[completechimp]

Hey Guys

Right after some heavy rain i notinced a new smell in my Picanto..... Damp, great. seems to happen after a heavy rainfall, but have yet to track down where the leak is. I was just wandering if anybody else has had this problem?

The engine has been out of the car so maybe somethng to do with air vents is to bleme? pollen fillter or something? also if I put my air con on cold and then turn it off i get a really bad smell of condensation. Anybody else have this problem?

Thats not it....

Since having the car I have had...

1. A Respray - bad paintwork

2. The Gearbox looked at 3 times

4. A new cylinder head - due to coolent leak

5. A new gearbox - due to baulking.

6. Coolent top up

Hats off to Worthing Kia, they got it all sorted for me, no quibble no fuss.

But Now

1. Damp smell - nice
2. Speakers vibrating in the doors...

Wonder if i have a friday night car? This is a real shame though because I love it, its a great car and great to drive but certainly flawed. It seems I have been more unlucku the most. Millage is just under 7,000 and it is just over 10 months old now.

Ah well.

Thanks in advance guys

Mike

 

[StrayDog]

Looks like you drive your car hard by your repair list. Well, at least you didn't have this noise problem on the left hand side of the car like many of us, heheh.

This damp smell is quite common. My Picanto's air con ventilation used to smell bad, too, and when I researched it on the Net, I found out that even BMWs and Mercs suffer the same fate. The culprit is the mold and mildew that inhabits the damp, dark places inside the acu ventilation ducts. And, believe it or not, the accumulation of chemicals from air fresheners and car perfume make matters a lot worse!

For what its worth, here's how I got rid of the problem of bad air smell from the acu:

1. I removed all air fresheners from the car. Having one inside the car all the time is similar to being in the vicinity of person wearing perfume everyday without taking a bath. Completely removing any perfume and air fresheners alone was very effective in reducing the bad air smell.

2. Everyweek (typically on weekend) I clean the car's interior by vacuuming and expose the inside to direct sunlight for a couple of hours by opening all doors and windows. I also wash the seat covers when it gets dirty.

3. Absolutely, no smoking inside the car. Eating is tolerated, though. I make sure everything is cleaned later.

4. At night before I turn off the engine, I let it run on idle for a few minutes while I switch ON the fan and put the thermostat to HOT. This circulates warm air and dries up the acu ducting.

5. I have an air ionizer on the cigarette lighter socket. I'm not sure if it realy works.

My car is already one year old. Two days ago a friend rode on the car me and commented how I make my car smelling like new. I think he meant the natural smell of the floor mats, upholstery and adhesives used in detailing the car's inside. I told him.

The door panel of my car also resonates when I turn on the radio too loud (35+ on the volume control.) I leave it alone. Perhaps you can have your audio system upgraded and when you do, you could have the door panel vibration fixed as well.

 

[kevdyas]

If your not using the Air Con for quite a long time it can sometimes cause a smell, your meant to run the Air Con for 10 minutes at least one a month to circulate air through the system.

Kevin.

 

[Kneeler]

Hey guys,

I've had similar problems with smell from the air vents. The garages told me that it's due to the fact that the A/C is not being used regularly. Apparently, this is a general problem as many people turn off their A/C occasionally and forget to turn it on again before spring is here.

A tip is to turn on the A/C once a month as Kevin mentions - but to do it at the beginning of your ride. Then let the condensation dry out while you're driving. If you let the A/C run and then turn off the engine, the condensation will continue and cause this smell.

This tip has worked with me.

BTW I rarely turn off the A/C as I like the dry air (suffer from asthma etc.) I have an annual "clean up" of the A/C system as this prevents the system from breeding all kinds of nasty funghi.


Cheers,
Kneeler

 

[completechimp]

Hey guys thanks for the input,

Believe it or not I actually drive this care very carefully I average 60mpg, don't speed or over-rev. Decided to start a new topic about the hi-fi, should have mentioned it starts at vol 16-18 the distortion.... ah well. I think I have just been unlucky.

Its good to know that my car isnt leaking somewhere, I had a feeling it might have had something to do with my condensation smelling aircon. Some good pointers there, I do tend to fire it up at lease once a month, although maybe not for a whole ten mins.... but will follow the advice about when and where etc and see if it cures it. Apparently you can contract leigonaires from poorely maintained air con, so I hear? even in cars?

Always seems good to fire it up once in a while. Any preference over cold or hot?

Thanks as always guys. You are legends :clap:

Mike