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Mold/mildew smell from vents

BuiltToServeHim

BuiltToServeHim

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I have a ‘22 Ram Built To Serve that since new has had a mold/mildew smell from vents, but now it’s getting super gross smelling. Replaced the cabin air filter, didn’t change, keeps coming back. I noticed the other day while going through the car wash that the smell came through the vents while in the wash… anyone seen this??
 
We had mold/mildew in our 2020 Limited that was caused by the cracked rear window frame which was allowing water inside the cab. But it didn't smell like it was coming from the vents. You might check your AC drain to make sure it's not plugged. Some people have had that happen.
 
Check for water intrusion. The rear sliding window is a major culprit. Feel around under the rear seat by the cab wall for moisture. Also pull the cabin air filter out and make sure that's dry.
 
Just pulled all my mats and checked the floor after coming home and putting AC on full blast. Smell wasn’t as noticeable today, but still a hint of it. Floors were all dry, so I checked the condensation drain, no dripping and the wall wasn’t wet either. Odd thing is it’s blowing cold air out of it…
 
There's a few things to try.
One: get in the habit of shutting off the AC a couple blocks from home, but leave the blower on. Any ice on the evaporator will melt and drain off and the airflow should theoretically dry out the case to minimize the mildew smell.
Two: Pop the glove box and pull the cabin filter. Then start the truck, turn the vents on full blast in recirculate, and spray a bunch of Lysol through the filter opening. It'll stink up the cab, so you'll probably need to leave the windows down for a while, but it might kill anything growing in there. You can buy better-smelling stuff at the parts store. The stuff we had at the dealership smelled like cinnamon.
 
I get this too. Only smell it when the A/C first starts and goes away pretty quick. The smell is definitely noticeable but is not as bad as yours is and it goes away within a minute or 2 and goes away so I've never bothered with trying to get it fixed
 
Burns1200 said:
I get this too. Only smell it when the A/C first starts and goes away pretty quick. The smell is definitely noticeable but is not as bad as yours is and it goes away within a minute or 2 and goes away so I've never bothered with trying to get it fixed
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My 3 month new 2022 does exactly this!!
 
Lysol as instructed above and a bag of damp rid in the cabin. They have scented and unscented. I use Unscented. I've never had a smelly cabin.
 
But should we have to ‘accommodate’ by leaving things in our brand new trucks to take smells away not from us using them yet? Last night after sending this I went to our church softball game, when I went to leave my infotainment was black, wouldn’t turn on. Tried doing a hard reset and the Ram logo would come on as it does on start ups, but then go black again. I did this five times before it magically appeared again.
I know nothing is perfect, things are bound to have issues but come one now.
 
BuiltToServeHim said:
But should we have to ‘accommodate’ by leaving things in our brand new trucks to take smells away not from us using them yet? Last night after sending this I went to our church softball game, when I went to leave my infotainment was black, wouldn’t turn on. Tried doing a hard reset and the Ram logo would come on as it does on start ups, but then go black again. I did this five times before it magically appeared again.
I know nothing is perfect, things are bound to have issues but come one now.
Click to expand...
You're right in my opinion. You shouldn't have this problem with a brand new truck. The infotainment problem and smell might be linked with water intrusion issue into the HVAC. Probably time to use your warranty at a dealership. Hope you know a good one. Good luck
 
Front cowl drain may be clogged. Check if the cabin filter is wet or the carpet near the firewall.
 
Last edited:
ae5573t said:
You're right in my opinion. You shouldn't have this problem with a brand new truck. The infotainment problem and smell might be linked with water intrusion issue into the HVAC. Probably time to use your warranty at a dealership. Hope you know a good one. Good luck
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Agreed, stopped by to see my friend at the dealership then spoke with the Master Tech I used. The tech is awesome, good guy and knows his stuff, the service advisors though…whole other thing. Appointment for the 21st of June.
 
You could try an ozone generator if you don't want to have to live with the smell of whatever cleaner you use. Ozone generators work great for eliminating odors. Even from fabrics. And they don't leave any odors behind.
 
BuiltToServeHim said:
But should we have to ‘accommodate’ by leaving things in our brand new trucks to take smells away not from us using them yet? Last night after sending this I went to our church softball game, when I went to leave my infotainment was black, wouldn’t turn on. Tried doing a hard reset and the Ram logo would come on as it does on start ups, but then go black again. I did this five times before it magically appeared again.
I know nothing is perfect, things are bound to have issues but come one now.
Click to expand...
I agree we shouldn't. It's frustrating.
 
Burns1200 said:
I get this too. Only smell it when the A/C first starts and goes away pretty quick. The smell is definitely noticeable but is not as bad as yours is and it goes away within a minute or 2 and goes away so I've never bothered with trying to get it fixed
Click to expand...

This is exactly what happens in my 2019
I changed the cabin air filter and had zero change. No moisture inside at all.
 
I can't help you find your leak but to get rid of the smell turn your truck on, turn your 12 inch screen off (push the volume button).
Put the heat on recirc max full blast and throw this sucker in and close all the doors and windows.
Come back 30 minutes later turn your truck off and let it sit overnight

I did this when I bought a used SUV and the previous owner had a huge dog of some kind and there was god damn fur everywhere and it smelled. I can't count how many trim pieces I took off to clean, but this killed the smell
 
Had the wet rotting gym sock smell in my 2019 on a trip to the desert that involved cold, hot, cold, etc., weather. At first I thought our dog had an accident in the truck, but nope, coming out of the HVAC. Ended up using a pressurized sprayer to mist a commercial fungicide/biocide, into the cowl vent, with HVAC fan at high, and then the smell was gone. If you go this route leave all the windows down and like the previous poster said, make sure to pull the cabin filter and put a new one in after the cleaning.
 
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