In the last week the I've noticed a moldy metallic smell when I turn my ac on. I've tired to come up with what I would liken it to. Almost as it the ac hadn't been turn own in months or it was almost out of freon. It's only a month old so I wonder what it might be.
View 5 RepliesI have a 2013 and after it sits for a day especially when it's warm the AC vents put out a moldy smell when starting. I've heard all the ideas of Turing off AC before shouting down engine but that shouldn't required for a Lexus of all cars. The dealer ran a refresh we thru the systems that worked for a few days but that was it. I've never had this problem with my 2004 RX. I also replaced the cabin filter with a charcoal based one. Seems a $45,000 vehicle shouldn't have this type of problem
View 14 RepliesMy wife's RX has had this weird, what I'd call a moldy/mildewy smell when you open the hatch. Cleaned everything out, check spare compartment for moisture, emptied out everything in the hatch, had the car detailed, and it's still there.
View 2 RepliesEvery time I get in and start up my GX it omits a moldy / musty smell out of the vents, it stinks! It goes away in a matter of seconds but it seems at every start up I get that smell again, it's kind of embarrassing.
View 14 RepliesFirst Hyundai my 2014 Elantra SE. Love it to death. Used this forum to start doing my own car maintenance,
Changed the oil (using Hyundai OEM filter).
Cleaned the throttle body to stop the rough idle.
Chirpy fan getting replaced with new blower motor tonight so while I am in there:
And the reason for my post: Had a smell coming through the vents that just smells like rotten leaves. Changed the cabin air filter. Smell still there.
Where does the cabin air filter air intake go? I want to make sure there are no obstructions or smell inducing things living in this intake.
I guess my question is..Where does the air come in to the cabin from and where best can I make sure its unobstructed?
So I thought the smell had been taken care of last year by the dealership (which I had to pay for) but that was not the case. As soon as the temp's outside started getting hot out, I notcied the mold smell starting to come back. Had the pollen filter replaced again this year at my expense and once again, the smell is still there. It happens after the car sits a while and only when I'm running outside air. It also happens as soon as you turn the air on whether its the A/C or just outside air. I plan on calling the dealership again today because to be honest, it's a bit embarassing when I have other people/clients in my car. Is there anything that I can do on my own to cure this?
View 1 RepliesAfter 1 year and 9000 miles, I have the dreaded moldy smell through the AC vents. Thought this would be covered by warranty but Toyota says "NO" and will cost me$120. That is unacceptable to have to pay $120/year for a problem that should NOT happen. I have had too many cars in the past to count and have never had this problem. It has to be a design issue (poor drainage??) 2012 PIP.
View 16 RepliesI enjoy your show and newspaper column. Here's my situation. I have a 2008 Grand Prix with a stinky problem. There's a terrible musty, moldy smell that comes out of my vents (any vents, i.e. dashboard, floor, defrost) after I shut off my air conditioning. When just the fresh air from outside is coming through the vents, everything is just fine. When I turn on my air conditioning, everything is just fine. When I turn off my air conditioning is when the funky smell starts.
Mechanic number one cleaned out the drain hole, sprayed anti-mold spray and foam through the air intake vents with the recirculation switch on and the windows rolled up. But the mold is still there. Mechanic number two shared with me that the only way to get the mold out is to disassemble part of the A/C unit, physically clean out and disinfect the unit and then add some other part that drain or dry the unit so moisture never sits in there and starts the molding process. Is that the best way to deal with this problem?
I've started noticing this only when she's cold and I have to back out of the garage in the morning. I generally wait 5-10 seconds after I start the engine before going into reverse but lately I've noticed a muffled metallic 'pank' coming from the engine compartment when the reverse gear engages. I can't say I feel any 'thump' to go with it and I'm racking my brain to see if this is a new development and I have a possible transmission issue or if it's been there all along and I never noticed.
View 31 RepliesI bought a new 2013 ES 300h. It only has 7K miles on it. When I first start it up for the day there is a moldy smell coming out of the vents for a few minutes. I've not taken it through any deep water.
Does it just need some new vent filters? What filters would be involved?
So fairly recently, I've noticed a metallic-ish click like noise from my back rear driver side wheel. I hear it on occasion when sitting down in my car and the car tilts slightly. I can reproduce the sound when I take my hand and rock the car just a little bit. What that might be? Or if I should be concerned?
