Mold smell part 2
 

Still having the funky smell coming from my vents when i first turn the a/c on.

This is a pretty strong smell. Dealer has performed the coil cleaning and replaced the cabin filters, lasted a little while.

I have sprayed lysol into the cowl and that would help for a few days.

I looked at products and some that I think would work great are the foams that coat the entire coils.

Has anyone used a product that you spray into the vents or the cowl that worked good?

Bleach

Not yet knowing much detail about the MS3, here are some general ideas:

Is the car still under warranty? - make them fix it....
I've tried some tricks with old cars...but never with a new one.

Always run the AC on recirc so you won't be cooling the moist outside air. I'm assuming you live in a moist climate to have this issue in the first place.
I have also done the Lysol trick with good results - but I've only done it with AC on max (recirc), and I shot the lysol under the glovebox where that car sucked air in.

Make sure the evaporator drain is not clogged.

klima klear from 1z and isopure by carpro

You need 2 things to have mold: Something organic and moisture. Have you cleaned out your cabin air filter lately? There's not much in those vents that's organic.

Yeah sorry, re-run of history.

Car has been into dealership 3 times, 1st time they performed a coil cleaning and a chemical to inhibit mold growth. This helped for several weeks. Happened again, they replaced the pollen filters. This helped for awhile again.

It came back, I took it back as they were going to have a regional mazda engineer come look at it. Well he never made it out because the tech could not smell it.

I call them today and the service manager said we can't do anything anymore regarding it and to contact Mazda Customer Care. So I will start treating it myself.

The drain works fine btw. I prefer a spray to spray into the air intake ducts and see if that doesn't work for awhile.

Car is a 2012 with 6k miles now. Started at roughly 1k miles.

Tell them to give you another. That's bullshit.

Funny, but really, bleach is terrible for getting rid of mold.

Bleach actually leaves a residue after it dries that new mold spores will use for food.

Vinegar makes it almost impossible for mold to grow.

Vinegar, I meant vinegar.

They remediate mold on homes with dry ice... :shrug: lol

Silly question, is the evap draining well? (read as...is there a puddle of water under your car while parked and the a/c on)

In FL, we have a lemon law.
If they can't fix it in 3 shots, they replace the car.
Research similar laws in your state.

Carquest auto parts sells a product that's made to spray the ac vent Carmax the dealership use it all the time on the card they sell

Wow.. That sucks. My boss swears by a product we use all the time at the airport.. I really can't remember the name atm.. I'll check it out when I go in tomorrow morning.

Yeah it drains fine, or so it seems, was checked out fine and I have the puddles under the car.

I just called Mazda customer service and received a file #. This is my first brand new car, never had that problem before and I have had some older cars.

The whole point of this is he shouldn't have to do anything. His car is practically brand new yet. Make the dealer fix that shit or tell them to give you another car.

Well basically they said fuck off.

Mazda Customer Care said you can take it to a different dealer but they said this happens to other makes and models and it's a characteristic of these cars.

I am going to try controlling it myself or find something else. Nothing like buying your first brand new car and having to deal with this shit.

I've heard Ozium recommended for controlling the AC vent smell.

The dealership i work at uses a machine. What they do is remove the cabin filter, turn the ac on recirc./ high/mid temp, and place this fogger on the floor running for 15 minutes. It eliminates all odors and mold from the vent system and interior. They even have a two step process for smokers. I used it when i first got my pu cuz it smelled rank with the blower on. Worked great.

If only I was closer :(

i used this 1Z Einszett Klima-Cleaner Air Conditioner Treatment

and after i used this Dakota Odor Bomb Car Odor Eliminator, odor remover, air freshener as a bomb

it worked great i live in mobile al and have 100000000 percent humidity. its been a while and smell hasnt come back but the air freshener bomb is pretty potant!!!

There is always 539 lightning!

Yeah that Einszett, I forgot the name of that, I will order that.

Maybe the bomb too!

When you used the Kilma did you spray it in the center vents or did you spray it through the cowl?

this is BS what you are being told man. This is not normal characteristic of this car, keep bitching you know the squeaky wheels gets the oil. I would demand them that you want this fix or you will start looking into lemon laws. Me being a mazda tech we have yet to have this issue. With Mitsubishi endeavor we did have this issue and it was due to the drain tube clogging and the system getting backed up and leaving water in the floor board and then mold develops under the carpet. So just keep complaining if you have to go to another dealership if there is one near you and tell them what you have been through, trust me they want that warranty money. There is a tsb for a mildew odor smell in the ac system but it is only for vehicles up to 2009.

