Smelly A/C?

[NY_Rob]

A rotten egg/sulfur or vinegar kind of smell form the A/C is usually from a damp/moldy evap coil assembly which needs to be cleaned with the spray @240vPlug linked above.

Prius drivers have been struggling with this phenomenon for years due to poor drainage and have come up with a procedure to help keep moisture from forming mold on the evep coils:
About 5min before your trip ends- turn the A/C off and just run the HVAC on fresh air with no A/C running. This will blow outside air over the evap coils and dry it off before you shut the vehicle down preventing a damp evap assembly and mold growth.

Changing the Cabin Air Filter...

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[LTD in CBTS]

Had this problem on my Model 3. It was the cabin air filters. I was able to change them after watching a couple good youtube "how to" posts but it was a PITA. I hope my R1T cabin filters are easier to get to if this ever happens.

 

[William tom]

A rotten egg/sulfur or vinegar kind of smell form the A/C is usually from a damp/moldy evap coil assembly which needs to be cleaned with the spray @240vPlug linked above.

Prius drivers have been struggling with this phenomenon for years due to poor drainage and have come up with a procedure to help keep moisture from forming mold on the evep coils:
About 5min before your trip ends- turn the A/C off and just run the HVAC on fresh air with no A/C running. This will blow outside air over the evap coils and dry it off before you shut the vehicle down preventing a damp evap assembly and mold growth.

Changing the Cabin Air Filter...

A rotten egg/sulfur or vinegar kind of smell form the A/C is usually from a damp/moldy evap coil assembly which needs to be cleaned with the spray @240vPlug linked above.

Prius drivers have been struggling with this phenomenon for years due to poor drainage and have come up with a procedure to help keep moisture from forming mold on the evep coils:
About 5min before your trip ends- turn the A/C off and just run the HVAC on fresh air with no A/C running. This will blow outside air over the evap coils and dry it off before you shut the vehicle down preventing a damp evap assembly and mold growth.

Changing the Cabin Air Filter...

 

[William tom]

Yeah it’s vinegar/ dirty sock smell. I’ll try that trick and see if it helps. Problem is definitely sporadic

 

[Gee Bee]

Run the a/c or vent on fresh air , not recirculating

You have a tad of mold on the evaporator assy

Typically in humid climates

 

[Soupdc]

Yeah it’s vinegar/ dirty sock smell. I’ll try that trick and see if it helps. Problem is definitely sporadic

I had this smell and two weeks later one of the 12V batteries failed. Think the smell was the battery. If you have this smell I suggest checking the 12V batteries

 

[CrazyOne]

This is not new and all cars will have this Turn off AC 3-4 minutes before destination, on fresh air mode and it will prevent the smell.

My 7 and 14 year old cars do not have this because I follow this always. I can also turn off ac in normal cars without affecting heat. We can't do this in Rivian though. However Rivian can implement a dry coil mode in software to address the issue, unlike in ICE vehicles.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

This is not new and all cars will have this Turn off AC 3-4 minutes before destination, on fresh air mode and it will prevent the smell.

My 7 and 14 year old cars do not have this because I follow this always. I can also turn off ac in normal cars without affecting heat. We can't do this in Rivian though. However Rivian can implement a dry coil mode in software to address the issue, unlike in ICE vehicles.

You can turn it off in the Rivian by tapping on the A/C/Heat button. If you already have the smell though the evap coil needs cleaning. Tesla SC actually say...not officially....to plan on the coil needing cleaned at least once a year and cabin filters (2 of them in the Tesla) replaced. We are in the mid atlantic.

 

[SoCal Rob]

This is not new and all cars will have this Turn off AC 3-4 minutes before destination, on fresh air mode and it will prevent the smell.

My 7 and 14 year old cars do not have this because I follow this always. I can also turn off ac in normal cars without affecting heat. We can't do this in Rivian though. However Rivian can implement a dry coil mode in software to address the issue, unlike in ICE vehicles.

There are some ICE cars which deal with this by running the HVAC in fresh air mode with the fan on a lower speed after a drive where the AC was used and condensation is likely. By running the blower without the AC on after the car is turned off, the car is automatically doing what you’re doing manually. Rivian could probably implement this feature via OTA update, I think.

The first car I had with this was a 2001 Volvo and I think the feature was called Afterblow in the owner’s manual. Maybe it was translated from Swedish but I thought it sounded like a brand of breath mint.

 

[CrazyOne]

You can turn it off in the Rivian by tapping on the A/C/Heat button. If you already have the smell though the evap coil needs cleaning. Tesla SC actually say...not officially....to plan on the coil needing cleaned at least once a year and cabin filters (2 of them in the Tesla) replaced. We are in the mid atlantic.

I understand that. My rant was that it turns off heat too. Too much automation, that isn't perfect.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I understand that. My rant was that it turns off heat too. Too much automation, that isn't perfect.

It would be nice if that button switched between 3 states:
Heat+Cool/Heat Only/Fan Only

Heat only would be like ICE cars with Econ or A/C off.

 

[CrazyOne]

There are some ICE cars which deal with this by running the HVAC in fresh air mode with the fan on a lower speed after a drive where the AC was used and condensation is likely. By running the blower without the AC on after the car is turned off, the car is automatically doing what you’re doing manually. Rivian could probably implement this feature via OTA update, I think.

The first car I had with this was a 2001 Volvo and I think the feature was called Afterblow in the owner’s manual. Maybe it was translated from Swedish but I thought it sounded like a brand of breath mint.

Oh wow, so companies already did that. I said ICE cars could not do that because of battery health concerns. Lead acid likes to sit at full charge and there is no HV battery to back it up in ICE vehicles.

 

[SoCal Rob]

Oh wow, so companies already did that. I said ICE cars could not do that because of battery health concerns. Lead acid likes to sit at full charge and there is no HV battery to back it up in ICE vehicles.

Yeah, we have had at least 3 ICE cars with this feature. They all seem to run the blower at low speed and for maybe 5-15 minutes.

It could be that there is logic to prevent it if the battery voltage is low, too. Our Land Rover has a beverage cooler in the center console which runs even with the vehicle off, but it will turn off if the battery voltage drops too much.

 

[CrazyOne]

Yeah, we have had at least 3 ICE cars with this feature. They all seem to run the blower at low speed and for maybe 5-15 minutes.

It could be that there is logic to prevent it if the battery voltage is low, too. Our Land Rover has a beverage cooler in the center console which runs even with the vehicle off, but it will turn off if the battery voltage drops too much.

I know my oldest car has 12v battery management. If 12v drops low it will turn off accessory mode. If it's on a charger, it won't.

 

[MidnightRivian]

This is what dealerships like to use along with an OZONE machine treatment and new charcoal cabin filter.


Lubegard 96030 Kool-It Evaporator and Heater Foam Cleaner

The best solution is to always turn off your AC two minutes before your arrival and run fresh air at medium or high temp to dry out your heater evaporator assembly in humid climates.

https://www.lubegard.com/products/evap/

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7652810

https://www.odorstop.com/os1200-12g...fier-with-1-ozone-plate-for-1200-square-feet/

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