Smelly A/C vent any one?

Post by **M45Runner** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:59 am

Recently, my M45 has developed a bad smell when ever I use the A/C.

If I turn the A/C on, there will be some smell (When the A/C is on, the smell is not strong, but, if I pay attention, I know it is there). But, when the A/C is turned off, immediately, there will be strong smells , like almost bad food / fungi smell and it will last for the rest of the trip, but, it becomes minimum the next day.

I have read that this could be caused by the evaporator and is a known problem (for any car with A/C, not M specific). So, I am just checking if any other M or Infiniti owners had this problem? And if this will be covered under warranty? If not, what did you do to fix this and how much it costs?

Post by **SteveTheTech** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 6:29 am

Hi there and a slightly belated Welcome to Nico.

It's pretty common to need replacement yearly, or more frequently depending on environmental contaminants. If you do it yourself you will need to remove the glove box lid and the cover on the backing plate, once you get that out you will see a white box, remove the lid and you will see the air filter. Replace it with an OE filter, or OE the New Grape Seed Activated Filter that the FX50 uses (this actually removes a fair amount of microbes and odors). If you have interest in semi sanitizing your vents you can do what I do. With the old filter out I turn the fan on 2 and mist some Febreeze into the air intake. If you decide to do this remember that all the vents will start misting Febreeze so don't be surprised. If you press the Mode button while lightly misting you will get the entire heater circuit. Reassembly is pretty easy you will need to be very careful with the glove box lid the small plastic tabs on the back need to be lined up and not forced. As a first step you will need to remove the lower plastic cover to make things easier. zer...ement

Post by **M45Runner** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 6:38 am

Thanks for the reply. I am replacing the in-cabin filter every year.

However, that seems not the solution. Even with a fresh, new filter, it still smells and I don't think I need to replace the evaporator yearly.

Post by **SteveTheTech** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 7:29 am

If the smell persists you may have a water leak somewhere that is getting stale. If there is any debris the condensation that normally occurs on the evaporator may be rotting the stuff in your heater box. If that is your problem removing the blower motor and inspecting for any debris.

Playing the "Find That Smell" game is a game where there are no winners. I recently had a G35 Coupe with an incurable odor of decomposing animal somewhere inside the body of the car. We were not allowed to start pulling things to find it, as the smell had filled the shop and my respirator was not holding up. If you remove the battery cover and use a flash light to inspect for anything that does not belong.

Post by **palincal** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:29 am

When the climate control is shut off the vents close completely causing the air circulation to stop. This is the first make I am seeing work this way. In my other car, when climate control is turned off, the vents remain open.

When you park the car don't turn off the climate control. I get some stale smell if I shut off the climate control and turn it on after a day or so.

Post by **qship96** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 12:37 pm

Purchase some a/c evaporator foam cleaner/deodorizer/bacteria killer- Toyota dealers parts departments sell it for around $20. BG also sells it for a much higher price{Frigi-clean}, and Einsett also sells it as Klima-Kleer. the foam fills up the evaporator box, cleaning,scrubbing,deodorizing, and killing molds and bacterias and leaves a fresh scent. Easy job to do yourself annually.

Post by **M45Runner** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:46 pm

Wow, that might be the cause , since I normally turn the climate control (Auto) off when not using A/C and then turn up the fan speed if need to ventilate . So, next time, I will just turn the A/C off and leave the climate control in Auto mode, hope that will fix the problem.

Post by **qship96** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 6:22 pm

Unless you never use the a/c to cool the interior of your car, you WILL eventually have the mold/smell problem- the evaporator, being near ice cold, becomes wet from the humid hot air passing over it as you try to cool the interior- combine this moisture with the dark environment the evaporator is placed in......and smelly mold/bacteria thrives.

Post by **RAGTPZ** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 12:51 am

This is a really easy and quick fix, and you're right that it's prone to happen with any car with A/C. The smell is mold spores that develop in the A/C system.

