Mold inside evaporator 2012 Sportage

[cobra259]

Yes, every year you own the Kia you will get a refund.

[DavesSpectra]

The filter will "look" clean but the trapped mold and the moist air will leave you with the smell.

Try a little spray of vinegar/water on the air filter (kills the mold as it goes through the filter) and then make a small potpourri of borax and cat litter and place it in the air ducts away from the blower motor (attached behind the filter??). The odor in the air passing the potpourri will be dried and sweetened by the cat litter and the borax will kill the rest of the mold.
Something to try
Dave

[shoebuilt]

Wow. That is cool that they are doing the right think. Thanks for clearly that up. I will go back and read the letter I just got in the mail yesterday.

[shoebuilt]

Okay I will try that. I have replaced the filter but I'm willing to try anything at this point.

[xylene]

I was not too happy with the odor either in our sportage and have cleaned the evaporator core with the KIA core kit.

Anytime the car is on the defrost cycle the AC is on as it is used to dehumidify the air. So even though it is cold out, you are still allowing water to accumulate, grow mold and then freeze up and preserve the mold until you drive the car again and it warms up, grows more and builds up.

One thing over the years I have determined is any vehicle I have had that has the HVAC system with the filter behind the glove box has always had the mold smell issue, no matter how I played around with shutting off the AC and running the heater before I shut off the vehicle... This is in comparison with HVAC systems where the filter is under the hood/bonnet. Those evaporator and condenser cores are in the engine bay as opposed to residing in the cabin. The residual engine heat always helped dry out the system when you shut off the vehicle.

[shoebuilt]

I have a 2008 Toyota Tacoma and have never had any problem with smell and it has the filter behind glove box. We love the car but we are hiring an attorney because of health issues and we won't our money back let alone the med bills.... Sorry to hear that you are have problems as well. What month was your car built? Ours was built 11-2011.

[twinscroll]

The only practical way to sterilize is bleach (or extreme temperature), and I'm sure it means at least disassembling the dash. Vinegar is an easy way to kill many types of mold, but it won't disinfect. I imagine the evaporator comes after the cabin air filter, but you may want to find an aftermarket HEPA filter replacement anyway.

An N95 dust mask will reduce mold exposure, but you'd need a P100 respirator to stop it. They're pretty comfortable, and hilarious to drive wearing.

A problem with mold allergies is they include mold spores, which will be in the ducts, carpets, seats...since allergies don't differentiate between alive/active or dead/inactive spores, cleaning means physically removing or destroying the spores.

I'm told there is a Kia Technical Service Bulletin, and several different threads discussing this issue. It happens with many cars, but is mentioned with Kia frequently.

Any water staying in a car long enough to grow mold is bad for several reasons. Maybe there's a way to add a drain hose to the evaporator somehow.

There are car air ionizers...won't kill the spores, but it'll help make them stick to things instead of float in the air. They also produce ozone, which helps with odors, but will aggravate respiratory allergies. An ozone generator running in the car may help oxidize mold with high ozone concentrations. There's a Canadian product called "Emzone OdorStop" (I have it, haven't tried it), a sort of "air freshener bomb" that circulates alcohol/ethanol vapour in a closed car to kill microorganisms. Running the heater will dry out the ducts, and dry conditions discourage mold. If nothing works, try other dealerships for a second car, or bars for a hypoallergic wife.

Good luck

[engineered]

My wife's 2012 Sportage has always had a foul smell to it since purchasing August 1, 2012. I'm thinking it could be mould. I've sprayed vinegar and keep backing soda in the car to help, but it's still there and makes me sick when I drive it.
Since it's had this smell from day 1, I'm guess it probably got mouldy on the boat from Korea and just sitting in the lot in Toronto.

[bluntman]

My dad's 2011 Forte5 SX had this problem but not my Sportage.

[shoebuilt]

That's interesting. KIA told me that they have never had a problem with this in the past. When our Sportage was in the shop for a week they gave us a 2013 Forte and it had the same problem.

When it was in the shop they removed complete dash, steering, shifter, all that was inside was the seats. The firewall is pretty cool looking. But, not with a car thar is only 8 months old. They took the whole system to headquarters.

I do know that Souel, Korea had a massive flood early 2011??? Can any one find any info on how the KIA plant did during the flood???? I looked and looked and never found anything.......