Bad odor from AC

[jjwvu]

I have an 03 Mountaineer that has a odor similar to sweaty gym socks when I first turn on the AC. What can I do to eliminate this problem? Thanks in advance.

John
'03 Mountaineer Premiere

 

[unclemeat]

The cheapest way is to get a can of lysol disenfection spray. Roll down the windows, turn on the AC full blast on the recirculate mode, while driving slowly with the windows open, spray the disenfectent into the vent on the middle top of the dash. Spray it for about 20 to 30 seconds. That will usually work for about a season. You can repeat as necessary. You can also buy other products, but lysol is hard to beat for price and convenience.

 

[jjwvu]

Thanks. I'll give it a try tonight. The vehicle sat for about 2 months without being driven only started occasionally and run for short periods. I was afraid this might happen.

John

 

[Douglas70]

Check your owners manual to see if you have a cabin air filter. It may need to be changed.

 

[jlinskey]

Just fyi....

This appears to be a Ford related issue that plagues a lot of their car models. Both our 2003 Explorer and 2003 Focus have the AC odor. Basically when running the air condition the condensation isn't able to fully exit the AC housing. Thus moisture builds up and causes the odors.

One trick to help prevent the odor, prior to turning off the truck. Turn off the AC and allow the fan to pull in fresh air from outside for at least 2 minutes. This will allow the AC coils some time to dry prior to turning off the car.

On the Focus model, Ford has actually installed a fan switch that will cause the fan to run automatic for 2~3 minutes upon turning off the car.