Musty interior smell

stuart · 26-10-2011, 09:55 PM

My MA Mondeo is in to the dealer tomorrow to hunt down a possible leak somewhere in the body or heating system. I read a forum query from four years ago in the UK where there were heater matrix problems leaking water under the carpet. It definitely smells like musty carpet.

Anyone else with a similar (bad) experience?

Dusty1 · 26-10-2011, 10:40 PM

Could be from the A/C pipe. I had mine back up in my BA and it stank.

Could also be wet carpet in the boot from water entry?

Make sure you give the dealer the info you've gathered from O/S, as they might not know about it.

stuart · 27-10-2011, 12:35 AM

Thanks for the advice Dusty1. I did suggest possibilities when I rang to book but I will give a friendly reminder.
Cheers

DRU842 · 27-10-2011, 07:33 AM

Had this issue with my MA early on; noticed my foot getting cold & wet on the foot rest! Was traced to the condensation overflowing from the A/C piping behind the dash. Fixed & never reoccurred.

NZ XR6 · 27-10-2011, 11:08 AM

I used to feel the occasional drip of water on my left foot when driving in summer. Now I know why...

stuart · 28-10-2011, 12:17 AM

Well nothing dramatic to report from the check today. They cleared all the drainage holes and found nothing wrong with heater or aircon pipes/seals etc. I do park outside during the day at work, airport etc but rarely under trees. At home the mondy sits comfy in the garage.
Ford put some 'nice' smelling stuff in the interior to mask the pong and sent me on my way.
Time will tell . . . .

Yellow_Festiva · 28-10-2011, 12:30 AM

I had the same issue. Although I did find a leak the smell had nothing to do with the leak. I was wearing a hoody goin for a run and got stuck out in a downpour. The sweaty jumper was then soaked through by the time o got back to the car.

Threw the jumper on the back seat thinking I will take it out when I got home. Left it there by accident for almost a week to cook in the sun and the water that seeped into my seat turned rancid. Bad case of foot odour mixed with bad BO and musty stench all combined.

Happened 3 months ago, and the smell is still there (getting weaker each week however). The first few weeks was almost unbearable in the cabin.

Have you left something wet in the car and it has 'gone off'??

Flash635 · 28-10-2011, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuart

Well nothing dramatic to report from the check today. They cleared all the drainage holes and found nothing wrong with heater or aircon pipes/seals etc. I do park outside during the day at work, airport etc but rarely under trees. At home the mondy sits comfy in the garage.
Ford put some 'nice' smelling stuff in the interior to mask the pong and sent me on my way.
Time will tell . . . .

One of the things many people miss is the A/C intake filter, it can get pretty ripe with mould. More likely the evaporator core though.

You can get a solar powered fan/vent thing that you wind your window up on to and it sits there all day fanning and ventilating your car as long as the sun shines.

apstar · 28-10-2011, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flash635

One of the things many people miss is the A/C intake filter, it can get pretty ripe with mould. More likely the evaporator core though.

You can get a solar powered fan/vent thing that you wind your window up on to and it sits there all day fanning and ventilating your car as long as the sun shines.

My MA Mondeo default the vents to open after a time period after I switch off the engine, something I have to remember when re-starting the car with the air-con on to press the recycle button back on!

apstar

stuart · 28-10-2011, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I had the same issue. Although I did find a leak the smell had nothing to do with the leak. I was wearing a hoody goin for a run and got stuck out in a downpour. The sweaty jumper was then soaked through by the time o got back to the car.

Threw the jumper on the back seat thinking I will take it out when I got home. Left it there by accident for almost a week to cook in the sun and the water that seeped into my seat turned rancid. Bad case of foot odour mixed with bad BO and musty stench all combined.

Happened 3 months ago, and the smell is still there (getting weaker each week however). The first few weeks was almost unbearable in the cabin.

Have you left something wet in the car and it has 'gone off'??

Couple of times I have thrown a very wet umbrella on the passenger side floor but not wet enough to entirely soak the mats.

The passenger side door door seal at the bottom does collect water in the rain. My missus has had a nasty surprise when opening the door - especially wearing sandals! It has always been quite entertaining to see the amount collected. Maybe with one of the downpours the water in the door seal may have sneaked into the footwell area - or maybe it is in the door itself.

Russ · 28-10-2011, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuart

Couple of times I have thrown a very wet umbrella on the passenger side floor but not wet enough to entirely soak the mats.

The passenger side door door seal at the bottom does collect water in the rain. My missus has had a nasty surprise when opening the door - especially wearing sandals! It has always been quite entertaining to see the amount collected. Maybe with one of the downpours the water in the door seal may have sneaked into the footwell area - or maybe it is in the door itself.

