pretty annoying.. air vents + smell
10-23-2012, 09:51 PM
#1
Racer
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pretty annoying.. air vents + smell
I notice that when i'm in the freeway/highway or driving >40ish mph, that air comes out of my air vents even though it says "OFF" on the air conditioning...
the faster i go, the harder the air comes in. I have my fan setting on temperature HI, so the air that comes in (even though it is OFF) is hot. If i turn on the fan, put the temp down, then turn it off, the vent will continue blowing in cold air.
basically, even though my fan setting is OFF, the vent blows in air from the outside.
Kind of like how on older cars, if you move the switch from recirculating air to fresh air, air comes in from vents even though your fan is off until you move the switch back to re-circ and it stops.
how do i fix it so it stops blowing air when off? i tried turning the fan on, hitting the re-circulating button, waiting for 5 seconds and turning it off. no dice - still blows in air...
also, when i DO turn on the fan only, not AC, the smell that comes in is pretty gnarly.. not like burning rubber or exhaust or anything, but like old rotten spoiling smells haha
will it go away if I change the air filter?
the faster i go, the harder the air comes in. I have my fan setting on temperature HI, so the air that comes in (even though it is OFF) is hot. If i turn on the fan, put the temp down, then turn it off, the vent will continue blowing in cold air.
basically, even though my fan setting is OFF, the vent blows in air from the outside.
Kind of like how on older cars, if you move the switch from recirculating air to fresh air, air comes in from vents even though your fan is off until you move the switch back to re-circ and it stops.
how do i fix it so it stops blowing air when off? i tried turning the fan on, hitting the re-circulating button, waiting for 5 seconds and turning it off. no dice - still blows in air...
also, when i DO turn on the fan only, not AC, the smell that comes in is pretty gnarly.. not like burning rubber or exhaust or anything, but like old rotten spoiling smells haha
will it go away if I change the air filter?
Last edited by SubzeroX; 10-23-2012 at 10:17 PM.
10-24-2012, 09:32 AM
#3
If you don't want air from the outside you press the recirc button. It sounds like you did this, but then turned it back off...Just leave it on to block external air. With the fan off and the vent closed you shouldn't get any airflow.
10-24-2012, 01:04 PM
#6
Race Director
I notice that when i'm in the freeway/highway or driving >40ish mph, that air comes out of my air vents even though it says "OFF" on the air conditioning...
the faster i go, the harder the air comes in. I have my fan setting on temperature HI, so the air that comes in (even though it is OFF) is hot. If i turn on the fan, put the temp down, then turn it off, the vent will continue blowing in cold air.
basically, even though my fan setting is OFF, the vent blows in air from the outside.
Kind of like how on older cars, if you move the switch from recirculating air to fresh air, air comes in from vents even though your fan is off until you move the switch back to re-circ and it stops.
how do i fix it so it stops blowing air when off? i tried turning the fan on, hitting the re-circulating button, waiting for 5 seconds and turning it off. no dice - still blows in air...
also, when i DO turn on the fan only, not AC, the smell that comes in is pretty gnarly.. not like burning rubber or exhaust or anything, but like old rotten spoiling smells haha
will it go away if I change the air filter?
the faster i go, the harder the air comes in. I have my fan setting on temperature HI, so the air that comes in (even though it is OFF) is hot. If i turn on the fan, put the temp down, then turn it off, the vent will continue blowing in cold air.
basically, even though my fan setting is OFF, the vent blows in air from the outside.
Kind of like how on older cars, if you move the switch from recirculating air to fresh air, air comes in from vents even though your fan is off until you move the switch back to re-circ and it stops.
how do i fix it so it stops blowing air when off? i tried turning the fan on, hitting the re-circulating button, waiting for 5 seconds and turning it off. no dice - still blows in air...
also, when i DO turn on the fan only, not AC, the smell that comes in is pretty gnarly.. not like burning rubber or exhaust or anything, but like old rotten spoiling smells haha
will it go away if I change the air filter?
I have no experience with the manual A/C system and it may be different.
For the smell sometimes -- my experience anyhow -- is changing the cabin air filter (and using another activated charcol type) makes the smell go away.
In some cases though -- which I have avoided by practicing what I've been told and what appears to be based on my results good A/C hygiene -- the smell arises from mold/mildew that can grow mainly on the evaporator or in that surrounding area. This growth can arise from leaving the car parked with the A/C having been run right up until the engine is shut off which leaves the evaporator and other surfaces of A/C damp which is an attractive place for mold/mildew spores to take root.
This can be made worse by if there is a tray that collects water dripping from the evaporator and a drain to remove the water if this tray collects water and becomes stinky from a bocked tray drain.
If the smell arises from deeper down than the cabin filter it is more work to deal with. Sometimes cleaners can be sprayed in but this is only a temp solution and can make the cabin smell like someone spilled a bottle of Lysol or bleach in the car.
The best solution though the most expensive is to have this area opened up and cleaned and wiped down and then try to practice good A/C hygiene and try to dry the system out before parking the car.
Also, another source of the smell can be water (or just damp plant trash/litter) in the drain basins under the front trunk lid under the panels on either side of the battery cover.
These collect plant/leaf trash and litter and if not cleaned out periodically can smell. In severe cases rain or wash water can back up and overflow into the cabin and then you have to deal with the issues arising from electronics getting damp.
You can check the drains easily enough and deal with what you find. You can replace the cabin air filter and then see if the smell remains.
If it does then you have to decided what to do about the cuase of that.
Sincerely,
Macster.
10-24-2012, 01:34 PM
#7
Drifting
I notice that when i'm in the freeway/highway or driving >40ish mph, that air comes out of my air vents even though it says "OFF" on the air conditioning...
the faster i go, the harder the air comes in.
