HVAC Filter Odor Problem Found!!
Recently I have had intermittent odor issues when I turned the AC on.
Then today I noticed that when I turned the blower fan on, the fan was running but I got NO AIR. Hmmm. No matter what mode I switched to (defrost, floor, dash) I got very little air.
Well, my car is new, so I knew the cabin filter (located behind the dash box) couldn't be blocked, but I checked anyway.
What I found was that the filter was saturated with moisture, thus blocking the air flow. It also had blue dye all over it that got onto my hands.
I haven't driven the car much lately, and we have had nothing but dry blue skies. But the blue dye was the give away clue. Yesterday I drove my car through an automated car wash, and it shoots various colored soaps and rinse agents onto your car.
The fresh air intake grills are just in front of the windsheld underneath the back of the hood.
What happens is if you are travelling slowly in the rain or in a car wash, and you have your fresh air on, water will drip behind and underneath the back of the hood and you will suck water into your cabin air filter and get it wet. This could also lead to a musty smell, and possibly clog up the air filter. I think if you put the system on recirculate under such slow driving wet conditions, this may prevent the problem.
When you are travelling at high speeds, I doubt rain would get in there because it would get blown onto and over the windshield, and not get down into the air ducts.
Has anybody else discovered this problem?
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