Hi all, I had a brain fart a couple of weeks ago and left my sunroof open overnight and of course we got a little rain. It wasn't much, the seats were wet but there wasn't any pooling of water anywhere or anything like that. I aired it out and got an air freshener and that has taken care of any smell, however when I turn on the AC (or heat I suppose but I rarely use heat where I live) it blows funky smelling air.

Could rain coming into a sunroof (and not a ton or rain) cause the AC to smell, or was that just coincidental? The car is about a year old, if that helps.

 

Hello,


I don't think the rain has anything to do with it. I have gotten the same smell in all of my cars (3 Chevys, an Audi and the Volvo) when the AC has been off for a while and I have been using the heat, or on a humid day. The best explanation I have heard is its mold in the coil or vents. I have read on this forum and others that you can spray Lysol in the vents. I haven't tried that, but what usually works is running the car for 10-15 minutes with the heat on high. This process worked for me several times, until it got so bad I had the Audi dealer perform an anti-fungal treatment which took care of it. The problem with Audi was from parking in a garage at home and at work so the condensation from the heat never had time to evaporate out of the coil. Once I started parking outside at work, problem solved.

 

when was the last time that you replaced your cabin filter?

 

s6013 - thanks for the heating suggestion, I may try it

Damien - never replaced it. The car isn't even a year old yet, and the only maintenance done thus far was my 10k miles checkup at the dealer