[krahooligan]

recently when I start my car it SMEEEELLLLS terrible on the inside.
I am a very clean person when it comes to vehicles. no food is eaten in it...your lucky to drink water.
I cleaned emma (328i) for two hours yesterday.(wash, wax, leather treatment, vacuum, new air freshener)
this is really bugging me. does anybody have any idea what is causing this?
maybe a bad evaporator? there is a faint smell when I start the A/C but that goes away instantaneously.
any idea is helpful at this point.

[phamlay]

Try changing your cabin filters? or checking those?

Originally Posted by krahooligan

recently when I start my car it SMEEEELLLLS terrible on the inside.
I am a very clean person when it comes to vehicles. no food is eaten in it...your lucky to drink water.
I cleaned emma (328i) for two hours yesterday.(wash, wax, leather treatment, vacuum, new air freshener)
this is really bugging me. does anybody have any idea what is causing this?
maybe a bad evaporator? there is a faint smell when I start the A/C but that goes away instantaneously.
any idea is helpful at this point.

[krahooligan]

I did that two weeks ago.
worth another try I guess

[FL335]

Try Ozium. If it doesn't work, it could be freon…I had "that" smell a few months ago….turned out to be my evaporator coil leaking….for you, I hope this is not the case.

[krahooligan]

Originally Posted by FL335

Try Ozium. If it doesn't work, it could be freon…I had "that" smell a few months ago….turned out to be my evaporator coil leaking….for you, I hope this is not the case.

isn't that like a 3k fix?
my car just went out of warranty.

[krahooligan]

update. warranty extended by dealership for two days to try and resolve this issue...but they don't even know if its covered under warranty?
argghhhhhhh.
looks like im learning how to replace an evaporator.

[thomas88162]

Does it smell musky? It could just be mold/mildew forming from the AC running. This happens to cars with age. I doubt that your evaporator is the direct cause.

[blaster3500]

Did you have any door panels off recently? If you lose a foam washer from one of the clips it will leak into the back floor and smell.

[krahooligan]

Originally Posted by blaster3500

Did you have any door panels off recently? If you lose a foam washer from one of the clips it will leak into the back floor and smell.

I took off a trim panel to paint it, but did not take off the door panel. it smells musty and gross. haha. I have all 4 windows down at lunch and when I came back to the car I could smell it before I opened the door. aghhh.

[krahooligan]

Originally Posted by thomas88162

Does it smell musky? It could just be mold/mildew forming from the AC running. This happens to cars with age. I doubt that your evaporator is the direct cause.

how would I fix this?
I had the warranty guy smell it and he thinks the evap..but if there is a way that I can fix this and not spend 3k then ill try.

[FL335]

Originally Posted by krahooligan

isn't that like a 3k fix?
my car just went out of warranty.

At the dealer…yes. The dash has to come out. It's a pretty big job.I had my trusted Indy do it: $1640, OTD. Very reasonable. It's been problem in these cars…something about the seam of the evaporator giving out.

Let us know what happens. Fingers crossed for you. Hows the AC been? Is it cold?

[thomas88162]

Originally Posted by krahooligan

how would I fix this?
I had the warranty guy smell it and he thinks the evap..but if there is a way that I can fix this and not spend 3k then ill try.

There are aerosol products just about anyplace you go which sanitize your HVAC system. Any of them will do the same job, kill the nasty bacteria causing the smell! To clarify, an evaporator goes bad if it starts leaking refrigerant, which would cause your AC to not work at all. You do not smell refrigerant, it just leaks out into the atmosphere.

[krahooligan]

Originally Posted by FL335

At the dealer…yes. The dash has to come out. It's a pretty big job.I had my trusted Indy do it: $1640, OTD. Very reasonable. It's been problem in these cars…something about the seam of the evaporator giving out.

Let us know what happens. Fingers crossed for you. Hows the AC been? Is it cold?

that's reasonable. why so much at the stealership then?. the A/C is getting less and less cool.

[FL335]

Originally Posted by krahooligan

that's reasonable. why so much at the stealership then?. the A/C is getting less and less cool.

Because it's a big job and…Stealership.

[thomas88162]

Originally Posted by krahooligan

that's reasonable. why so much at the stealership then?. the A/C is getting less and less cool.

Now that is (generally) a sign of low refrigerant. You could very well have a leak, it is easiest to let a shop take care of A/C work; they already have all of the equipment needed to work on HVAC systems.