Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone else notices a stale or maybe moldy smell when they first turn on the AC? Mine does and it seems improve as the AC is run. I just want to make sure nothing is wrong with mine. See, my parents have a 95 Ford Windstar that made horrible smells with the AC on. It turned out that they didn't design something correctly and it would cause condensation to build up and turn into mold. They just had to spray it with something and that prevented it.

So am I alone with the AC smell?

Mine is new and all I have is that new car smell but maybe this will help:

http://www.inct.net/~autotips/musty.htm

Juelze wrote:Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone else notices a stale or maybe moldy smell when they first turn on the AC? Mine does and it seems improve as the AC is run. I just want to make sure nothing is wrong with mine. See, my parents have a 95 Ford Windstar that made horrible smells with the AC on. It turned out that they didn't design something correctly and it would cause condensation to build up and turn into mold. They just had to spray it with something and that prevented it.

So am I alone with the AC smell?

Haven't noticed it on my Versa, but it definitely happened on occasion with my previous car. Some cars take in fresh cabin air from below the windshield...there is a horizontal grate just in front of the windshield (under the wipers) and a plenum below. Since rain goes directly into the plenum, there are drain holes on the bottom but sometimes they clog. Stationary water will encourage mold and mildew, leading to the smells.

On my last car, I'd switch the air switch to Fresh (instead of recirc), turn the fan on high, open the windows, and do a good thorough spray-down of the intake area with Lysol. The inside of the car stank from the Lysol for a while, but the moldy smell did go away for the next year.

Ron

its probably just the filter that runs through the system. you can check for that

I had that same problem before. It turned out that there was something blocking the drain tube. Water would sit in the collection box until it slowly drained out. That's what was causing the moldy smell. You have a pretty new car so I that wouldn't be your problem. Like shortyjy8 said, I would start by having the filter checked.

Hi all,
I realize that I am committing 11 years later:however, I have the same problem. Every early summer when I turn on the A/C, I have this moldy musty smell.
If I remember to turn off the A/C, but keep the fan running on high 3 or 4 miles from my house, I will not have the mold smell the next time either of us drive the car.
I have tried foggers and Lysol and it always seems to come back. I have changed the cabin filter, sprayed Lysol in the filter's housing, made sure that the drain tube is not clogged, and sprayed Lysol in the vents, but it never goes away from year to year.
Does anyone have a schematic of the complete A/C and heating system? I want to find the box where the mold is growing and how to get to it.

yup i have the same issue. if i turn off the a/c a minute before i turn off the car and just let the fan run to blow out all the cold air it seems to help some.