Warranty Question (Mildew smell A/C)

[d1ll1gaf]

The warm weather has finally arrived and with it we used the A/C for the first time today... and were greeted with a foul mildew smell (think about the smell you get when you forget laundry in the washing machine for a few days). The smell occurs as soon as the car starts but goes away once the air gets cold, there is also no smell when using the heat or just outside air, it's only present for that period of time between start and cold air starting to blow.

The car itself is a 2025 Select ER AWD that the dealership sold to it's own service department as a loaner in 2025 and then bought back (to it's sales department) in February, we then bought it from them in March with 2,000km on it.

Is this something that would be eligible for warranty service or is it something I'm going to need to take car of myself? Before I spend money on filters / cleaners I figured it's worth finding out if I can get Ford to pay for it or not.

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[AliRafiee]

I don’t know if they will cover it or not. I wonder if the drain plug for condenser is clogged up. If it is, should be an easy fix.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Change the cabin filter first. Ford will not pay for that, so just do it and see if it helps.

 

[Maui]

Have you been running with the ac on re-circulation a lot?

 

[d1ll1gaf]

Have you been running with the ac on re-circulation a lot?

Today was the first time we ever turned on the ac, up till now it's been mostly around or below freezing

 

[VindictivePantz]

As Lee said, air filter is a good place to start.

I've had the same in mine, as well as in ICE cars in the past.

 

[nlions]

Filters about $10-15. Easy to do yourself

 

[AtomicInternet]

As everyone said, cabin air filter is the most likely culprit.

My RS had a spider build a nest in the AC drain line, causing it to back up into the passenger footwell. That gave off quite a stink as well, but after pulling up the floormat I finally found the dampness from the overflowing drain. A quick screwdriver through the drain line and a carpet cleaning and all better.

 

[AKgrampy]

Before you do anything I would suggest seeing if this continues to repeat itself. Maybe something that will fade with use. My understanding is has occurred for the first time today.

 

[RallyQuest]

There are a few threads on this but not any solutions that have helped me. I changed the air filter, I ran tons of lysol through those intake vents under the hood, I live in a desert, I blow the fan for 5 minutes if i've used the A/C. I don't know what else to do.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/its-starting-to-smell-a-little-musty.38276/
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/moldy-smell-from-a-c.36439/
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/foul-smell-from-a-c-on-startup.27981/

 

[azerik]

Mine comes and goes. It's probably also about time to replace mine again. I spent the near $100 $20 on the, well, expensive one.

 

[RallyQuest]

I managed to get this fixed after taking it to a dealership. Here are the notes I got on my invoice (which was all covered by warranty).

TREAT HVAC WITH A/C COOLING COIL COATING TO KILL ORGANIC, M TIME VERIFY CONCERN RUN OASIS, DIAGNOSIS BY SYMPTOMS, TREAT HVAC WITH A/C COOLING COIL COATING TO KILL ORGANIC GROW ON HVAC SYSTEM. SPRAY MIST THROUGH ALL VENTS AND RUN HVAC ON MAX COOLING TO SPREAD THROUGH OUT SYSTEM. RETEST AFTER TO VERIFY PASS, QUALITY CARE. M TIME

It didn't take them long but they did initially insist I needed to replace my cabin air filter. I told them I knew it wasn't that because I'd replaced it first thing trying to fix this myself. They then asked, "But did you replace the engine air filter or the cabin air filter?" Lol. I should've asked them to replace the engine air filter for me.

Does anyone know more about the process to "TREAT HVAC WITH A/C COOLING COIL COATING"?

 

[Carma]

Used this three times when also replacing the cabin air filter on several cars. Works great. Just follow the directions.
https://www.amazon.com/Lubegard-960...8206409&sprefix=AC+condensor,aps,1418&sr=8-58

 

[Tomm]

Do you have to crawl under the car to get to the drain tube?

 

[Carma]

No. You remove the cabin air filter and
Treat the AC condenser which will be just adjacent to it.
Going in through the drain tube is necessary on cars without easily removed cabin air filters. There are you tube videos of both methods out there.

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