Foul Smell in Cabin From Vents / AC

[182RG]

Yes, the BG products are available at many dealership service departments, but I doubt they would use them on a car under warranty.

Sure they do. Local Ford dealership here will BG in-warranty vehicles, especially transmission service. They advertise it, and recommend it despite what the owners manual recommendation is. It's very common.

 

[Black Bengal]

Sure they do. Local Ford dealership here will BG in-warranty vehicles, especially transmission service. They advertise it, and recommend it despite what the owners manual recommendation is. It's very common.

I did not state my point clearly enough. Ford service depts. will certainly perform BG services to in-warranty vehicles, but those services are not free to the owner under Ford's 3/36 warranty. If you find a Ford dealer that actually covers the cost of BG services for vehicles under warranty then please tell me where it is.

 

[gideon123]

my answer

I too have the same problem with my 2013 Limited model and so to avoid the smell i auto start the car 30 seconds prior to getting in which activates the auto climate system. its not a fix but i dont have deal with the smell

 

[VinceL]

Our smell comes and goes, often with various intensities. Two days ago I started and the car and WHAM! A face full of stink. Oh, Gray Ghost, why must you treat us so poorly??

 

[peterk9]

Our smell comes and goes, often with various intensities. Two days ago I started and the car and WHAM! A face full of stink. Oh, Gray Ghost, why must you treat us so poorly??

I find it curious why some members have this issue while, most, it seems, do not. I thankfully never had that problem with mine.

Peter

 

[FordService]

Our smell comes and goes, often with various intensities. Two days ago I started and the car and WHAM! A face full of stink. Oh, Gray Ghost, why must you treat us so poorly??

Hey VinceL,

Did you drop by the dealership so they could take a whiff of your Gray Ghost? You know how to contact me if you need my help.

Crystal

 

[dragonexplorer12]

Our smell comes and goes, often with various intensities. Two days ago I started and the car and WHAM! A face full of stink. Oh, Gray Ghost, why must you treat us so poorly??

Same thing happens with our EX. Smell is more apparent than rest of the time especially after it's been parked for a week or so.

We have A/C on all the time by the way.

 

[VinceL]

Thanks Crystal. If I can spare the time, I'll take it by the dealership. Since this is an ongoing problem, would Ford still cover this as a warranty issue?

Dragon, we leave our A/C on all the time also. Unfortunately, our smell happens even though we drive it daily, so we never know when the stank will strike

 

[FordService]

Thanks Crystal. If I can spare the time, I'll take it by the dealership. Since this is an ongoing problem, would Ford still cover this as a warranty issue?...

Hi Vince,

Your best bet will be to get the vehicle in sooner rather than later; documenting concerns when they occur is a good practice whenever questions about warranty coverage arise. Ultimately, whether or not a repair can be made under warranty is up to the dealership's service manager, but if you need any help from my neck of the woods, I'll be here.

Crystal

 

[jeanniegoff]

Smelly too

I have repeatedly taken mine back to the dealer. When I contacted Ford about pursuing "lemon law" they were willing to let me trade out of mine (for 10k less than I paid) and get a new one with a slight discount. So this would have only cost me 14k. I hired a lawyer and they told him they were waiting in approval to make an offer to buy me out. Two weeks later they said No! I have since filed a lawsuit. My children and I have had some serious upper respiratory health issues due to what seems to be "mold exposure" as labeled by my Dr. I only wanted them to replace the car, and they refused. The smell is intermittent and is horrible!

 

[K-DUB-LV]

Foul Smell in Cabin - 2014 Explorer

We have noticed a foul smell coming from the air vents every time we start the vehicle. It lasts for about 30 seconds and then goes away. Started around 5000 miles. The dealer said to turn off the a/c and let the fan run for a few minutes to dry out the moisture. I live in Las Vegas, it is dry here and I've owned multiple vehicles in my life and NEVER have I ever had this problem. We returned to the dealer, they said they would blow out the lines and wanted to charge us nearly $200, since it was unscheduled maintenance. We argued and they "said" they fixed it. Next day, the smell returned and now it blows the nasty smell randomly while driving. It is once again at the dealer and they said it may need a new "Purge Module" and they will get back to us with a cost. That is absurd! It's brand new! How can they justify charging anything? Is it the dealer, or is it FORD policy? Very unhappy customer!

