Anyone experience an unusual odor out of vent ???

[Whistler56]

I own a 2012 300 limited with approximately 8,500 miles, every once in a while my wife an I smell an unusual odor out of the vents upon start up after sitting overnight. If I were to try and guess the smell I would say rubber !!! ( Not burnt ) car is parked in a garage overnight and no unusual smells in garage. Any one experience the same ???
Thank you in advance,
John

[Fisch]

That's strange for a new car. Haven't heard that before.

I disinfect my system once a year or so. Open the cabin air filter in the engine bay, open all windows and doors, turn the car to A/C on high, and then spray some Lysol disinfectant into the cabin air filter opening. You'll see it blow through the system and this tends to eliminate any "odors" that have built up. And Lysol has many different scents that you can use if you want to spice it up a bit.

But again, this is generally for built up odors in the system. A new car shouldn't have such an issue so I'm not sure if this will help you, but I figured I'd throw it out there. Good luck.

[MADDOG]

Try replacing your cabin filter first.

[badgx]

Try the filter but get the one which is charcoal coated

[cinca]

I'm not sure if this is the same thing but I would frequently rent cars that had a funky smell coming out of the vents. To me it almost smell like vinegar types now.

After researching it on the Internet I read that it was frequently mold or mildew in the AC system related to condensation left in the air conditioning vents.

Here is the article I had bookmarked that was a decent summary:

http://community.cartalk.com/discuss...ldew-in-the-ac

I hope you find that link helpful – I'm good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com App

[Whistler56]

Originally Posted by Whistler56

I own a 2012 300 limited with approximately 8,500 miles, every once in a while my wife an I smell an unusual odor out of the vents upon start up after sitting overnight. If I were to try and guess the smell I would say rubber !!! ( Not burnt ) car is parked in a garage overnight and no unusual smells in garage. Any one experience the same ???
Thank you in advance,
John

I believe I might have found my unusual odor............ Purchased a new 2012 Honda GL1800 in September. Motorcycle is parked on passenger side of car against the wall, it might be either the new vinyl seat smell or the tires or the tires after a ride. Possible that overnight odors get into cabin filter. Just an educated guess !!!

[Teamflail]

Originally Posted by Whistler56

I own a 2012 300 limited with approximately 8,500 miles, every once in a while my wife an I smell an unusual odor out of the vents upon start up after sitting overnight. If I were to try and guess the smell I would say rubber !!! ( Not burnt ) car is parked in a garage overnight and no unusual smells in garage. Any one experience the same ???
Thank you in advance,
John

Hey Whistler, I have had sort of a musty smell come out of the ventilation system from time to time. I have not locked it down but checked the filter and that is in good shape. I need to keep track of whenever it crops up so I can figure out what is happening. Might not get it now that the weather has turned but will post if I run into it again.

[cinca]

Take a look at that thread I posted earlier for what I have heard is a very likely culprit in most "musty odor" issues related to car ventilation systems.

[Torian]

Guys, I don't know about rubber smells, but nasty smells out of the AC vent have often come from mildew build up over time within the A/C system. When you are running your AC full blast, and then you shut off your vehicle, there can still be quite a bit of moisture left in the system. This problem on a newer vehicle would be a little unusual though.

Some cars these days have fans built in to run for about 30 seconds to 1 min after you shut off the vehicle to evaporate the water, but not all do. Once you get buildup within your system, filters really won't solve the problem. I wouldn't recommend fragrance-based solutions either...as you are just putting MORE moisture into the system and helping the mildew grow more.

As was mentioned earlier, straight lysol is one of the best ways to deal with this. Turn your ventilation system on HI (turn off AC, ensure not on recirculate) and from the outside of the vehicle, spray into the intake vents about 10 seconds of spray, fanning back and forth along the entire length of the vent. Then turn your vehicle off and let it sit for awhile. You should notice a significant improvement in odor next time you start up your vehicle.

I had to do this about twice a year. Some cars have it worse than others.