A/C Smell

[djants]

I noticed after a day or two of not driving and then starting the truck up with the A/C on I first get a whiff a bad smell for a few seconds. Then the air is normal. Anyone else experience this? What could be the issue?

 

[Billy James]

Stale air because its been sitting in your truck for a couple days without circulating? I don't think you have an issue.

 

[Cueva del Osos]

If it smelled like feet, you need to change the cabin air filter. I’ve had that recurring issue with every car in last 10 years (was WAY worse in midwest where humidity is brutal) and a filter change always clears it up for a year or two.

 

[djants]

Trucks got 5,500 miles. Purchased in January 2020. Can The cabin air filter get dirty that quick? But yes it smells like feet straight out of the vents for a few seconds and clears up.

 

[RamGuy32]

Couple things? Do you park your truck on a hill facing up? If so, your AC vents can't drain properly. Park level or back up the hill. Second, turn off the AC a mile or so from home so the fans have a chance to equalize the temperature of the coils. This will prevent condensation and mildew (which is what you're smelling). Will take a bit to return to normal as you've already got "growth"...sorry for the visual. After a few times of doing this and it drying out properly the smell is gone or at least severely impacted.

 

[392DCGC]

Trucks got 5,500 miles. Purchased in January 2020. Can The cabin air filter get dirty that quick? But yes it smells like feet straight out of the vents for a few seconds and clears up.

Nope, highly unlikely unless your filter got wet. More likely that the cold evap coil is staying damp from condensation after you shut the truck off, then causes crud to grow in the warm, dark environment until you start the truck up again. Totally normal, can happen to any vehicle or AC system (including your home). Only way to prevent it is, as mentioned, run the fan manually without AC for a few minutes before you shut it down... which sucks and is totally inconvenient. Some cars are worse than others. The Tesla Model 3 was particuarly bad with this issue, but by the grace of Tesla's love to fix things with software updates, they programmed the fan to automatically run after exiting the car for a few minutes without AC to dry out the coils, thus preventing the problem.

 

[djants]

Thanks for the tip! I’ll try running it with just the fan before shutting off.

 

[Wsmith]

The only thing that I have noticed with my AC it smells "warm".

 

[MannymanX]

The only thing that I have noticed with my AC it smells "warm".

 

[Racing559]

I noticed after a day or two of not driving and then starting the truck up with the A/C on I first get a whiff a bad smell for a few seconds. Then the air is normal. Anyone else experience this? What could be the issue?

Mine does the same exact thing. I even put a ton of black ice trees in my truck to see if it would help but I can still smell it. Already changed my air cabin filter.


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