Zeemz

Riding home yesterday from work yesterday (in my 98 integra). I had the AC on because the humidity was killing me. I was using the Recirculate Air function on the vents with the AC. When i got in my car this morning, and went to work I turned the vents back to Fresh Air instead of Recirculate and turned the AC off. I noticed that the air coming out of the vents was very smelly...almost musty/moldy. Im pretty sure this is from the build up of the condensation in the vents using the recirculating air, but i have never had this happen before. Sometimes my POS jetta did this back in highschool. I also rode all the way to work (25 minutes) with the windows and sun roof open, with the vents on High/fresh air, and it still smelled when i got to work.

I don't use my AC that often, for power/gas reasons. When I do its because its absolutely discussting outside. My car/AC unit is begining to feel its age, does anyone know if this SMELL is caused by using the Recirculate function? If so is there anything I can do to fix it? It cools my car so much better then the fresh air function.

QUIKAG

You should run the A/C at least once a week without using recirculate just to 'purge' the vents, but you can run recirculate regularly.

Another option is turn it to fresh air a few minutes before arriving at your destination.

lukemc01

Agree with the previous poster - you probably have alittle mildew in your vents. But to rectify this, you can spray some disinfectant into your Fresh air intake. This is usually located below the driver side of the front windshield. A little Lysol (pick your favorite scent) will take care of it. Make sure your car is running with the AC on (in fresh mode). Leave the windows down, and if you're really anal, place a fann ear a front window to blow the excess lysol out of the car.

enlightenment

Leave the air flowing and turn the AC off about a minute before reaching your destination.

Zeemz

Thanks for the tips guys