Air Conditioner Wet Smell

[Bilt.K5]

Cabin filter won't do anything with Ac smell

Cabin filter over time can accumulate leaves and junk from the outside and over time the build up can stink and promote mold and mildew growth

 

[TellmeyourWHAT?]

Cabin filter over time can accumulate leaves and junk from the outside and over time the build up can stink and promote mold and mildew growth

I am confused. The OP only stated they changed a wet air filter. He didn't talk about a cabin filter.

 

[HappyGilmore]

Hey all,

I've got a 2022 Telluride SX that just passed 16000 miles and I got July of last year. About a month ago the car was due for its 16000 mile service and I noticed a wet/mildew smell coming out of the AC on startup when the car had been sitting overnight. The smell went completely away after 10 seconds of the car being on and wouldn't come back unless the car had been sitting for 4+ hours at a time.

Took the car in for service, advisor said it needs a new air filter. Fine, argued the price of the filter, he shows it to me and it is indeed dirty and also wet. They cannot explain how the air filter had gotten wet and it's not rained in Austin, TX in months. Recommends we use an AC refresh kit on the car ($130) even though the car is less than a year old. We go back and forth and I agree to the refresh provided that if this doesnt work, he was going to have a larger problem to deal with. AC refresh kit made the smell completely go away for 48 hours to totally neutral and then same symptoms started to come back. I check the new air filter, not dirty and also not wet.

I bring the car back in for service on Monday and they want to keep the car overnight to let another AC refresh "soak." When I picked the car back up on Tuesday the AC smelled like horrible lemon scented chemical but I figured I would give it a day to air out. Yesterday (Wednesday) the AC was totally neutral and everything was great! On startup this morning, the wet smell is back and I assume will continue to get worse. Of course the smell is after the car has been sitting so the service advisor and tech essentially told me nothing was wrong and they did the second refresh as a "courtesy."

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any feedback for me? The AC works great but constantly getting a mildew smell on startup isn't something I want to deal with a relatively brand new car that also happens to be the most expensive car I've ever purchased.

Thanks so much,

John

PS: I didn't buy my car through the dealer I'm having it serviced by and if anyone has a recommendation in Austin, I'd love it

Yes. Our 2020 Telluride's rear vents smelled like A**. We had it cleaned on warranty. My theory is that the condensate tube that drains the AC is a regular tube, but necks down to a slit at the end. It gets crusted and scaled closed causing moisture to back up around the AC radiator. Combine this with the ambiguous setting "AC MAX" which automatically switches the sytem to recirculate. (just back it one on click for outside air to work and avoid MAX) So, you get a pool of water, recirculating air, off the charts moisture in the vents and mold and bacteria start growing. That's my theory. My wife was ready to give the car back, that's how much she hated the stink. We thought something died in the vents

 

[imortl]

Yes. Our 2020 Telluride's rear vents smelled like A**. We had it cleaned on warranty. My theory is that the condensate tube that drains the AC is a regular tube, but necks down to a slit at the end. It gets crusted and scaled closed causing moisture to back up around the AC radiator. Combine this with the ambiguous setting "AC MAX" which automatically switches the sytem to recirculate. (just back it one on click for outside air to work and avoid MAX) So, you get a pool of water, recirculating air, off the charts moisture in the vents and mold and bacteria start growing. That's my theory. My wife was ready to give the car back, that's how much she hated the stink. We thought something died in the vents

Did the cleaning take care of the smell? What am I asking for to “have it cleaned under warranty?” We are on the verge of getting rid of it because of the stink. Wife is ready. I want to see if it can be fixed. Tia.

 

[Amati5]

Just got a new Santa Fe and it actually has a setting to let the fan continue to blow the air out of the vents. Wonder if it is for preventing the wetness in the ducts

 

[kingfishjohn]

To continue on the saga of this AC, last year it had a blower issue all season. When the car was on “max AC” or had the blower motor turned all the way up, it was totally missing the top gear. Took it into the dealer twice and they basically shrugged at me.

Replaced the cabin air filter myself and I think they just installed the thing wrong last time because voila, the blower worked again.

Took it on an 800 mile road trip to Florida this past week and it was great. Return trip the AC totally stopped blowing cold 462 miles from the house. I drove through all of Louisiana back into Texas in cover of night with a 1 year old, 4 year old, and 6 year old and no working AC.

 

[Jc16sanchez]

Hey John,
I had a similar issue with my car last year, and it turned out to be a mold problem on the AC evaporator coils. The dealership tried a bunch of stuff, but it didn’t fully fix it either. What ended up working for me was getting a new AC drain line and a good cleaning of the coils.
If you’re still having problems, it might be worth asking the dealer about that or finding another shop that specializes in AC repairs. I’ve had good experiences with Kia South Austin for things like this.

 

[kingfishjohn]

It's at Kia North Austin now waiting to be looked at with a completely empty of refrigerant AC. Quoted me 2-3 weeks to even look at the damn thing.

I actually tried getting a hold of someone at Kia South Austin but they have an AI receptionist I could not for the life of me bypass to get to a real person.

 

[kingfishjohn]

Got the dreaded “some object struck” your condenser and it’s not covered by your warranty. I asked for pictures of the supposed damage and I guess we can’t just drive our cars on the highway because this is a poor design.

