How to Get Rid of the Musty Smell From Your Car’s Air Conditioner | Consumer Reports 

For a more thorough job, remove the cabin air filter and then get a kit called a "evaporator & heating foam cleaner", which is like the can he had in the video, except it has a plastic tube you connect and it sprays expanding foam. But the foam inside the empty box with the air filter, right on top of the metal coils inside. Use the entire can all at once. Run the AC and the car will start puking dirty liquid out the bottom. Run it until the liquid stops flowing out, then wait overnight and put the air filters back in. It will smell weirdly clean like a dentist's office for a couple days, and then back to a neutral smell.

The BEST way to keep your car AC from smelling moldy, mildewy, or musty is EVERY time you run your AC, before you shut off your engine, turn off the AC, make sure your cabin air is set to fresh instead of recirculate, and run the fan on high for a couple of minutes. This dries out the condensation in your car's air vents, which can get heavy if you have your cabin air set on recirculate instead of fresh when running your AC. We've got a 21-year-old Toyota Tacoma and have always done this when we run our AC and we have never had a musty smell coming out of our vents. I saw this tip on a TV show decades ago and IT WORKS!

Take the filter out before you spray the de-odorizer, then replace the filter

OMG!! It works!! I usually get a new cabin filter when my car starts smelling. This year was different. It happened, and I got the filter replaced in March. It didn't help, so I got another one in June. It didn’t help, so Volvo flushed the a/c evaporator or something. It didn’t work, and they just flushed it twice last week and upgraded the cabin filter brand. I have purchased more air freshers and a car air purifier. It smells better, but there is still a faint musty scent. I just watched this video, sprayed Lysol, and got back in the car. I can smell the Lysol. Lifesaver!!! #SmallHacks Thank you. I spent between $1200 and $1500 in the last seven months. All I needed was this video.❤

No intro no extra words straight to point, this dudes a legend👑

I’ve used this technique on a couple of my vehicles. It worked, but it was always very temporary. I forget, did he mention you are supposed to leave the recirculation button off when the vehicle is parked so the system can breathe and dry out?

Thank you! I’m sitting in my car during my break right now and it’s been driving me nuts. Definitely will give this a shot when I get home.

wish I saw this a few months back spent over $100 for a Ford dealership to change my cabin filter n still had a smell took it back they said mold on the ac $2700 job 😮

Mercedes were prone to stinky AC. My Honda Accord, Ram 1500 truck, Infiniti QX60, Toyota 4Runner never had this issue, but my old GLE350 had a stinky AC within 30k miles.

Thank you. This worked perfectly!

Both of our Toyotas get a nasty, musty smell. It's a known issue. If you have a Toyota, turn off recirculate often to fix the smell. I'm not sure if they've fixed the issue since the 2019 models as our cars are older than this.

Also, when spraying the Lysol from outside make sure the recirculate button is off. This will pull fresh air in and not cabin air. When you have recirculate on you’re pulling cabin air instead of outside air. Do not use the recirculate button for a day after doing this.

The smell only appears when the AC is off

Thank you. I used disinfectant in the plenums and changed the filter!

I used the lysol trick years ago when i saw a scotty kilmer video that suggested it. It got rid of the smell, and i replaced the cabin fikter with a new one.

People need to stop running it on recirculate all the time

I was advised to do the AC recharge but the only thing weird happened so far is the odor when I turn on the ac first time after a few seconds it will go away.

This dude straight up saved me $160 bucks that Toyota was trying to charge me

Thanks, love this type of lifehack info.

I put tape around my nose with cologne and it worked

I have owned Honda/Acura vehicles for last 25 years and never had this issue. However, I had to deal with this issue on my 2010 Corvette. I would have to turn up the heat and turn off recirculation during the last 5-10 minutes of a long drive in order to dry out the a/c ductwork. Doing this kept that musty smell from permeating the cabin on future trips.

Thank you so much, it worked instantly. It only took 2 minutes

I was still nervous to do this even with this and a couple other videos.

