Replacing cabin air filter and cleaning evaporator fins in 2021-2022 MS

[jacie6056]

Yes, this is a 2021 S that was built in August of that year. Had to lift the car up. There's a large panel on the front underside of the car. If you remove it, the spot where the drain line connects to the firewall is right there at the bottom in the center, easily accessible, and easy to disconnect. I fed the Kool-it tube up through drain at the firewall so it got to the coil. I put one can in, left it for a few hours, then put another one in. Reconnected the drain tube and put the panel back on securely. I won't call it a fix, but it did help. Probably needs two more cans. Mine was really bad. This was a really silly problem for such an advanced piece of tech.

Thank you for the info. How is the AC holds up after the cleaning? Did the smell ever come back?

 

[dandrum76]

What about this desiccant bag I hear about? Might that be a source of stink?

 

[dandrum76]

What about this desiccant bag I hear about? Can that be a source of stink?

 

[trayloader]

That’s for the cooling liquid itself, aka in the vacuum of the system and not in contact with the breathing air.

 

[trayloader]

2021 Model S LR Refresh - Foul Smell in Cabin
Hi,
Has anyone had any success with Tesla Service to cover the cost of replacing the Cabin Filter due to the foul smell? Service said it was 1 year (delivered 8/30/21) and filter should be replaced. But manual says every 3 years. I decided not to argue since the invoice had not been processed until after the work was done and it was late in the day.....

They replaced my cabin filter 10/18/22, very simple process , located under glovebox with magnetic clips. Charged $34 for filter and $8.75 Labor.
There is no access from the filter area to the evaporator to clean the coils, so I am not sure if this will get rid of the smell.

The HEPA filter is accessed from the Frunk, (it is on the other side of the wall from Cabin Filter. It is way behind the air suspension and will be a difficult process to remove (according to the technician when we both looked at it).

I had 2018 Model 3 LR until 2021, and every year had the same problem. They would replace both filters and use Kool-It to clean the evaporator. Smell would go away. I was able to negotiate with them to pay for the labor, but paid for the filters. At that time, they said: 1. Software change to force fan to dry out evaporator and filter. (this was never done according the Technician) 2. Redesign of unit, it seems Model S Refresh has whole new design, but still the smell.
@Sam1 , They also suggested to turn off A/C before parking.....that was hard to keep going/remember in humid NC, and you would think it could be solved...

Again, „burn out“ the bacteria as described in my aforementioned post. Pretty easy. Plus change the filters.

 

[jacie6056]

Yes, this is a 2021 S that was built in August of that year. Had to lift the car up. There's a large panel on the front underside of the car. If you remove it, the spot where the drain line connects to the firewall is right there at the bottom in the center, easily accessible, and easy to disconnect. I fed the Kool-it tube up through drain at the firewall so it got to the coil. I put one can in, left it for a few hours, then put another one in. Reconnected the drain tube and put the panel back on securely. I won't call it a fix, but it did help. Probably needs two more cans. Mine was really bad. This was a really silly problem for such an advanced piece of tech.

How do I remove the drain hose from the firewall? Even after removing the aero plate, I still cannot reach the firewall. It is just too far away without removing the HV battery skid plate.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I haven't done it, but here's a suggestion.

The cabin filter is placed before the evaporator coil. This picture shows the direction of the airflow, so you know which way the evaporator coil is located from the cabin filter.

If you take the filter out and cover the hole with the filter removed and put the Kool It hose down the ducting in the direction of airflow, you can turn the fan on and continuously spray the foam so that it travels to the coil and covers it.

To make it easier for current and future treatments, you could drill a small hole into the plastic cabin filter cover to insert the hose, and then plug the small hole afterwards with a rubber stopper, or even some duct or electrical tape from the inside. The blower is upstream of the filter, so the cabin filter area is positively pressured and dry so the tape will stay in place when put on the inside. Some evaporator cleaners come with those same instructions and rubber plugs to do exactly that for treating the coil, so it's not some radical idea.

 

[jacie6056]

I haven't done it, but here's a suggestion.

The cabin filter is placed before the evaporator coil. This picture shows the direction of the airflow, so you know which way the evaporator coil is located from the cabin filter.

View attachment 916434

If you take the filter out and cover the hole with the filter removed and put the Kool It hose down the ducting in the direction of airflow, you can turn the fan on and continuously spray the foam so that it travels to the coil and covers it.

To make it easier for current and future treatments, you could drill a small hole into the plastic cabin filter cover to insert the hose, and then plug the small hole afterwards with a rubber stopper, or even some duct or electrical tape from the inside. The blower is upstream of the filter, so the cabin filter area is positively pressured and dry so the tape will stay in place when put on the inside. Some evaporator cleaners come with those same instructions and rubber plugs to do exactly that for treating the coil, so it's not some radical idea.

Thank you for the brilliant idea! I was planning to do it the way Model 3 and Model Y do it. However, when I opened the cabin filter under the glove box, I could only reach the left side, and the evaporator cleaning hose would get stuck at the blower motor and couldn't reach any further. Based on your experience, where could the evaporator potentially be located? I am guessing it could be located at either location A or location B in the photo below:

 

[jacie6056]

Quick update: I just found out that after swiping the HEPA filter, the smell has gone, and the old HEPA filter has the smell on it. This is probably rare in my case since HEPA filters usually last a long time.
---

Also, if anyone is interested, you can feed the foam cleaner either from the cabin air filter housing or the HEPA filter housing. Just remember to have the tube pass through the blower motor to achieve the best cleaning effect.