View 9 Repliesjust about a week ago, i've noticed this weird rattle coming from the front end, sounds metallic (maybe something is loose) but it only happens when I accelerate from 0-80km/h, but the sound isn't there if I slowly accelerate. Nothing seems to be wrong with how it runs, its just the sound that sounds horrible, like nails on a chalkboard.
Also, I've noticed the engine ticks really loud when it gets started. However, the sound goes away after a minute of idling.
There is about 19,000 kms on it and I got it in January .. I travel a lot maybe a little too much.. I want to take it in to the dealership, but I'm pretty far from it and would like to know what it could be before I take it anywhere to get fixed.
Tis the first of "Squeaks and Creeks" from me. Not really the best thing to hear, sitting at ~24K miles. Anyways, until (if) i can get a sound clip, I have this metallic rattle that only occurs about 1-3 mins after i start the car. This just started happening yesterday, and nothing out of the ordinary happened.
I start the engine, hear a raspy rattle from what sounds like under the engine, and if i give it some throttle it increases some, but not to the point where it sounds like something is banging around. It goes away after a few minutes so it could be anything. Shifts are still smooth, driving and getting on the gas does not fix nor make it worse, either in neutral or actually rolling. It simply goes away with 3 minutes time or so. It seems to have a limit for how much 'rattle' it gives off, and its something I can accept.
My car has developed some intermittent noise but I can't pinpoint the exact source, though it seems to be coming from the front. I hear it in 1st gear when accelerating, and it's more audible if I have my windows down. A faint metallic grinding/friction/rotating noise is how I think I could most accurately describe it. I do have an oil change coming up in the next few weeks and will mention it then.
View 2 RepliesMy a/c vents smells musty/moldy when A/C is turned on, searched the FTE site and everyone says to check the A/C drain tube to make sure it is not clogged, I have searched all over top and bottom with a flashlight for the drain tube and swear there isn't one. I think it should be on the bottom of the condenser box but just do not see it. Where it is located? The vent smell is Awful!
2000 F350 Super Cab 7.3 Diesel
Experienced a weird sweat smell when first start your car with the AC on? Is there a way to fix this?
View 3 RepliesI just noticed a burnt smell in the trunk of my 2013 Elantra Limited with 4,000 miles. You can't smell it inside the car. Called the dealer and was told, "Oh, don't worry, that's the burn-in smell", it will go away in a few weeks".
View 5 RepliesIf I turn off my AC while driving but leave the fans running, I get a distinct sour/stale smell from the vents.
This also occurs when I turn on the AC. What might be causing this?
Is there a pan or something that needs to be cleaned? There is a fresh Cabin filter installed.
I'm going to take my Elantra in to get it checked. My Elantra is a 2013, got it in March. Over the last few weeks, I would say, on 4 days or so there has been a STRONG exhaust smell. No smoke, nothing else but a smell. If I'm pulling into the garage with no idling, just pull in and park, I get out and the smell in the garage is very strong. I have to leave the garage open for at least an hour if not more to air it out. The cab ends up having a light smell inside the next day still.
If I'm parking outside when I get out I can still smell it, but not quite as strong, because I'm not in an enclosed area. I don't think it's an exhaust manifold leak, because I don't hear the popping. My best guess is it would be in the tail pipe area pre-catalytic converter, or in the catalytic converter if it is in fact an exhaust leak.
Soon after buying my new 2011 Elantra, I smelled that pungent anti-freeze smell when the engine gets hot. When I brought the car in for its first oil change, the Dealership did a pressure test but did not find any problems. During the next oil change (4 months since purchase) I noticed the fluid level below the Low level. The dealership did a second pressure test but nothing unusual. I thought it was odd that the anti-freeze level would be low after just 4 months, but the dealer was not concerned because it was a hot summer. However, he did inform me that I was the second Elantra owner that had the same complaint that same day. The smell continues when I run the engine through rush hour traffic (stop and go). I purchased florescent leak detector fluid with the UV light. It looks great when I shine the light on the coolant reservoir but I have yet to see any florescent leaks even though I still smell the anti-freeze.
View 39 RepliesI went out of town for 10 days and left my car parked. When I returned the inside of the call smells like a dead animal. I keep my car clean and do not eat in it. My husband checked all over including underneath to see if there was something dead. He found nothing. Yesterday, I had to turn on the defrost setting for the windows due to condensation in the car. This is not normal for my climate right now. We are 70 degrees with little to no humidity. The cabin filter was changed 6 months ago.
We have tried airing it out for a 2 days, spraying Ozium and other sprays, but the smell persists.