Thanks got a year old Toyota, just what i needed to know

Are you supposed to have the AC on while you have the fan on or just the fan

Thank you

I also get a "funny" smell from my AC when I turn it on, but only like for a couple of seconds and then it's gone. It started happening when I replaced my cabin filter, so that's a bit odd. I tried AC cleaner, one that you press the cap and leave it inside the car with AC on, but it did not help.

sucks that you have to keep doing this process all summer

My SUV just started having a vinegar like smell when I turn on my vents. I changed the filter like you said with a HEPA filter and I bought the special AC cleaning spray but it still smells like vinegar. What should I do?

Not all.vehicles have cabin filters

His last tip, is exactly what I do. I never get that smell

Can you add an essential oil to the new air filter when replacing it to add a fresh scent 💜

I have a question about spraying lysol or any other quemical on spray, it doesn't corrode the evaporator coil causing a freon leak on your AC?

Can someone explain to me after I did the steps, and my ac started making strange sounds khonkg?

Lysol will kill your blower motor, because once the alcohol evaporates it "gunks up" You'll get away with maybe 3 cleanings, then a blower motor replacement awaits. Don't ask me how do I know.

Can you help me I have vw touran 2017 yesterday I switched on my car ac and then I saw water coming out of air vents would you know what could be the problem or reason let me know thanks

Wouldn’t the moldy water need to be drained off for the smell to stay away? Aren’t we just covering up the problem? It has worked for me I’m just wondering.

I will try rhis On a 98 Ford explorer since I went to the autoparts and turns out this car does not have a replaceable cabin ari filter

You could use an ozone machine .

I do mold remediation, and dead mold is just as toxic as alive mold. the spores themselves need to be removed from the ducts. mold spores are smaller than bacteria. Basically treating anything with mold by just spraying stuff on it is just like cleaning dirt off your carpet by just spraying it

I did this and it seems to have worked decently well. I did it in the evening before closing up my car for the day. The next day I had a long journey and several hours into it my steering wheel starting screeching, which seems to possibly be a power steering issue. Is it possible that this DIY odor fix has anything to do with it?

My v.w doesn't have vents below the windshield under the hood. Is there another place I can spray lysol? Behind cabin filter?

I have had a musty smell since I had body work done on my car and two detailing and three ozonations haven't got rid of it (although it was gone for a short time after each treatment). The musty smell returns when the car is just sitting around, not when I run the a/c at all, is it possible that these reasons could still be the cause, despite not running the a/c?

Ahh yes, I can still smell my musty Volkswagens

what if it's the fan causing the smell not AC

I 120 Hyundai is smelling but I always clean it at car wash and also used a perfume but the smell remains

I noticed that European cars are prone to this issue

I just got a 2000 chevy blazer great car but its unbearable being inside ..had 2 people say it smells like mold, its very nasty and sticks to you , the guy i bought it from disconnected AC pump from serpentine belt i guess it seized up, and he put a shorter belt on ....so this horrid stench is all because of non functioning AC pump? And yes with car off for days ...open the door and it ya hard ...

So I tried this method. Sprayed the plenum, changed the filter, turn on the air w no AC before turning on car but I am still getting the smell. What would be my next step here, driving me crazy.

How about using fabreze spray?

My 2022 Toyota 4 runner with 8000 miles is giving me that sweat smell all of a sudden. Any permanent solution?

If you can spray it up the overflow pipe aswell

My VW passat doesn't have those vents you showed, where would I spray it in that case?

Use a carbon infused cabin air filter.

Sometimes it’s a water leaking over the wires, which causes this smell.

What a great tip for the beginning of fall.....

Probably a Ford if it smells musty.

What other kind of disinfectant, except Lysol?

10th, 22 September 2022

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It looks like the filter removed had been chewed by some rodents.

1000th 👍

It comings back the same thing it not work

Turn off the AC recirc button. Roll down the windows Remove the cabin air filter Run the ac at low fan for at least two minutes while spraying in the disinfectant. Stop spraying and run on high fan to clear out the disinfectant. Replace the air filter

Mercedes were prone to stinky AC. My Honda Accord, Ram 1500 truck, Infiniti QX60, Toyota 4Runner never had this issue, but my old GLE350 had a stinky AC within 30k miles