1. Go buy a can of Lysol2. Turn the car on with the A/C on high3. Spray the entire can of Lysol into the inlet vents near the windshield wipers.

You should be good to go...

Post by **M45Runner** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:57 am

Heard of that method, but, people claim it will only last for 2-3 weeks and the smell will be back again. Is it true that you need to apply Lysol every 2-3 weeks, at least during summer month?

Post by **NightWatch** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:04 am

My M35 is the first car I've ever owned that had a problem with a smelly ventilation system. I had a 2003 G35 coupe for 5 years and never had a single problem with the A/C. I've had my M35 for 4 months and I've had them clean the evaporator box twice with something similar to Klima-cleaner and replace the in-cabin micro filter once and I still have the smell. Its very annoying - smells like vomit sometimes. I'm not sure what else to do at this point. I think Lysol just covers up the smell for a little while, I don't think it actually gets rid of it.

Post by **M45Runner** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:39 am

So, for those who had the dealer work on this issue, was it covered under warranty or you have to pay for it - providing the car is still under full manufacturer warranty - I am going to schedule a visit to the dealer and want to get this cleared out first.

Thanks!

Post by **RAGTPZ** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:49 am

M45Runner wrote:Heard of that method, but, people claim it will only last for 2-3 weeks and the smell will be back again. Is it true that you need to apply Lysol every 2-3 weeks, at least during summer month?

I had one car where I had to do it twice and that was it. Remember that Lysol is a disinfectant and will actually kill the mold that is causing the smell so it is not just a cover up. It's at least worth a shot and couldn't hurt.

Post by **NightWatch** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:33 am

They covered it under warranty for the 2 previous times. They told me however that it would not be covered under warranty again. They said to keep the A/C on outside air, not recirculate, park it out in the sun once in a while, showed me how to change the cabin filter and also recommended Klima-Cleaner.

Post by **ken in az** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:54 am

Before I read this post while doing the nav hack on saturday I did the Febreze method - we'll see how long that lasts but so far so good.

Post by **M45Caliber** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:08 pm

are you seeing the typical small puddle of water under the car if the AC i running and the car is sitting (even a little should appear in AZ) The reason I ask is that maybe the drain hole/hose is plugged and the moisture being removed via the condenser is not draining, thus creating a wonderful mold/mildue habitat. Just another thing to check.

Post by **M45Runner** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:38 am

I have not checked that for a while - it used to when I looked at it some time last summer. So, I will take a look again.

It is rainy this week, so I figured it might not be good to drive in wet weather with the mold issue. So, the M will be resting in the garage until the sun comes out and I am happy with the Prelude for now (Yeah, 5spd with VTEC engine - rice boy here I come )

Post by **NightWatch** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:50 am

Its very humid here in Atlanta... its a BIG puddle

Post by **ken in az** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:15 am

ken in az wrote:Before I read this post while doing the nav hack on saturday I did the Febreze method - we'll see how long that lasts but so far so good.

Didn't last that long....I'm gonna have to find the evap drain and spray some of that vent cleaner junk up there. Even though it's really dry here, for some reason it gets smelly. I agree that it has something to do with the vents on recerc.

Anyone clean the drain out on these ever?

Post by **M45Runner** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:47 pm

Ok, I tried the Lysol solution - sprayed it for about 2 minutes and the Lysol smell comes out of the vent and then put a new in-cabin filter in.

I will try it out tomorrow - also going to observe the drain hole to make sure it is not clogged. Anyone know where is the drain pan (that leads to the drain pipe) located, so I can check on both end?

Post by **ken in az** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:23 am

I've been taking the advise of leaving the ac in vent/fresh air mode and it seems to help out immensely. I can hardly smell the febreeze anymore either.

I'm not saying this is how it should be, but it is definitely a work around.

Thanks guys!

