| bshevchuk |
| I have an 05 Pilot and there is some strange odor coming from vents when i turn the fan speed up. it seems like it gets worse when i turn on ac. does anybody know where the air intake for the ventilation system is? maybe something is there that is causing the smell? |
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| ericsgr |
Do a search for odor, vents and you should get a ton of info. That is a common problem with the Pilot. The air intake is just under the windshield outside the car.
Make sure you change your cabin air filter too............but that doesnt always stop it. |
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| bshevchuk |
| i did a search for odor, vents, and only got 2 threads. i already replaced cabin air filter. this there someplace where water sits in the intake? appreciate any help. |
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| demp |
I had same problem with our 05 (really bad!). Never found cause before it was wrecked and replaced with 07. It has the problem also though not quite as bad. Still haven't found cause so I just spray Lysol into air intake with fan running. This helps for awhile. Longer car sits in direct sun the worse it is. Sometimes sickening. I remember Accords in 94 or so had similar problem. It was mold forming in the evaporator. So far my dealer says they haven't heard of this before on Pilot.
PS. The air intake is on driver side at base of windshield. Raise hood to see it. Black plastic piece across cowl with holes only on driver side. |
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| NJGuy |
The ventilation system should have a drain hole/tube to allow condensation to drip out. The first thing to do is check if it is clogged. The easiest way to check is to run your A/C as you normally do during a very humid day. After you turn the car off and park it, you should see some water dripping and forming a small puddle under your car within a few minutes. If you don't, then you most likely have a completely clogged drain. However, even if it does drip it still may be partially clogged. I've never really had this problem, so I can't say how to go about fixing it. Doesn't seem that hard to do though.
To avoid having a musty odor in my A/C system, I operate it a certain way when I do use it.
1. I usually try to keep it in recirculating mode. That way, only the humidity in the cabin is condensed. Keeping it in fresh air mode will continually draw in the humidity from the outside air, and therefore bring more moisture in the system.
2. A few minutes before I reach my destination, I turn the A/C to "off", set the mode to fresh air, and run the fan at or close to max. This helps warm up the cooling coils/fins in the vent system, which will help prevent more water condensing on them.
3. I also make sure that when the car is parked I keep the system set to fresh air mode (which I do in step 2); this is to allow any moisture in the system to evaporate while the car is not in use. Keeping it in recirculating air mode while the car is parked traps the moisture in the vent system, thereby promoting mold growth.
These steps may help alleviate the problem with the odor but may not completely solve it. There are other factors involved such as where you live, how humid it typically gets, the dust & pollen concentration in the air, etc. Also, the openings in the air intake are fairly large and lots of things can get in there. Don't be surprised if you find a small rodent or animal there; there have been some recent posts here reporting that issue.
If you haven't tried these techniques, I suggest you give them a whirl and see if they help any. Good luck. |
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| youbetcha |
| I hope you don't have a dead mouse in your A/C. |
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