when ever i turn on the ac my car has a funny smell to it. my friend told me it might be mildew in my air conditioning. he said it wasnt the regular air filter that needed to be cleaned or replace but a different filter. do you guys know what hes talking about and how to fix this problem?

 

i think they all do that..however, mine only does it when just the fan is on with the AC off..matter of fact, i think all cars do that to an extent, but the 350z has a much stronger smell. learn to live with it

 

^-- this may be a temp. solution

 

Before you turn off your car, make sure you turn off the AC and let the vent (on high) blow out the condensation.

 

Glade makes a cool little freshner that clips on to your vents. Ghetto I know, but they work great.

 

air spencer - squash.

 

Regarding the "different filter," your friend is referring to the dust & pollen filter. If you check your owner's manual, it'll show you where it is.

 

tonychu, how long is it since the filter was replaced?

Definitely + 1, put the fan on vent and on full, not recirc, it should clear pretty quickly. I've had this problem with my Z lately as it's been off the road for a few months with mechanical problems, vent works perfectly for my zed.

 

My car was brand new and had same problem...it was awful..not sure what it was but it quit after about 5 mos...if you do a search you will find similiar threads with similiar tales

 

I once owned an "82 280Z and it had the same exact problem that you describe. The funny thing is when I first noticed it in my 05 350Z it sure brought back tons of high school memories!

 

This is a problem with all cars, it has nothing to do with the 350z specifically.

A product called Ozium can help. Spray it in the inlet to the vents (I guess somewhere near the radiator) while fan is on full blast and the car will smell like "ozium" for a couple of days, then the mildew and ozium smells will both be gone.

 

+2

 

+1. Make sure you get the good one though. There is a knockoff that smells like cheap candy.

 

they thing i hate about car cologne is that the smell of the car fresher goes away in like 1-2 weeks in leather cars. even if u still have more den half the fresher left

 

Mold and mildew in your vent system is not going to go away by just masking it with air freshners. You need to get to the source of the problem. I would go with Wired 24/7's solution, because I'm guessing it actually attacks the source.