Rotten Egg Smell From HVAC

[Ngkgb]

About a month ago I had HVAC unit replaced due to water leaking onto the drivers side floor. Since then I’ve had a rotten egg smell that occurs within 5 minutes of driving with the HVAC on. It lasts a minute or so and then mostly goes away. Of course service can’t get me in for three months.

Anybody have any idea what could be causing the smell and how worried I should be? Should I try to escalate the issue with the device department?

Thanks

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[Hereforthesnacks]

I’m going to guess the leak was fixed but that there still is an issue with water pooling somewhere in your system and collecting bacteria etc…

 

[NY_Rob]

That sour smell is generally caused by mold that's formed on/in the evap coils inside the cabin heater/cooler core. They sell kits online like the Klima-Cleaner Air Conditioner Cleaner which will clean/remove the mold. You can check youtube on how to use it. I've had to use it on our Model 3 and on my Plug-in-Prius back in the day. It works well if you follow the directions.

 

[Ngkgb]

That sour smell is generally caused by mold that's formed on/in the evap coils inside the cabin heater/cooler core. They sell kits online like the Klima-Cleaner Air Conditioner Cleaner which will clean/remove the mold. You can check youtube on how to use it. I've had to use it on our Model 3 and on my Plug-in-Prius back in the day. It works well if you follow the directions.

Thank you for the advice. I’ll look into it.

 

[mudito]

Thank you for the advice. I’ll look into it.

I've done this in all my cars. I do it yearly at least. Never again felt mold smell in my cars

 

[Riviot]

This happens with many different cars. My VW Jetta did it years ago. The evaporator coils need cleaning and at the same time a new cabin filter should solve this issue. Something like Klima clean is usually what it used if you take it to a pro. Not sure how to access the evap on the Rivian just yet.

https://www.amazon.com/nextzett-96110515-Klima-Cleaner-Conditioner-Cleaner/dp/B0002Z2MKO/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1XUMKBT1WBBKG&keywords=auto+a/c+evaporator+cleaner&qid=1685810511&sprefix=auto+a/c+evaporator+cleaner,aps,440&sr=8-4

That sour smell is generally caused by mold that's formed on/in the evap coils inside the cabin heater/cooler core. They sell kits online like the Klima-Cleaner Air Conditioner Cleaner which will clean/remove the mold. You can check youtube on how to use it. I've had to use it on our Model 3 and on my Plug-in-Prius back in the day. It works well if you follow the directions.

I've done this in all my cars. I do it yearly at least. Never again felt mold smell in my cars

Okay smart people, where is/are the R1T/R1S evap coils? Has someone already done this with a Rivian? I swear, I'll tear apart my frunk blindly if you don't share!

Cross-posting in hopes someone has decent pics and experience.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Okay smart people, where is/are the R1T/R1S evap coils? Has someone already done this with a Rivian? I swear, I'll tear apart my frunk blindly if you don't share!

Cross-posting in hopes someone has decent pics and experience.

Doesn’t appear to be easily accessible. The HVAC assembly is behind/under the primary display in the center I believe.

what I have done instead is change the cabin filter and put the vehicle in keep on mode. Then, turn climat to HI and leave it that way for one hour. That solved it for me.

 

[Ngkgb]

Doesn’t appear to be easily accessible. The HVAC assembly is behind/under the primary display in the center I believe.

what I have done instead is change the cabin filter and put the vehicle in keep on mode. Then, turn climat to HI and leave it that way for one hour. That solved it for me.

Do you mean pet mode?

 

[AYAYRON]

I had the mobile service tech try to clean the coils with a spray, the whole truck smelled like colgate for a few days, then the musty smell came back, he did say he may not be able to do it 100% as the service center has different equipment to do a better job *perhaps a longer nozzle???

 

[AYAYRON]

Doesn’t appear to be easily accessible. The HVAC assembly is behind/under the primary display in the center I believe.

what I have done instead is change the cabin filter and put the vehicle in keep on mode. Then, turn climat to HI and leave it that way for one hour. That solved it for me.

how long did this fix it for, surely you don't do it everytime you drive, however, some rivian owners have suggested to put the heat on every time which seems ridiclous especially in hot climates in the summer, wondering if winter will allow me to have the heat on enough to kill the bacteria/ mold / mildew over the next few months.

 

[DaveA]

i've found it goes away by just putting on "fresh air" before exiting the car and shutting off the AC. If you leave on recirculate, it seems moisture gets trapped.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

That sour smell is generally caused by mold that's formed on/in the evap coils inside the cabin heater/cooler core. They sell kits online like the Klima-Cleaner Air Conditioner Cleaner which will clean/remove the mold. You can check youtube on how to use it. I've had to use it on our Model 3 and on my Plug-in-Prius back in the day. It works well if you follow the directions.

I presume we’d use it the same way? Doesn’t look like anyone would need to have direct access to the coils.



Turning off AC upon parking and letting outside air flow in for a few minutes (for temp and humidity to reach equilibrium) is what I’ve done in the past. But not always practical.

 

[mudito]

I presume we’d use it the same way? Doesn’t look like anyone would need to have direct access to the coils.



Turning off AC upon parking and letting outside air flow in for a few minutes (for temp and humidity to reach equilibrium) is what I’ve done in the past. But not always practical.

This is precisely how I've done it in my R1T (I do it on every car).

Just wrote this in another thread: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/smelly-a-c.15758/post-654987

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

how long did this fix it for, surely you don't do it everytime you drive, however, some rivian owners have suggested to put the heat on every time which seems ridiclous especially in hot climates in the summer, wondering if winter will allow me to have the heat on enough to kill the bacteria/ mold / mildew over the next few months.

Fixes it until the next change in seasons usually for me. I don't put on the pet mode I juse camp mode stay on and I set it to HI. Gets up to over 100 degrees inside the car.

There are only three ways to get at the evaporator coil:

1) Through the cabin filter assembly (not possible on the Rivian)
2) Through the condensate drain pipe (not sure that is accessible without some disassembly on the Rivian.
3) By drilling a hole in the HVAC assembly and installing a port to inject the cleaning solution. I don't want this solution or know if its possible.

The big thing is you don't want that cleaner getting into the blower motor. You only want it to get the HVAC box and evaporator. It can damage the blower motor and cause premature failure.

There is also a spray called frigi-fresh but that stuff is meant to be used in conjunction with the other stuff. Some may choose to use it on its own though. That should be safe to spray into the air intake before the air freshener is replaced. https://amzn.to/48Fecqb

 

[AYAYRON]

Fixes it until the next change in seasons usually for me. I don't put on the pet mode I juse camp mode stay on and I set it to HI. Gets up to over 100 degrees inside the car.

There are only three ways to get at the evaporator coil:

1) Through the cabin filter assembly (not possible on the Rivian)
2) Through the condensate drain pipe (not sure that is accessible without some disassembly on the Rivian.
3) By drilling a hole in the HVAC assembly and installing a port to inject the cleaning solution. I don't want this solution or know if its possible.

The big thing is you don't want that cleaner getting into the blower motor. You only want it to get the HVAC box and evaporator. It can damage the blower motor and cause premature failure.

There is also a spray called frigi-fresh but that stuff is meant to be used in conjunction with the other stuff. Some may choose to use it on its own though. That should be safe to spray into the air intake before the air freshener is replaced. https://amzn.to/48Fecqb

This just made me remember the mobile Rivian tech said at the service center they use the drain pipe and he didn’t have the right paets

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