I told Mazda Customer Care about possibly going through the Lemon Law procedure, she didn't choke one bit.

The thing is right now is the fact that when I take it to the dealership they can't smell it, I just need to take it to them during the day when it's really bad (while I'm at work). So basically they think I'm full of shit.

I'm kinda tired of this right now honestly. Probably take it to a new dealership on Saturday to have them smell it and go from there.

I use a foam spray at work it is called foamy clean. It is rinseless all you have to do is spray on evaporator, let it sit and it will remove any debris, deodorizes, non toxic and leaves a pleasant smell. Nothing harsh. Works good for what i use it for. Hope this helps.

I use a foam spray at work it is called foamy cleanAttachment 68869. It is rinseless all you have to do is spray on evaporator, let it sit and it will remove any debris, deodorizes, non toxic and leaves a pleasant smell. Nothing harsh. Works good for what i use it for. Hope this helps.

i have the same issue with mine but it only produces a smell after running the ac on re-circulation then turn the re-circulation off, don't know if that's normal but I've lived with it any info on the exact location of the drain valve would be nice i cant seem to find it its not that descriptive in the Mazda tech manual PDF

i sprayed it in the center vent then removed cabin air filter and spayed in there.

There is a product I picked up at autozone for my last car and it worked very very well. It was mostly alcohol in an aerosol can.

You applied it by turning the vents on full blast with recirculate off and spray it out side the car where the exterior vent is in between the windshield washers.

Worked great for about a year and had to do it again. I was perfectly happy for 6 bucks.

Where is the drain, vent located

Wait wait wait.

Mazda Customer Care is a fucking joke. They said they wouldn't help me with my broken shifter because of a transmission mount . . .

Having said that, lemon law. If they can't fix it, they have to take it back. Don't feel bad about fucking Mazda's couch on this one because mold makes people sick. Chances are it's growing in the ducting or something else if you can't get rid of the smell.

My window AC had gelatinous globs of moldy grossness in it when I finally took it apart after cleaning it over and over. It was growing on metal, plastic & Styrofoam.

It will never ever ever get better until your dash is sitting on a garage floor and someone's using a toothbrush... so they either do that or give you another car.

Got in touch with a consumer lawyer that specializes in Lemon Laws in my state.

He is going to review my case and let me know.

Fuck Mazda and their bullshit.

Sucks because I love this car, fast and comfortable for price. We'll see what happens.

Well before you get involved in all of that I would at least give a shot yourself. The product we use and have performed this service for this exact complaint at my shop is called Frigi-Fresh by BG Chemicals. That is the more basic one that you spray inside of the vehicle with the AC on recirculation and the blower motor on max for a few seconds. You spray it inside the recirc door then turn off the vehicle for 10-15 minutes with all doors closed so the sweat in the Evap casing with the product clean inside of the casing and the remaining in the vents. It has done WONDERS on some customers cars especially killing the 2am bowling alley ash tray smell.

The only down fall of it is they don't sell to public, even though I have seen some of there products at parts stores. But they do have a shop locator at the bottom so you might be able to find a shop and see if you can buy a can from them or have them do the service. Just make sure you say Frigi-Fresh not Frigi-Clean because the proper way to do the foams is to drill into the evap casing an inject it that way... And thats just a pain in the ass for everyone.

Here is a link to the product its like mid way down the page.BG Products, Inc.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

FUCK doing it hisself! This car has 6k miles on it! Mazda better fix everything or give him a new car. The car has a warranty for a reason.

OP, take a day off of work or drive straight to the Mazda dealership when you get that smell. Quit beating around the bush. Fuck all that mess, If you want the car fixed your gonna have to be a prick about it.

I'm in for results because my car has been doing this since 3K miles. The smell is god awful.

Yea mine has been doing this since day 1. I never really care too much as i might use the AC 2 or 3 times a year

In before dead rat is found inside the engine bay :dance:


(also in for results)

I make sure I turn the A/C off with the fan still on before I reach my destination. Since explaining this to my GF, she doesn't have mildewy-smells anymore.

Woah now no need to get all brotastic on me now. OP mentioned trying to do it himself so I was giving a suggestion... That hurt my e-feelings