Stinky Vent Smell
 

My car is fairly new with about 6k miles on it. I moved awhile back and put all of my goods in the car as much as I could fit it. The car smelled like laundry because I had a lot of clothes in it. It definitely took away the new car smell which sucks. The car's vent also smells like *** now. The smell only comes on when I have the temperature to cold with fan and no A/C. When the A/C is on the smell goes away pretty quick but its that no A/C fan smell that really kills me. The smell also doesn't come on when the heater is on. Does anyone know why this happen and is there a way I can fix this? I'm kinda bummed out because of this problem.

I know that bacteria and mold can grow in the ducts if you don't use them. That is why you get that funky smell from your A/C when you first turn it on after winter. You might try spraying Lysol down the vents and see if that helps kill whatever it is you are smelling:confused:.

Where did you have it parked when it sat. Rats and mice love blower motors since they use a wheel style fan. Dones it smell dead, it isn't that unusual for them to get stuck in there.

I left the car out in the Florida sun during the month of October. It was cooling down but was still hot. The smell is mainly on the cold temperature with NO A/C. The A/C doesn't really smell bad at all. I'm still confused why the smell doesn't show up at all when I use the heat. As soon as I turn the temperature to cold the smell comes out. I tried spraying the vents with lysol and what not for my last car, it didn't help much. The lysol only gave it a temporary smell that barely lasts.

Maybe there is a rat the crawled up from under your car, got stuck, and died. Believe it or not, some dude had a cat stuck in his car for like 2 days...

Could this be the cabin air filter ?

I don't think so. I bought the car brand new and it only has 6k miles on it. Corrections btw, the A/C stinks when you turn it on but goes away. Doesn't smell like anything is dead but it sure does smells like feet

Curious about the cabin filter...Your car an 09 or 10?

it's 2010

yah, swap out the cabin filter and see if it helps. there's a DIY in the DIY section, lists all the filters that will work on our cars.

im using a Fram CF10157 in mine right now. it's one of those charcoal (?) ones. thing is super nice. where i use to sneeze a lot in this one area around my town, with the filter in my 09 and windows shut absolutely no issue. :D pollen was really bad last spring.

Take a shower and make sure to wash your feet...

dropped- we weren't asking how you took care of your problems. :D ;)

I would check up under the passenger side dash. A pair or two of your sh1t nicks got caught up there during your move.

Yeah I've just started having that bad smell. Happens when I transition the A/C to fan and Fan to A/C. My car has 3600 miles....and it's kept in the garage when not driven.

just keep your hvac in auto-mode. let the a/c run its cycle whenever your car is running. on a cold day, put hvac in defrost mode. that will keep the a/c cycling.

Uh oh it's the mildew. I have it too and it will never go away. Just put some good Japanese car freshener (Air Spencer GIGA) on the vents.

I'd start with the air filters as previously suggested. Try leaving your car out in the sun with doors open and let it sit for 30 minutes while you're in the garage (oops you're in OKC). If all else fails.......it is time to strip the smell off with Stripper Scent. It actually smells like one. I had a sample while in their store today and NO I did not buy it. This is a case where you can touch and not have to buy.

http://www.chemicalguys.com/v/vspfil.../AIR_069-2.jpg

What exactly does it smell like now?
Dirty clothing or something else?
U sure u didn't drive over a plastic bag that could be stuck and melting on your exhaust pipe??
That happened to me.and i freaked out thinking something was wrong with my car.

I used this to remedy your problem for awhile: 1Z-einszett Klima-Cleaner

Does the smell somewhat resemble cat urine? My money is on bacteria on evaporator core. Many cars have issue where running ac and the Evap core doesn't completely drain all the way and the water causes bacteria to grow.

Anyway believe it or not they make something to cure it. Go to autoparts store or online and order Evap core cleaner. It comes in a spray can, has a little tube. You put that tube into the Evan core drain line under the car and spray backwards through the drain. The foam will expand up into Evap core and get rid of your smell. The fresh scent of cleaner only lasts a day or so but it flushes out bad stuff.

Then to prevent this in future your options are to flush again when needed or the other way is when your close to destination turn OFF your ac and drive with just blower on for the last mile or 2 this will allow the core to dry each time this preventing the mildew issue.

Last time I bought it I ordered from orieleys.

Oops didn't see post above. What he posted is what I was talking about.

huh, was not aware of rectal medication for that.. :ugh:

I had it, got rid of the smell by running the heater full blast for a week straight, never smelled it again.

I think its something in the HVAC though on new cars, my moms maxima use to smell buy now it doesn't since it has a lot of miles now.

I offered this a ton when I worked at a dealership, gets rid of that smell in a hurry
BG Frigi-Fresh® | BG Products, Inc.

Otherwise, a quick solution for it is to be sure to run your a/c on outside air to dry out any of the condensation.

my 10yr old G does the same if i dont run a/c frequently.

just keep the a/c cycling and you'll be fine. :)