A/C - Unpleasant Odor From Air Conditioning Vents

Date: March 26, 2008

Order No.: S-B-83.00/115

Supersedes:

Group: 83

SUBJECT:
All Model 164, 171, 203, 204, 209, 211, 215, 216, 219, 220, 221, 230 and 251

Vehicles Unpleasant Odor from Air Conditioning Vents

If you receive customer reports in the above model vehicles of an unpleasant odor coming from the air conditioning vents, the cause may not be the air conditioning system, but an odor being circulated in the air and then perceived as coming from the air conditioning system. In the event of odor complaints, always determine whether the odor is caused by the air conditioning system, by items in the interior compartment, or by smells from the environment. To accurately identify odors, please reference the Odor Diagnostic Tree found on Star TekInfo --> EDAC --> Non EDAC Guides --> Vehicle Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Manual.

Note:
All filters installed in the air conditioning system must be replaced in the event of an odor complaint.

Please see below for specific odor complaints and their corresponding remedies:

1. A "damp air or musty odor just after engine start" is due to the moisture that accumulates at the evaporator and gets absorbed by the air in the evaporator housing when the blower is shut off. When the blower is activated again, the damp air is carried into the interior compartment within the first few minutes. There is no fix for this, as this is due to various laws of physics. Please explain this to the customer.

2. For odors coming from the interior that are intensified in air recirculation mode, check the vehicle interior for foreign objects, contamination or vapors. For example:

^ Food leftovers

^ Spilt fluids

^ Air outlets (e.g. for fluids that may have entered)

^ Cigarette smell/ashtrays

^ Animal hairs

^ Shoes/clothing

^ Air fresheners

^ Interior (e.g. instrument panel, door rubber seals)

^ Damping mats/materials (e.g. on firewall, transmission tunnel, spare tire well, doors) refer to Star TekInfo document P-B-94.20/05c (or latest version)

3. Odor of chlorine/rotten eggs: Check for leaks in the bodywork, fumes entering from the engine compartment or outside environmental sources while driving. Try to obtain ambient condition information from the customer when the complaint occurs.

4. Musty/moldy odor, refer to Star TekInfo document P-B-83.30/74j (or latest version) and T-B-83.30/91c (or latest version).