Post by **Mitgoman1** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:57 pm

RAGTPZ wrote:This is a really easy and quick fix, and you're right that it's prone to happen with any car with A/C. The smell is mold spores that develop in the A/C system.

1. Go buy a can of Lysol2. Turn the car on with the A/C on high3. Spray the entire can of Lysol into the inlet vents near the windshield wipers.

You should be good to go...

Just remember mold is very hard. What you want to do is run the heater on full blast for about 20 minutes to soften the mold, then spray the Lysol. Once you've used 3/4 of the can wait a couple of minutes then run the a/c. and you should be good to go!

Post by **svard75** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 4:00 am

Hi Guys. I too have this issue. Smells like an unclean womans private Anyway has anyone actually located the evap drain plug or pan whatever?

Thanks

Post by **Salty2X** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:25 pm

I need to change my cabin filter as well. I tried to find it on http://www.InfinitiPartsUSA.com but alas i could not.Is it just me or is it a pain to find things on there sometimes.

Post by **kingpin** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:59 pm

lol this post if very help ful but fn funny at the same time - sorry for the tread jack lol

Post by **M45Runner** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 4:28 am

Here is the link for the in-cabin filter:http://www.infinitipartsusa.co...gid=0

Post by **svard75** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 5:04 am

I did talk to a service adviser about this and they said the heater core and AC condenser are both in a sealed plastic box and would take them 15 hours labor (Removing the Dash) to get to it if needed. So I guess cleaning it that way is out of the question. He did, however, point me in the right direction and it's identical to what SteveTheTech had posted earlier. I bought two cans of this misting stuff, which was designed for this bad smell condition, from Canadian Tire and used one inside by removing the in-cabin air filter and turning on the recirculation. Then the second with the hood open spraying it into the intakes just below the windshield with the blower set to external air. It seemed to cure most of it, although I imagine I may have to use the heater as Mitgoman1 stated earlier to loosen up some of the mold. It's disturbing knowing mold is found within the air system (post air filter) and that every day I turn the car on I'm inhaling it.

There must be an easier way to clean that plastic box out, with an anti-mold agent, without taking the entire dash apart.

Ideas?

Post by **Pashdut** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:17 pm

M45Runner wrote:Recently, my M45 has developed a bad smell when ever I use the A/C.

If I turn the A/C on, there will be some smell (When the A/C is on, the smell is not strong, but, if I pay attention, I know it is there). But, when the A/C is turned off, immediately, there will be strong smells <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://images.nicoclub.com/forums/image ... /anger.gif" BORDER="0"> , like almost bad food / fungi smell and it will last for the rest of the trip, but, it becomes minimum the next day.

I have read that this could be caused by the evaporator and is a known problem (for any car with A/C, not M specific). So, I am just checking if any other M or Infiniti owners had this problem? And if this will be covered under warranty? If not, what did you do to fix this and how much it costs?

Search before posting:

zerothread?id=155402

zerothread?id=175120

plus more

Post by **Salty2X** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 8:44 pm

Yeah your right Petrol head, I am Sorry, I come from a generation of instant gratification, that was uncalled for, but thanks to M45Runner for helping me find the filter.

Post by **M45Runner** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:18 am

Pashdut wrote:
Search before posting:

zerothread?id=155402

zerothread?id=175120

plus more

Did the search with "Smelly A/C Vent" and nothing came out.

Plus, where were you when we started this thread - you have to wait for almost 2 month and when everything is discussed to point this out?

Smelly A/C vent any one?

Smelly A/C vent any one?

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (SteveTheTech)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (SteveTheTech)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (palincal)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (palincal)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (RAGTPZ)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (NightWatch)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: (ken in az)

Re: (M45Caliber)

Re: (M45Caliber)

Re: (ken in az)

Re: (ken in az)

Re: (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (RAGTPZ)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (Mitgoman1)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (Salty2X)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (Salty2X)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (M45Runner)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (Petrol head)

Re: Smelly A/C vent any one? (Pashdut)

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