necessary to allow for quick condensation).

 

i dont think cars these days have freon anymore.

 

actually, if i remember correctly mine started stinking after i left the windows down in my driveway and it rained. that would be a good reason why mildew may have grown in my vents.

 

2 many bean burritos

 

"How do you get rid of that NASTY smell from the A/C? Spray some Disinfectant into the air vents in front of the windshield and underneath the hood. Unclog all the leaves that might be in there. Run the heater for about 5-10 minutes, and stop the car. Don't run the A/C for 1 hour, and spray again. This should kill all that ugly/smelly bacteria molding inside"

Credit: Maximadriver.com

 

Do you guys with the nasty smell live in a humid environment? Does it happen on both recirc and fresh air modes?

 

I have had this in all my cars with AC. It is because of the Recirculating air. All I do is open the vents when I am done with the AC. If you leave the vents open when not driving ar when the air gets cooler and you are driving the smells goes away. It is just from water condensation. If I forget to do it and leave the vents closed my car will stink when started too.

Simple: just leave the vents on fresh when not in use after running, it lets the moisture evaporate. My car is brand new and it did it the first week I ran AC, it is not going to help to pour bleach down my vents.

 

Not bleach, people have suggested using aerosols like Lysol disenfectant. I have the same problem with mine in Denver(dry as hell). Lysol works along with suggestion posted from Maximadriver.com.

 

It just might go away if you change your in cabin microfilter as the other guy stated.The thing is probably saturated with the funky smell of humans!! LOL

 

I herd this from someone else, but it has worked for me. When using A/C, it doesnt matter if it is on recirc or not, but when you get out before you turn the car off "blow the cold air out of your vents". Do this by switching to off, press the mode button till you get dash and foot mode, then just turn up the fan all the way. When it starts blowing luke warm your done. Adds 30 seconds to your exit(I put up my sun shade). Since doing this I dont hae problems with my A/C smelling bad, except the few times I forgot to. DAM! that stuff stinks. try it, it works really good.

 

Wurth makes a product that kills the odors caused by fungi in the a/c system. It costs $19.95 but it may be worth it to try if the odors get too bad.

http://www.properautocare.com/wuracheatsys.html

 

this is just an inevitable event....the spores of thos organism travel with air and somehow got into ur AC. It's wet in there and they love it and they are going to reproduce. leave u a sheet of it.

-best way to prevent it....always use in-car circulation.

-best way to remove it.....do a steam clean of ur AC. try some detail shops or dealers.

 

I'm out in Colorado, and we're pretty dry out here. I only have 500 miles on mine and I get that. The wifes Expedition has the same smell as well. Not sure what to do, but haven't really checked. I'll try to keep the bean burritos away though :-)

 

I had the same problem soon after I got my 2k2. Service manager's advice worked- when you're close to getting home, turn off the compressor and have the fan on at full speed for about half a minute to dry out all the moisture in the vents.

 

Thats exactly what I do, and it works. My car is a year old with 31k on it and she still smells new like leather. I must be doin something right...

 

This is what I've read in the past and if you think about it this process makes sense. Don't use recirculate, before you shut car off leave your AC turned on as AC removes humidity from your duct work, turn your temperature control to hot in order to burn off and the drip pan by the condenser and to heat up your duct work so that it doesn't condensate. I've also read that Lysol works great for killing bacteria in your duct work. However, beware that Lysol could potentially damage your paint if it gets on to it.

 

Odor problems in your A/C?

Check out the link below, click on Odor control then also click on How it works. That will explain your problem and show you how to clean your evaporator. Spraying Lysol or any other type of air freshner into your vents WILL NOT cure your problem. It will only mask it.

http://www.keep-it-kool.com/


The Freon or refrigerent in our cars is R134. R12 which was used back in the 70's and early 80's was very harmful to the enviroment. It is no longer produced in the USA.

R134 came out as a environment friendly replacement for R12.

 

Follow the fellow members. Turn off the A/C a minute or so before exiting the car and turn the blower on the highest setting. It removes all the condensation within the vents. For those with a really funky smell that is due to the mold and in that event you will need to have your vents cleaned or disinfected.

 

fabreze may help if you can't find any other underlying cause