So... As the title reads, I'm experiencing a funky smell from the ventilation system at start up.

I would describe it as something similar to an unpleasant body odour.

The smell is present briefly at start-up, once the HVAC gets blowing though, it clears out the funky smell in about 10-15 seconds.

Just curious if anyone else has experienced anything like this, or maybe this could even be considered normal? Maybe some moist, smell pockets of air stick around inside the blower channels after shut off or something?

I checked the cabin air filter, its in good shape, looks fairly new, and I cleaned it out while I was at it though.


Input?

 

Any car with A/C can do this- it's a form of mould growing on damp spots somewhere in the system. There are spray cans of stuff from the car parts store that are quite effective in treating this. Follow the instructions to a 't' and repeat as necessary. I had an Infiniti and had to do this procedure twice a year every year. So far so good with the Jag.

 

Mine does it to, to a lesser extent. And it feels very humid for a second which is the clue. More than likely the drain from the ac condenser is plugged and water is pooling up in the system.

I changed out my cabin filter as the first step. Mine was super dirty. I also sprayed down the vents and intakes with a product from the parts store designed to clean the vents.

This made it better but not all the way. Next step will be to clear that drain hose. I remember some one saying that their is a part in the way you have to take out. I have one of the little camera borescopes from HF. Going to look up there and see if I can find the drain. Then take that part out and clean it. But that is a low priority on the list vs other things I need to do.

 

I think Mikey is bang on the money with this one GT.

I had a Mondeo that had a similar problem but more advanced.......It smelled like a combo of rotten eggs / Cabbages / smell socks and I couldn't get rid of it....the car had to go in the end.

If the AC system isn't used or used often enough moister buids up and bacteria form and multiply and the smell can be unbearable.

Often its enough to buy one of these spray can bombs ( Comma make them ) although I'm sure others are available

COMMA AIR CON CONDITIONING CLEANER PURIFIER on eBay!

Turn the ignition on and the AC on full at its coldest setting then close the door after activating the bomb. The disinfecting spray travels through the entire system in 10 minutes and leaves a lovely lemon fresh smell.

If left untreated for too long the smell seems to penetrate the fabrics of the car making it almost impossible to get rid of.

Make sure you use your AC regularly to prevent it returning.

 

Had the same problem in my just sold Mercedes CLS500 had a very wierd smell. I had used everthing other than the final solution which was a disefectant bomb. I have friends who have used the Sanitiser and they ensure me that they have had 100% success. I used it for the CLS500 and it did work I followed the following.
Close all windows run a/c.
Swith air circulation to internal. Face vents to open.
Fan blower to half speed. Place canister in front passenger side under the dash. Press and discharge bomb leave for 10 minutes. Set controls back to normal and run for further 5 minutes. Turn the engine off and open doors and leave 15 minutes before driving.I think you will find these instructions are applicable to most of the products available which provide Cool water air conditioning sanitiser are the same in most countries. A product I have used is by Cooling Edge Ltd.

 

These HVAC systems indeed do much better if they are run regularly during cooling season as well as during heating season. Find a comfortable cabin temperature, set your HVAC system on automatic, and let it do its thing all year long....

 

I had a smell which smelled like burning wax. I recently brought the car into the dealership as my mechanic could not fix the ABS as the sensor needed to be reprogrammed which he could not do. They fixed that, did a major service on it, cost me almost $1,900 for it and they said there is a filter somewhere behind the dashboard and it was not the cabin filter in the engine compartment firewall. They changed that and the smell pretty much went away. I don't know where that filter is though.