KT17

Just got a 2017 Platinum. Haven't even had it a month. We've had quite a bit of rain recently and I noticed the car smells really bad inside after it rains, like swampy, musty. Anyone else having this problem? I really hope it's not a leak or something major.

lightonthehill

No such smell for me. But I keep mine in a dry garage, and any water on the car evaporates fairly soon after I park the car in the garage. The garage is 22' X 34' (includes workshop), and having that larger area may be allowing my car to dry faster and avoid any musty smell.

I will be interested in whether anyone else here has experienced this musty smell. Musty is not good. Moisture in places it does not belong can sometimes be damaging for cars and the resultant mustiness can be unhealthy for humans. If this musty smell is still there after a few dry days, I think I might have the dealer check things out. Tell him the window sticker does not list a musty smell as an available option on your car, and you want that option removed.

EDIT - I do recall a musty smell on occasion on cars I have owned in the past. It almost always was the result of having left my window(s) down and it rained into the car. This is a lot of trouble to do, but you might want to remove enough molding around the front foot-well to raise the carpet and the pad underneath. If moisture ever gets under there, it can't get out, and eventually, there will be a musty smell. Soon after that, even though the floor pan is painted with rust resistant paint, rust will begin to show.

compyelc4

Yep. I got a musty smell just the other day and mine had not seen rain or snow yet. Mine is garaged too. Only 2400 miles. Yesterday I broke down and took it for a drive in the rain. Funny... no musty smell yet. Wonder what that smell was; definitely musty. Wife noticed it too.

KT17

I have noticed it twice so far. It went away the first time after a few dry days, but came back when it rained again. I really smell it when the a/c is on. Well, the actual a/c is not on, just running the fan and it's pulling air from outside, not recirculating. (Sorry, I don't know much about cars, so I hope I'm explaining it correctly). I think we have some more rainy days coming this week, so if it is still happening, I will definitely call the dealer.

lightonthehill

So now we have a mystery. Two 'musties' in short order, after not having seen this before on either 7th or 8th gens. This is a 'head scratcher.' Will be interesting to see if others have this.

Gmoney777

I have this exact same problem... even took it to the dealer, they said they swapped out some air panel thing? It still smells at times and is very frustrating. Hopefully we can figure this out

lightonthehill

I would be interested in knowing how long each of these 'musties' may have been sitting on the dealer's lot before being bought. The assembly month and year is posted on the jamb of the driver's door. If possible, maybe a few of these 'musty' owners could post the date their car was assembled and the date they purchased it. There may be no connection, but SOMETHING is causing this mustiness.

compyelc4

I doubt damp or wet conditions prior to purchase is causing the complaints. Mustiness may lead to mold and mold is an alarming health issue for most. No, I believe this condition may be caused by something AND a bit after the sale, not immediately on the test drive or as the car is driven off the lot for the first time.

My '17 was purchased this past mid-December here in cold Ohio. The car, of course, has had that new car smell since new, and still does. My experience was that I got in the garaged car after a pretty good rain. The car was in the garage before and after the rain and had never been wet or snowed on before (I drove my '07 Altima in the wet and snow). When I started the car my wife and I both noticed a musty smell right at startup and that smell disappeared after about 5 min. or less. We have never smelled the musty odor again and I've had it out in the rain since. ONE THING I REMEMBER IS the morning of the musty incident is the first time I had ever cut the AUTO feature OFF, meaning the AC was not in recirculation mode; it was drawing in unconditioned outside air. It has rained only once since and the musty smell has not returned. This issue may be a tough one to pin down unless others experience this consistently or we can tie down the exact conditions present before and when it occurs.

