Air con

[Potatoman]

Why does the air con in my car smell 'damp? after a while the smell clears and all is ok.

[Mortartube]

It might be condensation forming in the air vents when you turn the air con off (withthe recent hot weather it's likely). When you restart the air con, the dampness takes a little while to clear.

[BenDToy]

Every car I have had (with a/c that is) has been the same. Generally worse if the air has been switched off for a while, but always there for a little while. Nothing to worry about.

[craigyb85]

I have the same thing happen with mine. And it's a really nasty smell. Almost like urine. Bleugh. But I find it's worst when I turn the air-con off and just use the normal fans. It lasts for ages! Does anyone know a way to prevent it? My Dad has owned Mercs, Jags, etc all with aircon and never had this problem. So there must be a way to prevent it...?

[Rainagain]

This is a common problem. Its caused by water vapour condensing on the evaporator in the system after you've ended your journey whilst using the air con. Best way to avoid it is to switch off air con before ending journey to allow system to return to ambient temperature. There are de-odourant products on the market and basically you just squirt them down the air vents in the dashboard. Shop around, your Dealership will charge you for something you can do yourself!

[tomd]

What car you got craigb85? We had a X-reg Zafira with that problem, took it to the garage and it was leaking coolant. It was more chemical though, smelled quite like window cleaner.