 

[HughCares]

There should be no cost to you and any work they do should be covered under warranty. Go find another dealership........

 

[JCat]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=323597

 

[Hoot]

Foul smell

Same problem.....foul smell....moldy, mildewy, sour....horrible smell began within 6 months of driving. I've been told common problem in all vehicles (NOT) and Ford redesigned a/c to avoid this....they now slant fins so condensation doesn't sit. Dealer also said to turn a/c off and leave fan running a few minutes before arriving at my destination. I live in FL.....not convenient or realistic. Service Mgr also said there were no other similar complaints, even after researching through Ford's engineering dept. When I tried to explain there are several similar complaints on this site, I was told what small % of info on the internet was actually true and I should seek another opinion. You can imagine my fury after spending what I spent on this vehicle. It had already been in the shop 2-3 times causing me to miss time from work due to waiting on their shuttles or cigarette stenched rental cars or having to leave work early in order to use the shuttle. The 1996 Acura which the Ford replaced, didn't abuse my time like this. I have now had two dealers spray deodorizer and antibacterial in the a/c case.....and do a few other things....no relief. Winter weather was the only relief but now that the temperatures have risen, the smell is worse than ever. My battle is about to begin again. Happy with the car otherwise but this one thing makes me VERY unhappy, as does the dealership I ordered it through. I have allergies to mold/mildew....not a good mix for me.

 

[peterk9]

We have noticed a foul smell coming from the air vents every time we start the vehicle. It lasts for about 30 seconds and then goes away. Started around 5000 miles. The dealer said to turn off the a/c and let the fan run for a few minutes to dry out the moisture. I live in Las Vegas, it is dry here and I've owned multiple vehicles in my life and NEVER have I ever had this problem. We returned to the dealer, they said they would blow out the lines and wanted to charge us nearly $200, since it was unscheduled maintenance. We argued and they "said" they fixed it. Next day, the smell returned and now it blows the nasty smell randomly while driving. It is once again at the dealer and they said it may need a new "Purge Module" and they will get back to us with a cost. That is absurd! It's brand new! How can they justify charging anything? Is it the dealer, or is it FORD policy? Very unhappy customer!

Welcome to the Forum K-DUB-LV.:wavey:
As mentioned in my PM, I have merged your thread with this existing one covering the same issue. As HughCares, mentioned, there should not be any cost to you for fixing this issue. Good luck.
You can also contact Crystal (FordService), the Ford rep that monitors this Forum and she can lend a hand in getting this looked at. You can send her a private message using this link if you wish;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=157968
When you PM, be sure to include your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and servicing dealership in your message.

Peter

 

[K-DUB-LV]

Thank you Peter

 

[Hoot]

Has anyone had any success yet with a repair to eliminate the moldy smell?

 

[FordService]

Has anyone had any success yet with a repair to eliminate the moldy smell?

Hi Hoot,

Have you had your dealership check this out for you? They'll be happy to perform an inspection and recommend next steps from there. How many miles do you have on your Explorer?

Crystal

 

[Hoot]

Hi Hoot,

Have you had your dealership check this out for you? They'll be happy to perform an inspection and recommend next steps from there. How many miles do you have on your Explorer?

Crystal

Hey Crystal - Yes, I've had it in several times. They've sprayed some type of deoderizer in it and changed a filter I believe. Neither did any good. It is a little over 11K miles now. If you see my previous post in this thread, I didn't end up with a good experience.

 

[FordService]

Hey Crystal - Yes, I've had it in several times. They've sprayed some type of deoderizer in it and changed a filter I believe. Neither did any good. It is a little over 11K miles now. If you see my previous post in this thread, I didn't end up with a good experience.

Hi Hoot,

Thanks for following up. Send me your info in a PM and I'll do what I can to help. As Peter had mentioned previously, I'll need your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and servicing dealership so I can check out ways to assist.

Crystal