AC/vents smell like cat pee

[Truth in Ruin]

I'm not kidding, it smells like pee coming from my vents haha! I googled it, and I got a lot of reasons why this could be. I drove from Nebraska to Montana with the AC on nearly the entire trip. The day after, everything smelled fine, but the next day... cat pee? LMAO!

Anyone?

 

[KKaWing]

Check the cabin filter? It's a pita, but they're cheap enough to replace assuming you can do it yourself.

 

[Capri to ST]

I'm not kidding, it smells like pee coming from my vents haha! I googled it, and I got a lot of reasons why this could be. I drove from Nebraska to Montana with the AC on nearly the entire trip. The day after, everything smelled fine, but the next day... cat pee? LMAO!

Anyone?

When you turn the A/C off, water can condense on cold parts of the system, and lead to mold growth which brings stink. Turning the A/C off and leaving the fan on for a minute or so before shutting the car off can let the internals warm up and avoid the condensation. I do that every time I use my A/C and rarely have the stinky smell from my vents.
Once you have the mold, you can kill it by spraying products like Frigi-Fresh or just Lysol into the fresh air intake.

 

[Truth in Ruin]

Yes, that was one of the many crapshoot responses I got from googling other threads. I've heard: mold/mildew, mice, squirrels, rats, AC equipment, people pouring urine down the vents, etc.

Has anyone else in this community had this experience?

 

[Truth in Ruin]

When you turn the A/C off, water can condense on cold parts of the system, and lead to mold growth which brings stink. Turning the A/C off and leaving the fan on for a minute or so before shutting the car off can let the internals warm up and avoid the condensation. I do that every time I use my A/C and rarely have the stinky smell from my vents.
Once you have the mold, you can kill it by spraying products like Frigi-Fresh or just Lysol into the fresh air intake.

Sounds great. Someone else said the same thing on a google searched forum. I like that I'm hearing it here though, because I trust this community better than a 2008 Honda forum post

 

[CanadianGuy]

Ford tech explains it. But I would also check the cabin filter. It could be full of stuff.

[video=youtube;06BpHbYJxg0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06BpHbYJxg0[/video]

 

[StayPuft]

I use my mcculloch steamer in the vents of all my cars and it really refreshes them.

 

[Capri to ST]

Ford tech explains it. But I would also check the cabin filter. It could be full of stuff.

[video=youtube;06BpHbYJxg0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06BpHbYJxg0[/video]

Good find, his videos are really helpful.

 

[jeff]

Thanks for this thread TiR and this info, it helped me diagnose/fix a sudden smell.

It is shocking to me that Fords have this issue; our 12-year old Honda has never had this problem, ever...my wife leaves the compressor on every single time she drives, shuts the car off, and walks away. 125,000 miles of that and HONDA AIR is always crisp and perfect. Seems like the Ford owner shouldn't have to remember to deactivate the compressor a few miles before parking.