That Smell

Red Sleeper

Red Sleeper

Active member
Can't you smell that smell? Good ol' Lynyrd.

Honestly though, does everyone else have the HVAC vent foul odor smell to deal with? Seems it is only an issue with newer vehicles for me. My 14 chevy and wife's 13 mazda3 both have smelly vents when we first turn on the AC. And my 05 CR doesn't have the issue, probably because the AC does not blow as cold on this older truck compared to newer vehicles.

And I know it's from running the AC so cold that the inside of the vents condensate when the system is turned off. I do make it a point to turn the AC off a few minutes before I turn the vehicle off. But how do I get rid of the smell next time I turn the AC on?

About the only option I can come up with is to steam clean the vents. Fog steam from inside the the vehicle through the vents, then from the outside vents in. What else can a person do?


Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell - YouTube
 
Make sure the drain is clear first. Theres some aerosol products that work pretty well for neutralizing odors too.

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The drain flows like a river. New cabin air filters.

I’ve debated spraying ozium down the intake vent from outside the cab.
 
My 2016 highlander does it routinely. Smells like wet shoes and then calms down.

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Had a dodge Durango do it. 2012 model that we had new. Started around 50k miles. Smelled like elephants at the zoo. Traded it in and never found the cause. Neither could the dealership.
 
We use the bg products and seems to work well. If it can handle 30+yr old farm trucks and make me a believer it does a good job balancing new vehicles
 
My 2018 F150 has been doing this, I'm told leaving the recirculate button turned on plays a factor. Started turning that off the past couple weeks and things are getting better. Still could use something to clean out the vents.
 
I researched BG products, their products can only be administered by a trained technician. Which near me is all the local mechanic shops.

Makes sense about AC on recirculate. Though with 100° weather in Houston, it’s dumb not to use recirculate. I ordered a Meguiars whole car air freshener - odor eliminator while buying other cleaning products. For $8, I’ll try it. Next I’ll try steam cleaning the vents from outside in.
 
Gonna try this in my girls car. Her 07 stinks when you first turn it on and my 95 smells like new somehow.
 
I used the Meguiars product in my wife’s car this morning. Man that can of stuff is potent. It was the black chrome scented one, ran car for 15 min with AC on recirculate them let the car sit with windows down for a while to air the cabin out.

Waiting for a hot parking lot day to see if this makes any difference.
 
Well the Meguiars product worked, kind of. It removed/covered some of the smell, but I can still smell it. Plus the car now smells like a guy who wears too much foo foo.

My friend with the steam cleaner didn't make it here last week.

Going for the BG Frigi-Fresh next.
 
Coffee grinds absorb the odor? Does the coffee smell stay throughout the vehicle?

Coffee and it’s smell does not appeal to me at all.
 
Will take out the smell, may smell like coffee for a day or two is all. I use it on old smelly moldy boat cabins, works every time.
 
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