Funky stink from the A/C

Hey guys,
When turning on the A/C there's a foul musty stink that comes from the vents. Is there something that needs replaced, like some sort of filter. I,ve heard of vehicles having cabin filters, but don't know if my 94 has one or if thats even the problem. Thanks in advance.

I don't know how to fix this problem forever, but you can take a can of lysol, spray it in the air intake vents on the hood right by the windshield wipers with the heater fan or a/c fan turned on high and let it circulate for a few minutes and it helps for a long time! I have a '97 caravan that does this, too. hope this helps! Use your favorite scent of lysol...

Good Idea, I'll give that a try. Thanks for your help.

I had the same thing happen to my Stratus (rotten egg smell). The problem originates from having the vent system in your car set to recirculate the air. The dealer wanted over $100.00 dollars to clean it up. I fixed mine by spraying the vents with Spray9. The fumes are pretty strong, so you'll want to make sure that you do it on a day that you can air the car out, but the problem will never return. Also, make sure that you set you system to allow the outside air in instead of recirculating the exisiting cabin air.

I've got an 02 and have that same smell. Did you happen to figure it out? Having just extended my warranty (thankfully after being on this site), I am thinking of putting in a claim.

I was told that the best way to keep that from happening, was to run the a/c periodically, even in winter to keep the system circulated and mold and other crap settling in the system. Good luck.

Try a complete coolant flush, it worked for my other cars.

Well I have to change the heating coil since it was leaking. some time the frion leaks too in the AC coil so it needs to be changed too.
I tried Lysol and other stuff a lot before finally opening the dashboard.
Good Luck

Hey guys,
When turning on the A/C there's a foul musty stink that comes from the vents. Is there something that needs replaced, like some sort of filter. I,ve heard of vehicles having cabin filters, but don't know if my 94 has one or if thats even the problem. Thanks in advance.


Same problem with my plymouth voyager. Turned out to be a leaking evaporator. A/C oil had leaked out onto the insulation thus causing the smell. Had to take down the dash to get to it but well worth it.

I was told that the best way to keep that from happening, was to run the a/c periodically, even in winter to keep the system circulated and mold and other crap settling in the system. Good luck.

The interior of the car needs to be pressurized a little to push the condensate from the A/C out the drain. If the A/C is run in the Recirc mode, that does not happen. The best way I have found to push it out the drain is as I pull into the driveway, I open a window, put the A/C in regular outside air mode, put the blower on high speed and let it run for a few seconds. Then rapidly shut the window, you may even feel the pressure in your ears a little as the car pressurizes. I let it run maybe 10/20 seconds like that and shut it down. Usually there is quite a lot of water puked out the A/C drain. No problems with moldy smells in my last 2 Grand Caravans using that routine. By the way, I never use recirc mode except when maybe following a truck hauling hogs.
Works for me.