A/C weird chemical smell?

[JDMRyde]

This has happened only a couple of times to me now.i would be driving with the A/C on and all of a sudden, for just a short while i would smell a strong chemical smell. It eventually goes away and i have to roll down all my windows for fresh air. Has anybody experienced a weird chemical type of smell coming out of the A/C vents?

[jmbones]

Yes, I have experienced it in my wifes. I think it's just the new car smell coming from the material used. As for why it comes and goes, I'm not sure. I have noticed that the A/C seems to get 'warmer' from time to time, and then cooler again and this is when I notice it.

[zdefonte]

Honestly, I love that smell . I notice it at least once a day. I guess it reminds me of how new my car is. I think the smell comes out when the condenser shuts off.

[jmbones]

Honestly, I love that smell . I notice it at least once a day. I guess it reminds me of how new my car is. I think the smell comes out when the condenser shuts off.

I like it as well!

[Beagle_Hauler]

I used to get that funky smell sometimes. But I found a way to minimize it. Most automotive A/C units will cycle on and off to save on wear and tear and gas. The fan is still blowing but the A/C switches on and off. Anyway, what I do is turn off the A/C and leave the fan blower on in order to blow out the remaining cold air and condensation and such when I'm roughly two or three miles before I get to where I'm going. The air is still somewhat cool, but it's clearing out the cold conditioned air that turns stale in the vents if you just turn off the engine with the A/C still churning away. Make good use of the interior and exterior air button, usually known as the "fresh air" vent button, it's the squiggly arrow going thru the car icon and the arrow going around the cabin of the car icon. Think of it this way: It's 98 degrees outside but your Rogue has been parked in that hot sun for several hours and is 135 inside, eeeouch, hot leather! So, you get in, leaving the doors open for whatever air ciculation you get while starting the car. Turn on the A/C and shut your door. Set the fan on high, and the vent for outside air. The A/C unit is sucking in 98 degree outside air and cooling it off and blowing it inside the Rogue. Once you get the Rogue's interior down below 98, lets says it's now 83 inside your Rogue, you want to switch to the interior air, that way it's sucking in 83 degree air and cooling it off even further. Once I get to within a few miles of my destination, I shut off the A/C but leave the blower motor running, that way it blows out the last of the cool air, and the funk smell is seriously minimized in the process. The A/C unit is only going to cool off hot air so much, so the cooler the air the A/C has to work with, the cooler it can make it. But try not to turn off the motor and A/C when you get where you are going, that cold air gets musty or something inside the vents and gets stale until you get in the car the next time and blow it out the vents, making you wonder what the funk you are smelling...

[jmbones]

You're talking about a different smell. The smell we are talking about is not from mold or mildew. It is a new car smell, like new plastics.

I used to get that funky smell sometimes. But I found a way to minimize it. Most automotive A/C units will cycle on and off to save on wear and tear and gas. The fan is still blowing but the A/C switches on and off. Anyway, what I do is turn off the A/C and leave the fan blower on in order to blow out the remaining cold air and condensation and such when I'm roughly two or three miles before I get to where I'm going. The air is still somewhat cool, but it's clearing out the cold conditioned air that turns stale in the vents if you just turn off the engine with the A/C still churning away. Make good use of the interior and exterior air button, usually known as the "fresh air" vent button, it's the squiggly arrow going thru the car icon and the arrow going around the cabin of the car icon. Think of it this way: It's 98 degrees outside but your Rogue has been parked in that hot sun for several hours and is 135 inside, eeeouch, hot leather! So, you get in, leaving the doors open for whatever air ciculation you get while starting the car. Turn on the A/C and shut your door. Set the fan on high, and the vent for outside air. The A/C unit is sucking in 98 degree outside air and cooling it off and blowing it inside the Rogue. Once you get the Rogue's interior down below 98, lets says it's now 83 inside your Rogue, you want to switch to the interior air, that way it's sucking in 83 degree air and cooling it off even further. Once I get to within a few miles of my destination, I shut off the A/C but leave the blower motor running, that way it blows out the last of the cool air, and the funk smell is seriously minimized in the process. The A/C unit is only going to cool off hot air so much, so the cooler the air the A/C has to work with, the cooler it can make it. But try not to turn off the motor and A/C when you get where you are going, that cold air gets musty or something inside the vents and gets stale until you get in the car the next time and blow it out the vents, making you wonder what the funk you are smelling...