KT17

I don't think mine sat at the dealership very long. The assembly date is 1/17, and I purchased 3/2/17. They said they had just gotten it. It only had 10 miles on it, and it wasn't even ready to be test driven yet as it had no gas and still had some covers in the interior that had to be removed before I drove it.

lightonthehill

Thanks, KT17. That eliminates the 'sitting on the lot' theory, which compyelc4 doubted anyway. He mentioned something that may mean nothing, but who knows? He said the time he smelled the mustiness was right after he turned off the AUTO feature for the first time, letting in outside air. Could the duct between the baffle (normally set to admit only recirculating air) and wherever the opening is that lets air into the outside air admittance duct have had the same air sitting in it since the car was assembled? I doubt that, but then we are grasping at straws.

But, in retrospect, I seem to recall that, even in recirculating position, regulations require that some portion of outside air must be let in for safety reasons. If so, then that shoots down my thought that air might have been sitting at the front end of the duct since assembly time.

dmstangu

The AUTO feature does not always recirculate cabin air. It decides whether to bring in fresh air from outside or to recirculate inside air, based on the inside/outside temperature differential, and can switch between the two quite often.
Unless compyelc4 actively observed the LED indicator for outside/recirculated air all the time, I highly doubt that in the 3 months period since he bought the car the AUTO feature never allowed outside air in the cabin.

KT17

I will say that both times I experienced the smell, I had started my car remotely and it was running for a few minutes before I got in. I think there is some sort of air circulation going on when I remote start??

KT17

The smell is back! It is definitely a fishy smell. No rain recently, so that blows that hypothesis. It did sit for two days without driving it. Did not remote start this time. Just got in, started the car, and the air was set on 76 degrees, pulling in air from the outside, and WHAM -- overwhelming dead fish smell. I tried adjusting the temp up and down to see if that affected the smell, but it didn't. It dissipated after a few minutes. It is messing up my new car smell! Guess I'll be calling the dealer this week, but since I can't figure out the pattern of when or how it happens, not sure what they can do.

dochidalgo

The cabin filter could be the culprit....my guess

xydehead

I happen to notice this musty smell, when I turn off AC. But when I bring back AC smell goes away. Weather is not a variable for me.

phlydude

Have the dealer check the evap drain for the A/C.
I have a Titan that had one that was too short and when I parked it nose in on my sloping driveway, the water that normally drains out and underneath the car would hit the firewall and drain under the carpet. If I backed it in, it wouldn't (but it also didn't drain out either).

Check for wet carpet under the floor mats to see if that is the issue.

While you may not live in a warm climate (summer is coming), the defrost function will run the A/C and create condensate that needs to drain out.

maximman2016

this would make sense if this is happening.... thanks for the suggestion

MentallyRetired

On a lot of new cars, the catalytic converter has a coating that burns off in the first few thousand miles. However, I've only known it to smell like "rotten eggs" or "burning rubber", not musty. But maybe Nissan did something different with the Maxima? I had a 350z convertible that I purchased new, but it had the rotten egg smell from the catalytic converter.

KT17

I am familiar with the catalytic converter smell, and this is definitely not it. This is a fishy, swamp smell.

aviation76

I am noticing a musty smell in my 2017 SL for the past few months (17000 mi). My car is garaged and I live in a part of the country that does not experience a lot of rain. Has anyone else experienced this and was able to successfully eliminate it?

Thanks in advance.

xydehead

I would suggest changing the cabin air filter. Worked for me.

aviation76

Thank you, I will try that. Is moisture accumulating and then drying on the filter causing the musty smell?

xydehead

I think so. When i replaced i saw leaves derbies and insects.

NisCal17

tommie70

I wouldn’t call what I’m smelling “musty”, but occasionally I can sense dampness. I think it has something to do with always running the recirc and not bring in fresh air. Or it’s the opposite, and I’m bringing in too much damp air and it’s collecting in the plenum.

me9798

I was using recirc all the time; that's what caused it for me.

NisCal17

I think it’s opposite. Because I get less or almost no sense of dump smell when I start the ac with recirc. I think changing the air cabin did help.

Yankeefan130

Check the Cabin air filter. Had the same problem on an old car I had and it had leaves and other garbage in it.