Car A/c Smell

Question

My car is a Nissan sunny(sunny in India, Nissan versa sedan in some places). Since a few days back, when I turn on the A/c it gives out a damp stench.. If the a/c is on cooling mode, the stench wears of in about a minute, but when I put it on the fan mode it stays. If I switch on with cooling mode on, after the initial burst of stench the smell disappears even if I turn it to fan mode afterwards however if I switch on in fan mode, the smell stays. I do not even know if a mechanic would be the right person to contact. Seems a very trivial issue but very irritating. Can someone help me with this?

bb · Answer

The first thought I would have in my mind is that it is some kind of a mold/mildew build up (which most likely will go away in the dry summer months when the temp goes up).

I did some searching and here is what I found: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 141AAw7K5u

A mechanic will be able to deal with this (but you may have to take it to the dealer since i am not sure most mechanics want to touch and deal with that)

MacFauz · Answer

Thanks bb.. The link is great.. Seems like a similar problem to mine... The thing is I'm in Chennai, India. The temperature is always up over here..

bb · Answer

I figured based on your description. Perhaps the humidity is up in the winter? I am wondering if you leave your car in the heat (sun) with low humidity it may help eradicate the mold... or a mechanic trip may be needed. Or don't use the AC for a few weeks and that may help it as well (since AC generates fluid that probably helps the thing grow).

MacFauz · Answer

Guess I'll be trying out the solution given on the yahoo page in the weekend.. If it doesn't work out, will have no other option other than to take it to a mechanic.

bb · Answer

So... what did you end up doing?

MacFauz · Answer

I did find that if the car has been standing in the sun for a few hours, then there is no smell...But at other times, I just spray in a ton of air-freshener into the vents as soon as I get into the car before turning on the a/c.... Since the car is lesser than 6 months old, I do not want to do anything myself nor do I want to give it to a local mechanic... The company service is only about a 1000 kms away.. So guess I will just be braving it out until then... :p

bb · Answer

I think that's what I would probably do

I could also see that it may be covered under warranty since the car is so new.... you may want to ask around or google to see if this model has a tendency to get this issue because if it happened once, what is a chance that it won't happen again?

MacFauz · Answer

I did ask around.. This seems like an isolated incident.. I had gone on a holiday for around 10 days leaving my car at home.. This problem started only after that.. Guess it has something to do with that...

Car A/c Smell

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