Anyone notice any smells coming from the AC unit? It's kind of humid in the Chicago area, and I've been driving with the AC on.

What I've noticed is when I have the AC on, fan at 1 or 2, have vent on recirculate and accelerate, I smell a stale odor coming in from the vents.

I've had cars that have a stale AC odor before, but this is different in that it only happens at the start of acceleration with the vent on recirc.

If I do all the same, except have the AC on outside air, no odor.

Also, if I do all as originally mentioned, except have the fan on high, I don't notice the odor as much.

It's not a burnt smell, it's more like a stale smell. The wierd thing is it seems to be keyed to start of acceleration if the vent is set on recirculate.

Anyone else notice this?

 

Do you turn your AC off before you shut off the car?

 

turn off ur ac and vent before shutting off your car...it's the humidity that gets trapped inside that causes the odor...hope it helps

 

Yes I usually (95% of the time) turn the AC off before shutting off the car, but only a few seconds before turning off the car.

Should I change the vent from recirc to outside air at the same time too? I've never done this before, but if the system is shut down with air trapped in the recirc mode, I do understand the issue.

What about the smell only happening on acceleration? It's there only for a few seconds then it's gone. Could this be some combustion byproduct or exhaust gas that's making it's way into the vent system?

 

turn off the a/c and open the vent deal to outside air.

 

Yes, what others have already said, plus.... try running the a/c on with the heater turned up the way up for a few minutes to help kill the mold that is causing the smell. I've read this on other forums to help with getting rid of the musty smell in older cars. Hopefully, with the FIT being such a new car, you can kill the mold before it has a chance to establish itself.

Also, make sure the car is draining from the evaporator correctly (puddle of water under the car after you park). You could have a blocked drain that is keeping the water in the evaporator.

 

The freon from your AC is stuck in your vents. Now, the freon in your vents are mildewing and in the process of getting moldy.

You should start turning off your AC before you turn off your car. You should try to get your vents cleaned out. As kkim suggested, running the heater is a temporary solution. But if the mold is there, get the vents flushed.

 

Use a deodorised air conditioning filter. Filter fits in behind the glove box. Great for stopping pollen if you suffer from hayfever or other allergies too.

 

I'd say 2 new for mold. Freon is contained in a closed loop system. If it is Freon R-134, you'll be w/o AC real quick (low press. switch will prevent compressor from operating)
We've had great results with negative ion generation, not ozone. Without a boring narrative on Hydroxyl radicals, bottom-line, it'll smell real nice and not deteriorate rubber materials. Now the rub: I'm not sure where one can get a consumer-use type unit, but this may help:
http://www.negative-ion-generators.c...fde197e6e4cf72
We have just begun tests on VOC and hazardous air contaminates for industrial applications. The units I'm familiar with are not from the mentioned site.

 

that funny, i'm from chicago too and i'm having the same problem... it smells awful when i turn on the defogger (which automatically turns the A/C on) even with the heat turned all the way up it still persists. I also keep it on vent most of the time, car heaters on recirculate make me feel sick after a while.

my girlfriend has really bad asthma, so living with it is not an option.

i'm about ready to bring it to the dealer and tell them to fix it or give me a new car.

EDIT: The smell really didn't manifest itself until well into the winter.

 

same smell here. thought it was me, or my work clothes but its random.

 

my ac has a weird smell too.... only for like 10seconds at a time and not everyday either, its definitely not mold, i had an old car before with mold and it didnt smell like that, its more like a chemical/alcohol smell that i couldnt describe...

 

I also have a weird smell when I turn on the defogger (auto AC ON). I was wondering what it was. It does not smell otherwise with or without AC on.

 

My concept of the AC turning on when the defogger turns on is that the AC will pull the moisture out of the outside air and help speed the defogging of the windows by providing warm (you should be using warm air to defog... it just makes sense) and dry air.

I know everyone says when you use your AC to put it on recirculate, but this leads to moisture buildup in the car. if it's really hot out and you just get in your car then yes use your AC with the switch to recirculate. but once the car has reached normal temp and the inside of the car is at an acceptable temperature (mainly when the surfaces inside have cooled off) then switch back to outside air. it will smell a whole lot better as you were just re-breathing your own breath for however long it was on recirculate.


As for Mold growth..... you are in a tough spot as molds are VERY resilient and need to be chemically cleaned (maybe even twice) speak to your honda dealer.


All this said and it does seem to be a problem with Honda's AC systems. the honda's in my family have ZERO problems with smell and AC mold. but about 50% of the people I speak to have some sort of smell in theirs. (it smells so gross!!!) and despite my advice and warning they do nothing.


sorry about the long post.... I don't know how many times I've explained this. feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

BTW ya for my first post and my brand new storm silver LX.

 

If you guys want to prevent mold from growing inside the air circulation system just keep your fans running all the time or most of the time. That helps keep the system dry and you will have a less of a chance of mold growth.

 

I just changed my pollen filter at 25k miles and it certainly had some bugs and crud in there (more than my air filter). I took the old filter and misted it with water. It seemed to have a musty odor but not too funky.
The pollen filter swap took about 5 min.
Just swing the glove box out/open, pulling the left-right rubber door stops inward. You'll see the sides of the box are slit to allow this. Achtung! The contents of your glove box will now be on the floor if not emptied yet.

The filter is straight in front of you now. 2-thumb tabs to pry inward and pull out the tray. Mind the airflow arrows on the filter and cover.

 

Note in the manual that the average recommended changeout for the pollen filter is 15,000 miles. When I was getting the o&f changed, the mechanic showed me the pollen filter, which was getting pretty cruddy. It's humid most of the time here -- very humid and warm -- yet I have no problems with odors in my Fit. I run the a/c on recirculate virtually all of the time. I commute on the highway, and if I let fresh air in, I'm also letting in all the air pollution. The Fit certainly does better at conditioning the air than my old Accord did, but sadly even though we don't have any heavy industry, the booming population and crowded roads make for smelly driving.

The instructions for changing the pollen filter sound easy, Karvin Karl -- thanks! Honda service wanted $40 for installation. I bought the filter and the guy who did the o&f change offered to install it free of charge. (I allowed Honda to do the first o&f on the Fit, and they made me wait 2 1/2 hours!)

 

i changed cabin filter on my 02 Odyssey thinking it will elliminate funky smell... but the ordor still exists...i've been told... use a/c with "fresh" air before you turn off the engine helps to prevent any ordors forming....

 

I have had the same smell since I bought it. I brought it in to the dealer and they told me it was fine.

I'm not fine with it

 

Chicago, huh? I thought with the stockyards long gone…

Make sure you're getting outside air into the car. Slide the lever away from recirculating. I never heard of switching A/C off before shutting off the engine.

You'll feel better with your situation if you move out here to the country and drive past a hog confinement.

Cheers.