SLOW DOWN..??
I have my fan setting on temperature HI, so the air that comes in (even though it is OFF) is hot. If i turn on the fan, put the temp down, then turn it off, the vent will continue blowing in cold air.
basically, even though my fan setting is OFF, the vent blows in air from the outside.
Kind of like how on older cars, if you move the switch from recirculating air to fresh air, air comes in from vents even though your fan is off until you move the switch back to re-circ and it stops.
how do i fix it so it stops blowing air when off? i tried turning the fan on, hitting the re-circulating button, waiting for 5 seconds and turning it off. no dice - still blows in air...
also, when i DO turn on the fan only, not AC, the smell that comes in is pretty gnarly.. not like burning rubber or exhaust or anything, but like old rotten spoiling smells haha
will it go away if I change the air filter?
the faster i go, the harder the air comes in.
SLOW DOWN..??
I have my fan setting on temperature HI, so the air that comes in (even though it is OFF) is hot. If i turn on the fan, put the temp down, then turn it off, the vent will continue blowing in cold air.
basically, even though my fan setting is OFF, the vent blows in air from the outside.
Kind of like how on older cars, if you move the switch from recirculating air to fresh air, air comes in from vents even though your fan is off until you move the switch back to re-circ and it stops.
how do i fix it so it stops blowing air when off? i tried turning the fan on, hitting the re-circulating button, waiting for 5 seconds and turning it off. no dice - still blows in air...
also, when i DO turn on the fan only, not AC, the smell that comes in is pretty gnarly.. not like burning rubber or exhaust or anything, but like old rotten spoiling smells haha
will it go away if I change the air filter?
The best you can do is put the system in the defrost/defog/demist mode and thereby "baffle" (2 180 degree reversals of incoming airflow) the air inflow somewhat.
But. Are you complaining about the airflow itself or it being HOT...??
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10-24-2012, 01:45 PM
#8
Drifting
With auto climate A/C when I turn the fan speed to off no air comes out of the vents no matter how fast i drive.
I have no experience with the manual A/C system and it may be different.
For the smell sometimes -- my experience anyhow -- is changing the cabin air filter (and using another activated charcol type) makes the smell go away.
In some cases though -- which I have avoided by practicing what I've been told and what appears to be based on my results good A/C hygiene -- the smell arises from mold/mildew that can grow mainly on the evaporator or in that surrounding area. This growth can arise from leaving the car parked with the A/C having been run right up until the engine is shut off which leaves the evaporator and other surfaces of A/C damp which is an attractive place for mold/mildew spores to take root.
This can be made worse by if there is a tray that collects water dripping from the evaporator and a drain to remove the water if this tray collects water and becomes stinky from a bocked tray drain.
If the smell arises from deeper down than the cabin filter it is more work to deal with. Sometimes cleaners can be sprayed in but this is only a temp solution and can make the cabin smell like someone spilled a bottle of Lysol or bleach in the car.
The best solution though the most expensive is to have this area opened up and cleaned and wiped down and then try to practice good A/C hygiene and try to dry the system out before parking the car.
Also, another source of the smell can be water (or just damp plant trash/litter) in the drain basins under the front trunk lid under the panels on either side of the battery cover.
These collect plant/leaf trash and litter and if not cleaned out periodically can smell. In severe cases rain or wash water can back up and overflow into the cabin and then you have to deal with the issues arising from electronics getting damp.
You can check the drains easily enough and deal with what you find. You can replace the cabin air filter and then see if the smell remains.
If it does then you have to decided what to do about the cuase of that.
Sincerely,
Macster.
I have no experience with the manual A/C system and it may be different.
For the smell sometimes -- my experience anyhow -- is changing the cabin air filter (and using another activated charcol type) makes the smell go away.
In some cases though -- which I have avoided by practicing what I've been told and what appears to be based on my results good A/C hygiene -- the smell arises from mold/mildew that can grow mainly on the evaporator or in that surrounding area. This growth can arise from leaving the car parked with the A/C having been run right up until the engine is shut off which leaves the evaporator and other surfaces of A/C damp which is an attractive place for mold/mildew spores to take root.
This can be made worse by if there is a tray that collects water dripping from the evaporator and a drain to remove the water if this tray collects water and becomes stinky from a bocked tray drain.
If the smell arises from deeper down than the cabin filter it is more work to deal with. Sometimes cleaners can be sprayed in but this is only a temp solution and can make the cabin smell like someone spilled a bottle of Lysol or bleach in the car.
The best solution though the most expensive is to have this area opened up and cleaned and wiped down and then try to practice good A/C hygiene and try to dry the system out before parking the car.
Also, another source of the smell can be water (or just damp plant trash/litter) in the drain basins under the front trunk lid under the panels on either side of the battery cover.
These collect plant/leaf trash and litter and if not cleaned out periodically can smell. In severe cases rain or wash water can back up and overflow into the cabin and then you have to deal with the issues arising from electronics getting damp.
You can check the drains easily enough and deal with what you find. You can replace the cabin air filter and then see if the smell remains.
If it does then you have to decided what to do about the cuase of that.
Sincerely,
Macster.
Your A/C evaporator normally operates as close to freezing, ~33F, as is feasible. So, absent a LOT of warming airflow through it, it might take up to an hour for that temperature to rise to the point wherein the thin film of condensate still adhering to the ~10,000 square inches of evaporator vane surface begins to evaporate.....BUT REMAIN WITHIN THE A/C PLENUM AREA.
The short term answer...lower the windows slightly each and EVERY night.
The Lexus LS400 series has a UV light mounted within the A/C plenum area in order to combat the growth of these microbes.
