The air that comes out of my fans smells musty and just really bad to be honest,
i have researched it and believe that they never fitted cabin filters on the z3? its a 2.0 2000 model if it makes any difference.
I work part time at halfords whilst i am at uni so got one of the air con cleaner aerosols from work and this seemed to work for about a day or 2 and now its back to how it used to be
anyone else had this problem and or know how i can solve it? not too bad whilst we have this sun and the top is down but not looking forward to the winter if it still smells
Nope no cabin filters on any Z3's.
If it's a musty smell it must be something damp or has been damp, trapped in the vent ducting or around the blower motor.. probably rotting leafs from trees or something like mildew in the ducting...... you can spray some VERY VERY dilute bleach water in the vents using a spray bottle..... after an hour or so put the heat on high and the blower on full.. open all the vents in turn and let the blower and heat dry the ducting out........ do you have air con? & does it smell musty when the air con is on? if you have air con and it's on do you notice a little pool of water underneath the car if no pool of water when the air con has been running for a while then you have a blocked drain pipe from the air con that could be the cause of the damp smell? Air conditioning removes the moisture from the air in the car, that moisture has to go somewhere and it is usually down a drain tube........unless it's blocked.!
If you have air con, make sure that the condensate drain is not blocked - does the car drip from the below the heater onto the road?
In any case, smells are a sign of bacteria growth which can even produce Legionnaires Disease. Every year I use VW air con treatment, a 2-pack kit with an aerosol to spray down the vents, and another to disinfect the heater matrix etc/ Lock it on and leave the car with the hood and windows up, fan on full speed, and if you have it, the air con on recirculation. I use one pack twice, and it is fine.
will check the drain pipe tomorrow and see if it drips at all.
otherwise is it easy to gain access to where there may be leaves etc rotting away? :/
yeah i tried one of the lock on spray with the roof and windows up and ar con on recirculate but it only worked for a day so must be a deeper lying problem
Turning it off allows bacteria to grow and will smell musty. Just leave it on all the time.
Turning it off will dry the seals as well, and you will then get leaks.
Try the washer jets. Common problem on cars used only in summer, the water can sit in there for years.
Worth running it all through and refilling with fresh water and windscreen wash in any case
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