Mold inside evaporator 2012 Sportage

[conwelpic]

Originally Posted by shoebuilt

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.......

the Sportage is not built at the plant close to Seoul, they are built at the Gwangiu Plant in southern South Korea.

Here's the plant locations

[engineered]

Looks like there was flooding in Gwangju on July 9, 2011.
(LEAD) 4 dead as heavy rains hit southeastern S. Korea | YONHAP NEWS

Emergency workers in Gwangju, Jeolla's largest city, said over 60 homes have been flooded and area residents have been evacuated throughout the province. Numerous avalanches have also been reported in many areas.

That would be quite scandalous if Kia was selling flooded cars as new. More likely is that some parts may have been water damaged, leading to the mould after being installed.

[shoebuilt]

Ya, that's what I was thinking. Maybe a warehouse full of parts got flooded. I don't think the car was flooded. When KIA had the car dismantled I was able to look inside of the floor panels and tjere areas that you wouldn't see oher wise.

[conwelpic]

wow that sure is a stretch, but that was over 18 months ago.

I got this info from another forum relating to this problem and this member has experience in that area and this was his suggestions:

"I work on large commercial air conditioning systems and that "mildew smell" is quite common. Especially in high humidity environments (like Florida). It may be annoying, but it is rarely harmful. You simply have to try to kill off the microbiological bacteria that cause the odour, or learn to live with it. The first thing you ought to do is change the filter.
You must remove the glove box and behind it is the access port for the evaporator filter. Make sure it is clean, and spray it with Lysol before replacing it... even if clean. There are a few natural mould and bacteria killers out there but the one I prefer is tea tree oil. (Oil of Oregano is even better for killing germs but stinks like pizza).
Mix a few drops with water and spray the filter down. Before replacing the filter you could spray some Lysol in the filter access, or into the fresh air intake while running the fan. This should draw the Lysol into the coils and help some. The mildew starts in the cool wet coil fins or pan area and unless you really dry it out and use a bactericide it will stay and recreate itself pretty much forever. That is why you want to clean it out and sanitize first...and then use the tea tree oil (or other biocide) to help keep it smelling good while also naturally killing anything passing through the filter. Beware bleach or anything corrosive that can ruin the coil surfaces. Also make sure the drain is clear and you aren't pooling water (condensate) in the evap
area.
The dealer will probably recommend a foam antiseptic solution and spray it into the coils as best they can. Sometimes it works...sometimes it takes a few tries to get all the bugs.
To help keep it from re-forming, try running the air (fan) on high, with the A/C off, just before you turn the car off after using. The more dry those coils stay...the better. "

[shoebuilt]

No, I wouldn't say a stretch, just frustrated with KIA. We live in North Idaho we don't have high humidity. I've put two new filters in, KIA has given the car two treatments, replace the evaporator the complete unit and still my wife its sick after driving our Sportage.

[twinscroll]

I doubt the cars are water damaged.

If the filter works before the evaporator, it filters intake air, but after the mold. I don't know if recirculated air gets filtered. OEM cabin air filters aren't true-HEPA anyway. Changing the filter at regular intervals is important, but not this problem's solution.

I wouldn't spray inside the dash with Lysol or plant extracts, personally. They contain several alcohols (as solvents) that could damage plastic/rubber/lubricants. Maybe into the exterior intake if I was desperate, careful of paintwork. Spraying water-dilutions into the ducts is probably worse. There's commercial aerosols that spray into the vents, but there is too much twisting in car AC ducts to soak the entire system.
--

shoebuilt, let us know how the door leak fix goes.

While Kia's design may be worse, mold is a problem in any car. As well, they all have inaccessible ductwork, and are upholstered with non-removable fabric. Imagine driving with a plasticizer, leather, sun, or nickel allergy.

Those antiseptic "air freshener bombs" get good reviews. I don't know if they sanitize, but it's a way to slow inaccessible growth.

Originally Posted by shoebuilt

We are not even using ac. This is happening with just with the air going thru the vents.

If the AC hasn't been used since the evaporator service, then it's the residual mold in the car, and it needs cleaning. Do you park overnight in a garage?

[xylene]

Ours was built in 7/12... Maybe I was lucky and cleaned the system early enough not to get it as bad off as you experienced. I do plan on cleaning the system twice a year. There is also an ozone generator in the '12 (I can’t speak for the 11 M.Y.) that is supposed to keep it from smelling as it disinfects the HVAC system. I tested the system and it is not malfunctioning, but it only really pumps at the ozone when I crank up the heat.

[cloud9utk]

FYI. not saying ya'll are wrong or anything, just giving you my stats.

Bought my SX in Sept of 12, it was built in SK probably in the spring of 12.

I have no issues with smells or mold (other than what is outside). I change my filter every 10k miles. I just changed it and the old one was dirty! It never really smelled in the car, but it does seem some what "fresher" now. A little less musty, if i had to loosely describe the smell, if there was enough to sense.

Edit: Ozone system? Who told you that? I've never seen it on kgis in the shop manuals, but maybe i just missed it. i will check again tomorrow.

[engineered]

Originally Posted by xylene

Ours was built in 7/12... Maybe I was lucky and cleaned the system early enough not to get it as bad off as you experienced. I do plan on cleaning the system twice a year. There is also an ozone generator in the '12 (I can’t speak for the 11 M.Y.) that is supposed to keep it from smelling as it disinfects the HVAC system. I tested the system and it is not malfunctioning, but it only really pumps at the ozone when I crank up the heat.

There shouldn't be an ozone generator in the car, and I definitely wouldn't go into a car with higher concentrations of ozone.
Ozone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I should clarify in our Sportage, the smell is there even when the vents aren't on. So maybe it's not mould in the vents, but that would mean it has the worst new car smell ever.

[junrider]

Its not ozone generator.. more like ionizer. I make high concentration ozone generators on my spare time and also sell kits for DIYers. Definitely, not built in cars as high concentration ozone generators produce toxic O3 that will kill mold, but very toxic to people. Its only used for maybe 15-20 mins max in unoccupied cars and needs 30 mins - 1hour to venting before the car can be occupied and ozoning cars at high concentrations is only once an a while or when needed since ozone has longterm degradation of rubber, leather, plastics, and various metals. Our sportages have ionizers.