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Air conditioning is air conditioning. What is so different about the AC being used during cabin overheat protection mode?
Nothing. All of this stuff is fake solutions. So far all we know is you can spray cleaner in the coil and it will go away for a while.
If you precondition or run the AC before you get in the car you will clear the smell before you get in.
It rained today and sure enough I got the smell back. It's so gross. Now I'm deciding what new cleaner to try or just spray Lysol.
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Car is stationary. AC is run with short down periods (which people have reported helps smell happen quickly). Car temperatures are reduced from temps that might help kill or reduce bacteria/fungi populations. Coils don't get a chance to dry off completely.
I don’t have the problem in either of my two Ts and my bud with a 5 year old M3 that never changed his filters has no smell ever.
Crazy as it sounds, think you guys might have a water leak into rhe vehicle. Are we talking only one model? One year? Is either vehicle Model known to have water leaks from rain into some part of the vehicle?
Crazy as it sounds, think you guys might have a water leak into rhe vehicle. Are we talking only one model? One year? Is either vehicle Model known to have water leaks from rain into some part of the vehicle?
Since you are in the mood, try this one
Ozium 3.5oz Air Sanitizer Spray & Odor Eliminator for Homes, Cars, Offices and More, New Car Smell, (Pack of 2)
It almost never rains where I live so that theory is shot, plus I park indoors. It's 100% caused by the AC.
It's the condensate from the AC for sure. I just parked the car for 4 days, not using it at all, the car stank a lot last week but when I turned on the AC just now it smells clean, the normal car AC smell.
As long as the evaporator has a chance to dry up it doesn't smell, it always smells on short trips when the AC turns on, then off for 5-20 minutes, then on again.
Manually drying the evap coils helps a ton as well, AC off, fan high for a minute before shutting off the car.
definitely not clogged. Water runs out while AC's on, also runs out when I use foam cleaners that condenses.
Does anyone with a 2023 model have the stink yet?
I ask because I had to replace my 2021 MS with a 2023 MS.
I was initially alarmed because the fan on my 2023 runs long after I park, sometimes for 20 minutes. My 2021 MS did not do this nearly as long.
Could this be an update (longer post-drive fan) to reduce/eliminate risk of stink from AC condenser?
I also ask because I’m going to help my daughter get into a new M3 and will need to warn her of this potential (likely?) issue.
Does the stink seem to occur to nearly all M3s?
I had a loaner M3 in July for 24 hours and it had the stink immediately so I know how bad it is; it was gone after a few minutes and I did not notice it the next day when I returned it to the SC in Devon Pennsylvania.
Does most every M3 have this problem?
I ask because I had to replace my 2021 MS with a 2023 MS.
I was initially alarmed because the fan on my 2023 runs long after I park, sometimes for 20 minutes. My 2021 MS did not do this nearly as long.
Could this be an update (longer post-drive fan) to reduce/eliminate risk of stink from AC condenser?
I also ask because I’m going to help my daughter get into a new M3 and will need to warn her of this potential (likely?) issue.
Does the stink seem to occur to nearly all M3s?
I had a loaner M3 in July for 24 hours and it had the stink immediately so I know how bad it is; it was gone after a few minutes and I did not notice it the next day when I returned it to the SC in Devon Pennsylvania.
Does most every M3 have this problem?
I've never had any loaner that didn't smell and/or nasty.
Cabin air filter needs to be replaced every year at the minimum and clean with spray at every change to prevent the smell. Tesla says every 2 years, but it is for the performance aspect of it, not the smell.
Thx Nate.
Does your model suffer from air filter stench or have you avoided it altogether with biannual cabin air filter change and spray?
So, I did the test to verify the source of the smell.
I don't think the smell is coming from the filters because when I took out the filters and ran the AC (with No filters installed) with air recirculate off (air coming from outside), there was still strong smell.
But when I turn the air recirculate on, the smell was dramatically less. So, I cleaned the evaporator and cabin filter housing and even the connecting ducts inside the housing with the spray cleaner (with no filters) and let it sit 30 minutes and then full AC for 5 minutes to rinse the coil out.
I repeated two times and now I have no smell at all It has been rainy and very humid last few weeks here, so I think this method works.
I am using the OEM filters from Tesla by the way.
But the most important thing is you doing the preventative operation. I turn off the AC with recirculate off (outside air) with max fan (level 10) for about 3 minutes before I arrive home and then I let the front side windows down for about 1-2 hours in hot garage to dry out any condensation in the cabin and air ducts.
