AC Smells Bad-Mazda CX 5

aman1033

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Mazda CX-5 Toruning 2013
HI,
I have Mazda CX-5, whenever i turn on my AC, first 5 min, air smells so bad after its come back to normal, I never get problem when i use heat on my car, I change cabin Filter, I used lysol antiseptic spray on my in air vet, it work for 1 week but again my AC start smell bad, any solution,
some one told me that i have to form spray system, but do not know how to use that
 
I just used my AC for the first time of the season the other day, no smell whatsoever while the AC was on. However, after turning the AC off for about 10 minutes, the car smelled bad for about 2 minutes (had to open the windows). Is it normal? Is it something that only happen initially and will go away eventually?
 
OP you could have a plugged AC drain or partly plugged causing condensation to be retained in the system rather than draining out and drying up.
 
Sadly some systems are prone to develop moist spots that cause bacteria to grow and cause this smell. My last car, a Yaris, was particularly bad at this. The Mazda not so much. However to avoid this you can set the AC to fresh air every so often and use the heater in recirculation mode once a week to keep the system as dry as possible. Right now you can use half a can of Lysol under the glovebox with the system on recirculation and high heat low fan speed. Then set the speed to med-hi while on max heat and let it run for 5-10 minutes with the windows down. Do this at home so you don't have to suffer the heat. This will dry the system and kill the bacteria.

Sometimes if its raining, very common down here, I set the system to a not so cold temp but set the fan to high so there is a bit of circulation through the heater core which will dry out the air inside the cabin to avoid that awful musty smell.

Hope it helps.
 
I run heat on high for 10 to 20 seconds before shutdown to get rid of any dampness in the ducts. It's never failed me on any of my cars in 20 years.
 
I always turn off my a/c a couple min before I get to my destination but keep the fan going, and set to fresh. Not sure if it makes a difference but never had a smell problem in my cars.
 
I always turn off my a/c a couple min before I get to my destination but keep the fan going, and set to fresh. Not sure if it makes a difference but never had a smell problem in my cars.

I've done this exact same thing on all my cars and I've never had AC rot. That smell is so foul I do everything to prevent it. Shutting the car off immediately after AC has been running for a while then starting up with the AC running and doing this over and over will build up moisture in the system creating spots for bacteria to grow. If you don't allow moisture the chance to build up and sit in your AC system you will never get the funk.
 
I never run my system (on any car) on recirculate--always on fresh air. Around here, if you run the system on recirculate all winter you'll have extreme interior condensation to deal with.
 
Anyone happens to know where the ac drain is located?

It's usually on the front passenger side near the wheel. Have the car running with the A/C on and see if you can see a little stream of water falling on the ground. If you're drain is clogged you may not get any water. In that case it may start dripping into the car on the passenger side. Pull down the carpet on the passenger side under the dash and see if there's any evidence of water. If it's partially plugged you may be able to unplug it with a straight coat hangar of sturdy piece of wire.
 
Anyone happens to know where the ac drain is located?

I seem to remember it being low on the firewall, just a rubber grommet with a small stub of vinyl tubing sticking out...

The trick for the AC smell is to turn the AC off a minute before you stop the car, so that the still running blower fan can "DRY" out the moisture on the frosty wet coil.
 
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