GEN 2 Bad smell in AC system

[lawdog]

Doesnt Ozone eat rubber, vinyl, & leather over time? I had a tire shop tell me my sidewalls were cracking because of Ozone.

Im ordering one of the charcoal cabin filters from Amazon and will soak the AC intakes with Lysol before installing the Cabin filter. No smell yet but want to keep it that way!

I think that's true, but I plan to use it very sparingly, hopefully only once or twice a year. I will probably take the rubber mats out when I do it going forward, though.

 

[Societal]

+1 for using a charcoal filter. I swapped mine and the odor is gone. Plus, it’s great for when you drive past dairies and other smelly places.

This is the one I bought on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GY4G84P/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

 

[lawdog]

Going to post this in both threads on the topic in hopes it helps someone...

I just sold my 2018 back to a dealer here in SC yesterday...smell was back/as bad as ever. None of the stop-gap fixes ever worked for more than 1-2 days. I had complained mightily for years, and opened a case with Ford about this and transmission issues in April. Finally, after this step and making them drive it after being out in the sun, etc., my dealer acknowledged the problem, and recommended to Ford that they replace the evaporator, coils, and some tubing on mine, under the (expired) original warranty. Ford originally agreed, then the ESP Warranty came in and denied, due to an "odors" exclusion. I fought with Ford, saying it was a design/system defect causing the odor, and that the odor was simply the result of the defect, not the defect itself. Ford eventually offered to go 75-25 directly with me on the repair, which was roughly $2k, so I would have paid about $500. They gave me 30 days to accept or re-open the case. I was going to fight with the ESP folks over their incorrect warranty denial, but then decided to just sell the truck back and move on.

I loved my Raptor 97% of the time, but the AC smell, the cam phasers, and the ongoing transmission issues finally led me to take the money in this distorted market. For those of you who have this issue, you CAN get some help from Ford, if you stay after it. Good luck.

 

[Edbert]

The thing is that you have a dirty air conditioner. And it smells terrible because you didn't clean it. You need to call specialists as soon as possible to do a chemical cleaning of your air conditioner. Otherwise, you will continue to breathe this air, which is full of bacteria.

I believe it is mildew and mold more than dirt, but the smells started about halfway through my 1st summer of ownership, I've had other vehicles I kept more than 10 years and never had this happen.

It definitely is caused by the AC, drove it all winter and spring with nothing. And after March 2020 to today I have less than 3,000 miles on it and the smell is gone because I am not running the AC every day.

I did replace my cabin filter, it made things better for a day maybe two, but the odors came back. I'm going to try one of those foam cleaners soon, seems those will be needed annually at minimum since the odors appeared in a brand new truck after about 3 months of AC use.

I'm not afraid of the germs though. I have not been sick in nine years, not even a cold or flu. I think, at least in general, more exposure to germs build one's immune system. The smell is annoying to me, and embarrassing if I have a passenger. Not what one would expect with a ~$70K truck.

 

[LillianShar]

If the air conditioner is running with the tailgate closed, you can leave the window ajar to let in the fresh air, but keep in mind that it shouldn't be on all night.
Also, try installing an air purifier in your car to improve the air quality inside.
Another thing, try using an air purifier with a humidification feature, as a humidifier often leads to foggy windows. If all this doesn't solve your problem and you still get the odor, contact your dealer for an inspection or aircon installation singapore.

 

[quikag]

I will say that Ford has been building cars for what 100 years and they seem to have a significant AC issue (among other things). You'd think they have something as relative old and simple as AC figured out. My '19 smells occasionally too and there isn't a permanent fix that I've identified yet. It's frustrating and embarrassing in 2021 to smell nasty AC smell coming out of a late model vehicle.

 

[Johnkn]

Sounds like the known condensate drain issue. I bet the carpet or backing under the front passenger mat is wet. Easy fix.

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[Oldfart]

You young guys have to learn to roll down the windows when you release some sphincter fog.

 

[lawdog]

You young guys have to learn to roll down the windows when you release some sphincter fog.

How many times are you going to make this same, lame/"stale" joke? This is a legitimate issue on many of these trucks, and contributed to me getting rid of mine.

 

[Johnkn]

How many times are you going to make this same, lame/"stale" joke? This is a legitimate issue on many of these trucks, and contributed to me getting rid of mine.

Appears you should have addressed your condensate line issue..... and OldFart will never give up. ;^)

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