A/C Smells Like Vinegar (Not Teen Spirit)

[SCAB]

Had a first date the other day when this issue began (FOR THE FIRST TIME OFCOURSE). She looked at me and I looked at her. She said something smells and I just had to play it cool and say its probably something outside while was blowing directly into her face....I don't think there will be a second date

 

[faultball]

Not sure if someone has tried, never went thru this whole thread yet but I tried takin the cabin filter out then shooting the Lysol in where the cabin filter goes while going thru all the a/c modes with the a/c on. so far so good it's been a week so far.

 

[Oldfart]

Had a first date the other day when this issue began (FOR THE FIRST TIME OFCOURSE). She looked at me and I looked at her. She said something smells and I just had to play it cool and say its probably something outside while was blowing directly into her face....I don't think there will be a second date

I hope you told her it's not your fault she has a stinky snatch!! Tell her to spray some carb cleaner in it once in a while.

 

[mikesalindra]

I checked around and saw similar topics on other forums, not much on FRF. If I missed it, point me that way!

2018 802a with 38K miles. A/C startup blast out vinegar smell - definitely from the A/C. Found some "solutions" to the problem out there "on the line", so far I have tried:

1. new cabin filter (done)
2. find water leaks and clogged A/C drains (done)
3. spray Lysol in exterior vents under wipers with A/C off and fan on high (done)
4. turn off A/C about 5 minutes before arriving at destination to "blow off" condensation around condenser (done for about a week now)

BTW - #4 is a pain-in-the-arse, never had to do this in my FX4.

STILL blasting out the Masengill air freshener. Tired of apologizing to passengers - "gee why does your badass truck smells like a feminine hygiene product?"

Anyone have any fixes for this?

I tried so many different cabin filter starting with Motorcarft and FRAM, but the best one I tried was PUREFLOW. it has 4 filtration stages. Most important it has anti bacterial layer that suppresses the growth of mold and mildew on the filter, which often case those nasty smells. Also added their "Black Rock" air freshener. It snaps right onto the cabin filter and diffuses subtle and crisp scent. it also has odor eliminator that takes away residuals of odors in the system. Check it out https://pureflowair.com/collections/air-freshener

 

[K-Doob]

I had the same issue and disinfecting/flushing my AC/Heater core solved the problem. I followed this guy's solution and it worked great on truck, so great that I used it on all of my cars.

 

[Blkshp18]

Interesting

 

[Oldfart]

I never knew so many truck guys had smelly vaginas!

 

[Sonicsunspot]

We are 3 years in on this post, and I think I have finally conquered the problem. I haven't had the A/C startup smell since I stopped using automatic drive-thru car washes. I think the water was getting blasted down into my vents from the overhead sprayers.

Anyway, I have gone this entire summer with the crazy hot weather and high humidity with zero smell. Only things different are a K&N filter (started using years ago) and avoiding drive-thru car washing.

 

[stevenstommyboy1]

It’s called the Massengil effect.

 

[butts182]

on the third trip to Ford for the vinegar smell (their first 2 attempts did nothing to fix the issue), Ford finally agreed to replace the evaporator in the dashboard. That worked.