Don't rule out a leak in the windscreen somewhere either, it's not uncommon. Easy way to check is to run the hose all around the top and sides of the screen whilst some one sticks there head up under the dash with a torch and looks and feels for drips, it will probably be easier if you have a very small friend or know a contortionist who can help you out as it's a bit cramped in there

stuart · 28-10-2011, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

Don't rule out a leak in the windscreen somewhere either, it's not uncommon. Easy way to check is to run the hose all around the top and sides of the screen whilst some one sticks there head up under the dash with a torch and looks and feels for drips, it will probably be easier if you have a very small friend or know a contortionist who can help you out as it's a bit cramped in there

Thanks for the tip but I don't need a hose - it is raining now and my car is outside due to garage full of our funiture (painting inside).
Do you know the number of a midget with a torch?

Hopefully my friends at Ford checked it already. Otherwise I might be back there next week.

Russ · 28-10-2011, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuart

Do you know the number of a midget with a torch?

I don't know his number but I know of a midget with a torch, he's a got a bit of an attitude though

stuart · 29-10-2011, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russ

I don't know his number but I know of a midget with a torch, he's a got a bit of an attitude though

image

Thanks for the reference but I think he has something up his nose already!!!

Russ · 29-10-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuart

Thanks for the reference but I think he has something up his nose already!!!

That's probably what's giving him an attitude

Flash635 · 01-11-2011, 01:19 AM

Have you got a sunroof?
Fill the car up with water through the sunroof and watch for where it comes out.

apstar · 01-11-2011, 03:39 PM

No,no,no this is the way to do it!

http://www.caradvice.com.au/141021/h...cars-interior/

apstar

Scaffy · 02-11-2011, 03:17 AM

We have an almost vinegar like smell if running the aircon, then switching aircon off, leaving just the fan blowing. Anyone else experienced this?

DRU842 · 02-11-2011, 07:56 AM

Could be a leak in the aircon. Some of the non-CFC gasses have an ammonia smell.

Scaffy · 03-11-2011, 10:28 PM

When the aircon is running, there's no smell. Only after it is turned off, the smell comes through the system. When the missus had it in for the service, she mentioned it to them and they said they had to do some flush, of which I don't remember the cost, but it was rediculous. I thought wtf can they flush anyway? I was away, so didn't get to question them about it myself.

stuart · 18-11-2011, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apstar

No,no,no this is the way to do it!

http://www.caradvice.com.au/141021/h...cars-interior/

apstar

It must be a German taxi after someone asked have you got room for a six-pack and a pizza

Mackspower · 19-11-2011, 07:57 AM

Quote:

My MA Mondeo default the vents to open after a time period after I switch off the engine, something I have to remember when re-starting the car with the air-con on to press the recycle button back on!

apstar

Does this mean you always use the recycle setting? My understanding is that's not a great idea in a closed system . . . the carbon dioxide levels in your cabin will build up noticably.

msford · 24-11-2011, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mackspower

Does this mean you always use the recycle setting? My understanding is that's not a great idea in a closed system . . . the carbon dioxide levels in your cabin will build up noticably.

I had the same complaint that apstar had, that the vent defaults to open and I always have to put the recycle back on. I thought for the purposes of air con performance that it was best to keep the outside hot air from coming in when you're trying to keep the interior cool. A bit like your home/office air con; it is not recommended to run it with windows/doors open. Of course, it may be a little different in a car because you are enclosed whereas a home/office air con has return air grilles to refresh/replace the air whereas I am not sure if a car does so you may have a really good point there. I would be interested to know what is the proper/safer thing to do in a car air con situation, if anyone knows.

apstar · 24-11-2011, 01:02 PM

Well I find the performance of the air-con is much better on recycle,there is the rear vents to extract stale air out and on long trips with no other vehicle in front I switch to vent to open for a few minutes [or if someone lets on off

] but gee on a very hot day the air-con will be flat chat trying to cool that hot air quickly and if you are behind a bus or truck do you really want their exhaust JMHO

apstar

stuart · 16-12-2011, 09:22 AM

Well I had the pleasure of attending the Werribee races on the weekend. Hot and steamy in a marquee, cruising until just after race two. The birthday girl celebrated winning the quinella on the race then we heard the thunder.
The heavens opened and wind threatened to blow us away. Hail and icy rain bucketed down and seeped/gushed into the tent. We bailed out and the races were cancelled.

Jumped in my Mondi and noticed the top of the front driver side pillar dripping with water - well at least I found the leak that Ford couldn't.

Visiting Ford on Monday for check and replacement of the sunroof seal/thingy.

More to follow.

stuart · 20-12-2011, 12:52 AM

Well problem identified and solved today at Ford.

A more thorough inspection (than last time) revealed that one of the four sunroof drain tubes had a kink in it that restricted water flow.

When experiencing a heavy downpour the tube backed up with water and flowed back into the car interior. Ford say they took out the kink and it should now be fine.

I hope so too.

NZ XR6 · 20-12-2011, 01:24 AM

Great that you've got that sorted. "Thorough inspection" and "Ford service" are phrases that don't seem to go together in Oz...