Musky odor from the vents

[brian r]

This is pretty common and easy to fix. Ford sells an aerosol product to get rid of it. I had several Fords as company cars and found out about this about 15 years ago. I only bought it once after I found Lysol will work just as well, and you can buy Lysol anywhere. It seems that the original Taurus had a flaw in the ventilation system which caused it to develop bacteria and mold. Rather than redesign it, they found a chemical fix.

1. Start the car. Put the a/c on but do not push the recycle button. You need to draw in outside air.

2. Turn the a/c fan up to the highest setting. Open both doors. (Trust me on this one.)

3. Go to the front of the car and lift the wipers away from the glass. See all of those little slots in the strip in front of the glass? Pick a spot about 1/3 across the strip, and spray for about a 1/2 minute. Go over to the same spot on the other side of the car and spray again.

4. Turn the car off and let it sit for a while. You won't want to drive it anyway until the antibacterial smell goes away.

5. Repeat if necessary-it won't hurt anything, but you should hose off any mist that hits the glass or paint.

[NANCYXRAY]

I don't know if the Smart Car has a cabin filter, but in my Toyota when the smell came I had to replace the cabin filter

[sharonlee]

Originally Posted by caravine

I see this is an old posting, so if this helps..... if you turn off the air conditioning and open the vents before you turn off your ignition, and just let the outside air circulate for a couple minutes, and LEAVE YOUR VENTS OPEN while the car is parked, you don't get the 'stale, mildewy air' smell.

Maybe you've already figured out the solution........

Good luck

Had the same problem with a Saturn. After dealer cleaned it (air con), he told me to do just that...shut off the air con a couple of blocks before I got home and leave only the fan on to dry it out. Foul order never returned.

[sixcrows]

I'm actually glad to see that others have this problem.
I'm getting this odor as well. I have to bring in my smart because the left rear tailgate latch is broken. I'll have them investigate the odor then.

[dingos]

IF you guy's run yourS in a high humidity enviroment, check on the drivers side, next to the shifter, I found that my car in the summer would collect condensation under the floormat, and let me tell ya it STUNK Bad. the carpet would be soak'n wet too. DESIGN FLAW for sure!