Getting rid of HVAC odor

fuct

you need to keep the outside circulation on when you turn off the car. that lets the rest of the moisture evaporate. if not it collects and smells.....

Bonzo

My post may be totally useless for this car, I don't know. But I can tell you that it totally worked on my old Chevy Tahoe. I had a nasty moldy smelling air conditioner, and couldn't figure out how to fix it. One day I read an article by the car guys in the newspaper, and what they said to do totally fixed my problem, 100%. What I did was mix a 20% bleach 80% water solution and then poured it down in front of the windshield. As it turns out, the drain path for water going down in front of the window also rinses through the air conditioner water drain, which is where the smell was coming from.

Again, not sure if the Z is made this way, but it certainly worked on the Tahoe. Might be worth a try. Can't see how it would hurt.

fuct

omg!! keep bleach away from the automobile!!!

kenchan

it only corrodes everything in its path...

BrandonT

Lot of great replies! In response to some of them in no particular order:

I'll probably try the spray but I'm looking for a more permanent solution.

I hate things that hide odor with some fake flower smell. Kinda repulses me.

I'll check the drainage.

I already turn AC off a couple miles before my destination, that's how I know if you wait a minute the odor appears then goes away after a few more minutes. So that really hasn't changed anything.

Kenchan might be on to something with the Temp. I put mine about 70 where it started to automatically switch between Recirc and Fresh on its own, now when I turn off the AC it smells ok. Might be something there? Maybe it's the running in Fresh, or maybe the switching which allows both pathways to stay dry?

Bonzo

You obviously don't know what bleach will and won't do. I'm not talking about putting it on your cloth seats. These drains in all my past (and current) cars have all been plastic, and bleach isn't going to harm the plastic, especially watered down. It was recommended by nationally recognized/circulated newspaper car guys, and I'm telling you that on my Tahoe it worked after nothing else did. ZERO ill side affects.

But again, I'm not sure about a Z, and whether it will work or not. I certainly will not worry about hurting anything though, so if this problem does arise it will be the first thing I try.

kenchan

yah, not convinced. you give it a try on your solstice.

Bonzo

Never had the problem on the Solstice, my Murano, my wife's current Soul, or her old Grand Am.

I did some looking around and while most people on line aren't recommending bleach (although some do), they do talk a lot about spraying lysol into the outside vents with the outside air on. The problem is an old one, and it's 2 fold, not usually related to any cabin filter. I think where my problem on my Tahoe was the pan and the drain. Water in this area is usually caused by the drain hose getting clogged. This is where my smell was coming from, and running the bleach solution down there killed the bacteria in the pan and the hose. The other area is the evaporator, and this is where the lysol spray thing might help, but I'm not sure.

What I have learned today is this is a very common problem and there are a lot of people out there with no clue what they are talking about. You think my bleach thing is wrong, you should read some of the other stupid things out there. The bleach thing sounds down right genius compared to some other's ideas. Do a search and you'll see.

Gotta run ---- Later ---- Bonzo