Hi all,

My new 2006 A4 Avant 2.0T has developed a real moldy, sharp funky smell. The smell typically is present when I start the car while it's hot outside, and / or if I'm on a long drive in hot weather.

Any suggestions on how to remedy this and / or avoid it in the future?

I live in southern California and the kind of weather we've been having lately really necessitates the A/C being on most of the time. I have tried pushing the "econ" button to shut of the compressor and cooling, but the smell comes back again when I switch the system back to fully automatic.

I guess I'm just surprised that a car that's not yet 2 months old would develop something like this....

 

i doubt its the cabin filter but u can try and turn the heat up all the way to the max and let it vent out for a while
the heat might kill wuts inside your vents

 

Rodent in the system.

Ha ha don't necessarily believe that one, but I have had gopher problems... it is more of a nasty dead smell.

Actually, it is kind of natural for it to smell musty if you have not run your AC for a few weeks and then turn it on. THe best fix is to run the AC for a bit to air it out (or just never stop running your AC.) I mean I have had this problem in every AC'ed car. But it usually goes away after a bit kind of a first time of the season thing. I suppose if your Ac drain tube is clogged or kinked it could build up a nasty funk. If you run your AC for a while, then park the car does it leave a wet spot under the condensor? If yes, your drain works fine.

 

i install and repair auto a/c systems for a living. the reason it smells moldy is because it is moldy a proper working ac system creates condensation on the evaporator. stagnant water is the perfect environment for mold and mildew. especially if your drain is clogged(dirt,leaves,mouse nest,)or if you keep parking up hill this holds water in your heater casing. to be honest with you nothing is really gonna ever get rid of the smell permantly.. try a chemical we use called FRIGIFRESH. spray it in your a/c air intake and with the ac on recirc spray it up under the passengers feet area where it sucks the air from,this usually will work for a while. also dont park under trees or uphill,and change your hepa filters.

 

Audi has a disinfectant they can spray into the ac intake that will kill the smell for awhile. You should always turn off the AC compressor several minutes before turning off the car. This will give the system a chance to dry out so it doesn't grow mold.

 

Well now I know and knowing is half the battle!

For us that live out in the trailer park though, we like the musty smell.

So really if I turned off my AC before I stopped the car it would help? I only run mine like once a year anyway, but for that trip, it would be nice to have a fresh smell.

 

Theres a whole procedure now. First thing to do is to turn the heat on high and put towels over the vents. This is supposed to remove moisture from the system. The use the disinfectant mentioned above.

 

I live in Orlando and had the same problem. I only have 5000 miles on the car but did purchase it at the beginning of summer so I've been working my air conditioning constantly. I took it in to the dealer and they spray the system down with a product called Airsept. It fixed it for now and is supposed to last for a year if done correctly. It was covered under warranty. Here's some information on the exact issue from Audi:

http://dejong947.com/audi/tsb/audi.t...%20bulletin%22