$2392, car is right at 3 years old with 50k miles. I won’t be having Kia make the repair and I’m generally disgusted. Pics attached

 

[Pnwwoodguy]

Hey all,

I've got a 2022 Telluride SX that just passed 16000 miles and I got July of last year. About a month ago the car was due for its 16000 mile service and I noticed a wet/mildew smell coming out of the AC on startup when the car had been sitting overnight. The smell went completely away after 10 seconds of the car being on and wouldn't come back unless the car had been sitting for 4+ hours at a time.

Took the car in for service, advisor said it needs a new air filter. Fine, argued the price of the filter, he shows it to me and it is indeed dirty and also wet. They cannot explain how the air filter had gotten wet and it's not rained in Austin, TX in months. Recommends we use an AC refresh kit on the car ($130) even though the car is less than a year old. We go back and forth and I agree to the refresh provided that if this doesnt work, he was going to have a larger problem to deal with. AC refresh kit made the smell completely go away for 48 hours to totally neutral and then same symptoms started to come back. I check the new air filter, not dirty and also not wet.

I bring the car back in for service on Monday and they want to keep the car overnight to let another AC refresh "soak." When I picked the car back up on Tuesday the AC smelled like horrible lemon scented chemical but I figured I would give it a day to air out. Yesterday (Wednesday) the AC was totally neutral and everything was great! On startup this morning, the wet smell is back and I assume will continue to get worse. Of course the smell is after the car has been sitting so the service advisor and tech essentially told me nothing was wrong and they did the second refresh as a "courtesy."

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any feedback for me? The AC works great but constantly getting a mildew smell on startup isn't something I want to deal with a relatively brand new car that also happens to be the most expensive car I've ever purchased.

Thanks so much,

John

PS: I didn't buy my car through the dealer I'm having it serviced by and if anyone has a recommendation in Austin, I'd love it

We have a 2020 sorento that we have been fighting this same issue. The dealer has not been able to solve it. Since this is a very common complaint, no doubt they know they have a problem that they ar not willing to actually address. I am currently trying to remedy it myself but I see that the way it is built it would require the removal of the condenser to sanitize it. They play dumb every time. Our vehicles are still with in the warranty periods. Time for us all to raise so she’ll with the dealerships that are not addressing the issue appropriately!

 

[Happy24]

Check your floorboards to confirm you don’t have an interior a/c leak that is collecting water in your floorboards. Currently experiencing now and the dealership did an a/c clean on both front and rear units, however leak is still coming into floorboards. Next step they are ordering a part to replace both a/c lines and states it more than likely a defect from the manufacture. My vehicle is a 24 Telluride with less than 9,000 miles on it.

 

[RViciouss21]

Hey all,

I've got a 2022 Telluride SX that just passed 16000 miles and I got July of last year. About a month ago the car was due for its 16000 mile service and I noticed a wet/mildew smell coming out of the AC on startup when the car had been sitting overnight. The smell went completely away after 10 seconds of the car being on and wouldn't come back unless the car had been sitting for 4+ hours at a time.

Took the car in for service, advisor said it needs a new air filter. Fine, argued the price of the filter, he shows it to me and it is indeed dirty and also wet. They cannot explain how the air filter had gotten wet and it's not rained in Austin, TX in months. Recommends we use an AC refresh kit on the car ($130) even though the car is less than a year old. We go back and forth and I agree to the refresh provided that if this doesnt work, he was going to have a larger problem to deal with. AC refresh kit made the smell completely go away for 48 hours to totally neutral and then same symptoms started to come back. I check the new air filter, not dirty and also not wet.

I bring the car back in for service on Monday and they want to keep the car overnight to let another AC refresh "soak." When I picked the car back up on Tuesday the AC smelled like horrible lemon scented chemical but I figured I would give it a day to air out. Yesterday (Wednesday) the AC was totally neutral and everything was great! On startup this morning, the wet smell is back and I assume will continue to get worse. Of course the smell is after the car has been sitting so the service advisor and tech essentially told me nothing was wrong and they did the second refresh as a "courtesy."

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any feedback for me? The AC works great but constantly getting a mildew smell on startup isn't something I want to deal with a relatively brand new car that also happens to be the most expensive car I've ever purchased.

Thanks so much,

John

PS: I didn't buy my car through the dealer I'm having it serviced by and if anyone has a recommendation in Austin, I'd love it

It was your post that helped me realize this is an issue. My 2022 Telluride started having an icky sour mildew smell in it and we just could not figure it out! We had our private mechanic come and take a look, we had our detailer come and do a deep clean on it and it wouldn’t go away so we finally caved and took it to the dealership. Welp 1st run was $106 for an AC refresh and we were told it just happens to new cars now and it should be gone fully in a few days to a week. 2 weeks later it was so much worse than before! So much so it was un drivable bc the smell was unbearable. I called the dealership back and they had me bring it in again. It’s been almost 2 weeks and now another $3800 bc there was mold and mildew growing in my HVAC and heater box. They have no clue how it got there or how all of this happened but it’s not the car it has to be me so that’s why I get to pay for this. I have 32,000 miles on this car and I have dumped $4500 into it already! I built this SUV and got it right off the line so there shouldn’t be $4500 worth of work already! But hey they promised to seal it extra good this time and pray it won’t happen again.

 

[Dr Adrian Adamson]

As a chemist that has worked with many tellurium compounds, I cannot believe that a car has been named after one of the most odorous (and toxic!) compounds- tellurides. I thought it must be a joke! They might as well have named the car the Kia Sulfide or Kia Selenide. Tellurides (in the same group of the Periodic Table) are notorious for their strong garlic like odour. Hydrogen Telluride is as smelly as hydrogen sulphide (rotten eggs odour). What next, the Kia Thallium?