 

[Grumble]

I found this for all you 2016 (facelift)-2020 Model S owners. Talks about putting the hose in the driver's side center vent with the blower on 1 (no AC - just fan) and feeding it as far as it will go. The reason to have the blower on 1 is there's a flap that closes those vents when the HVAC system is off and the hose won't go through. If your AC smells bad, this might be worth it to dump the whole can and let it sit for a few hours.

This post also has a how-to for replacing the in-cabin air filter. The very last section is cleaning the coils.

Replacing the Tesla cabin filter on Model S and X by yourself

The maintenance costs for a Tesla are very low compared to a vehicle with a combustion engine. The regular mandatory maintenance intervals are also eliminated.

tesladriver.net

 

[Audietron]

Basically you buy the cleaner foam can... remove the filters... then close the filter area without putting new filters... next locate the air-intake under the hood... feed as much foam you could when aircon is off.... leave it for an hour... add more if you wish by re-feeding foam and waiting another hour... once most foam is gone, leave aircon at full for first 20 minutes on cold, followed by least 10 on hot... full speed....

now open the air filter vent, and put brand new filters in.

this should take care of full system, kill bacteria, and remove any build-ups.

Make sure

1. air filter removed before feeding foam thru air-intake under the hood.
2. aircon turned off before and when feeding foam
3. air filter cover locked without any filters in, before start the aircon.
4. air filter replaced only after 30 minutes full speed aircon.... first 20 on cold and later 10 on hot...
5. If leaving air filter cover open when starting aircon to circulate foam thru system - car interior might have bubble bath... so DON'T
6. if doing this inside garage, you would have puddle under the car as plenty discharge from aircon outlet before and during running the aircon during process.

Fixed ongoing issue for me... but again I have model 3 as they are yet to deliver refresh model S or Cyber Truck to New Zealand.

 

[Bull]

Quick update: I just found out that after swiping the HEPA filter, the smell has gone, and the old HEPA filter has the smell on it. This is probably rare in my case since HEPA filters usually last a long time.
---

Also, if anyone is interested, you can feed the foam cleaner either from the cabin air filter housing or the HEPA filter housing. Just remember to have the tube pass through the blower motor to achieve the best cleaning effect.

Is the smell still gone? Also, is your MS a refresh or prior version?

 

[Ramphex]

I’ve paid Tesla to change the cabin filters and the wet feet smell comes back within a couple of months. Junk.

@jebinc

 

[jebinc]

I’ve paid Tesla to change the cabin filters and the wet feet smell comes back within a couple of months. Junk.

@jebinc

Spray Lysol into the air intake. A well known trick for all cars with a musty wet sock smell. Kills all mold. Good for at least one season.

 

[Bcs1]

Any new updates? My msp smells awful when it rains!!

 

[Audietron]

Any new updates? My msp smells awful when it rains!!

I had same issue... then used heat pump vent cleaning spray and sprayed heaps into external air intake... allowed car to run on fan, cold, hot for 10 minutes at full strength afterwards and it did the magic.... 7 weeks and smell didn't return so far - even in/after rain.

 

[Bcs1]

I had same issue... then used heat pump vent cleaning spray and sprayed heaps into external air intake...

Is that the same as the cleaner foam stuff that people are referencing?

 

[jebinc]

Is that the same as the cleaner foam stuff that people are referencing?

Lysol works wonders as well.

 

[Nauvoo]

2021 Model S LR Refresh - Foul Smell in Cabin
Hi,
Has anyone had any success with Tesla Service to cover the cost of replacing the Cabin Filter due to the foul smell? Service said it was 1 year (delivered 8/30/21) and filter should be replaced. But manual says every 3 years. I decided not to argue since the invoice had not been processed until after the work was done and it was late in the day.....

They replaced my cabin filter 10/18/22, very simple process , located under glovebox with magnetic clips. Charged $34 for filter and $8.75 Labor.
There is no access from the filter area to the evaporator to clean the coils, so I am not sure if this will get rid of the smell.

The HEPA filter is accessed from the Frunk, (it is on the other side of the wall from Cabin Filter. It is way behind the air suspension and will be a difficult process to remove (according to the technician when we both looked at it).

I had 2018 Model 3 LR until 2021, and every year had the same problem. They would replace both filters and use Kool-It to clean the evaporator. Smell would go away. I was able to negotiate with them to pay for the labor, but paid for the filters. At that time, they said: 1. Software change to force fan to dry out evaporator and filter. (this was never done according the Technician) 2. Redesign of unit, it seems Model S Refresh has whole new design, but still the smell.
@Sam1 , They also suggested to turn off A/C before parking.....that was hard to keep going/remember in humid NC, and you would think it could be solved...

So here we are on June 29, 2023 and Mobile Service is replacing the Cabin Filter, again for the foul smell, that came back as soon as we started to use AC (humidity in NC came later this year). It really is unbelievable that Tesla is not able to force the fan to run with external damper open to dry out the filters after AC is used. I have the same problem that my 2018 Model 3 had. Same exact smell and issue. The technician said they now recommend changing the cabin filter every year. On the S there is no access to the evaporator, so they only change out the cabin filter.

 

[Audietron]

Is that the same as the cleaner foam stuff that people are referencing?

I used this one... I am sure you can always find similar (same ingredients but different brand)

https://www.repco.co.nz/car-care-panel/car-care/car-interior-cleaning/crc-auto-ac-pro-cleaner-470g-1753204/p/A6211981

very effective and actually fills up the air filter area 3-4 times, plus generous amount on air-intake for 2-3 times.... I used it all and let it settle before starting to vent the area