I recently purchased my 07 997 C2S and notice that I am getting a musty smell from the vents especially when the AC is on. What should I check? Is there a clever way to eliminate the musty smell?

The car is still under factory warranty and is CPO also, so I suppose I could take it in, but if there is an easy fix, I'd rather do that myself than waste time at the dealer.

Thanks!

 

I just had my car in for the annual oil change and first brake fluid change ( only 5200 miles and two years old. while being serviced they informed me that there was a mouse nest in the cabin filter area. They cleaned it up and replaced the filter element. This could be your situation or perhaps, do you drive with the A/C on recycle? You should enable fresh air to get in there.

 

Like stated above, I would start with changing cabin filter.

 

There was supposedly a tech bulletin on an '07 adhesive that causes a musty smell on the heater evap/core or something. I'm not quite sure what that is or does...but I have something similar going on with my Volvo. We had a really warm, humid summer and now my vents stink.

I saw this on 6speed earlier. (Search for "musty")

"...
1. Replace filters (done)
2. Spray disinfectant into vents (done)
3. Wurth Foaming Evap Core treatment
4. R&R Evap Core , put in 5gal container of chemical treatment
5. Replace Evap Core

Using your heater, using the recirc feature off/on at times, will help it not occur again.

Here in Texas, we do alot of annual a/c treatments to prevent the odor from happening...."

 

Take it in immediatley!!! Could be mold that u r breathin in.

 

Thanks for the replies!

 

I've had the car in the shop 2 times for this. The first time they sprayed disinfectant into the vents and changed the filter. Smell came back in a few months. Last time they (different dealer) replaced the heater box and said there was a bulletin out on the adhesive that was used. Worked great for a few months but the smell from the vents is back. The next path is to use some of the aftermarket cleaning kits.

Maybe I should sell it and get a turbo instead.... now there's a shot at justifying an upgrade if I've ever heard of one. :-)

 

In searching for bad smell vents I found your posting, my 08 Cayenne had this problem when it was purchased certified last year. It took them a week to take apart the whole right fender assembly to clean out the mess that included some feathers. The attempts to spay Lysol and replace cabin filter didn't work at first. The work was covered the first time since it was a FIX IT - request when purchasing the car.

The smell has started to return again the last few weeks after turning off the the car with AC on and sit for 1/2 a day. According to my Porsche service adviser, if they needed to do the same work again, it may not be covered. My car is in the garage 90% of the time and has not been driven to any snow or bad weather conditions. Only 4K miles driven the past year.

I spayed a good amount of windex in the drain port - center channel for the water (below windshield - between wippers) and followed with 4 cups of water. The next morning, I check the smell of my washer fluid tank and it smelled simular to the rotten eggs smell with cleaning chemicals. So I drained all of the wisher fluid by press the wipper swich (Headlights - windshield front and back) - ran water down the windshield to flush way the old washer fluid from the car. Put some of the cheap blue / green windshield fluid and so far after one day fixed the issue.

 

To those who have reported a musty smell, is it a constant odor for a lengthy time or only shortly when you first start up the car? Mine is the latter case - the odor is gone after about 5 seconds of A/C. I didn't concern myself too much since it disappeared so quickly, but now I'm beginning to wonder if it is a prelude to something else. I noticed it about 2 months ago for the first time.

 

The smell was only shortly after starting the engine after sitting for a few hours. The hotter the day, the worse it smelled. It would really stink with one foul burst when I first bought the car.

I suggest you take a smell of your washer fluid tank. Because I don't drive this car often and maybe the foul washer fluid from spraying my dirty windshield may have built up in the fender near the air box. But that doesn't explain why only the problem happens after turning the car off with A/C on. I will fire the car up when I get home in a few hours to see if there is any smell.

 

Well know within the automotive OEM and Tier-1 supplier community, HVAC-odor impacts both foreign and domestic alike
Root-cause centers on odor caused by fungus, bacteria and other microbes growing inside the evaporator core, a moisture-laden environment conducive to organism-growth. While endemic to AC-systems, vehicle weight, cost and efficiency drivers have resulted in ever-more compact (e.g. increased fin-density) heat exchangers more prone to moisture-trap.
To address the issue post-sale, OEM’s offer mechanical solutions like Ford’s Purge Module (PN# F8ZX-19980-AA) or GM’s Electronic Evaporator Dryer (EED) while their newer systems increasingly incorporate a coating process to retard organism-growth.
The aftermarket offers a range of options including in-system mechanical solutions similar to those offered by the OEM’s, aerosol spray-solutions, liquid coating-solutions and evaporative “mist” solutions
The Cabin Air Sanitizing Service (CASS) is designed to eliminate mold and mildew – often the cause of an odor best described as a “wet earth/musty” smell – from a vehicle’s climate control system
CASS utilizes a fine mist – significantly smaller than aerosol droplets – allowing them to remain airborne longer and travel further
Using the vehicle’s own climate control system , micro-droplets are drawn into the intake vents, penetrating and treating the entire system, including the evaporator, heater core and air-ducts
CASS will eliminates odors as well as leaves the interior of the vehicle feeling fresher than before the service
The aftermarket offers a range of options including in-system mechanical solutions similar to those offered by the OEM’s, aerosol spray-solutions, liquid coating-solutions and evaporative “mist” solutions