Yup, same thing. My dealer sucks. Service manager says that's just the way it is and there's nothing he can do under warranty but he said he would be more than happy to clean it. . .for a price of course

 

Well, I think they are wrong. It IS a warranty issue and they should treat it as such. The smell is a symptom of the real problem, the evaporator box not draining properly. The A/C system is supposed to be designed so the water drains from the system. All of the water not just some of the water. If not, there is a problem and mildew will form. Problem is, this is a big job to fix on a new vehicle because it is typically not caused by bugs or debri. It is a design issue requiring disassembly of the system to correct.

Cleaning is not the solution because it will only stop the problem temporarily. Water constantly standing in the evaporator case WILL cause the mildew to form again.

IMO, it is just like having a problem with a mirror, bearing noise, etc. It seems like with A/C systems they just blow it off. I could understand this attitude if it were several years before it happened, but these are new vehicles and their first Summer.

My problem with it, is that I have owned cars and trucks for a very long time and never had this problem. Based on that, I would assume something is wrong even if I had not seen what is actually happening.

 

I have handled several different lines of autos over 30 odd years.YOU may think its a warranty issue and YOUR dealer sucks but SERVICE MANAGER that told you was correct and being HONEST. IT CAN"T BE FIXED.I have encountered this over and over on Mazda,Nissan,Isuzu,Chrysler,Cadillacs,Oldsmobiles, Pontiac's.Some folks it bothers,others it doesn't.Their has been countless TSB's on the subject for decades.Hang a air freshener off the rear view mirror or hold your breath for a minute after you get in the vehicle.

 

I should have said it SHOULD be a warranty issue. There is something wrong or all of the vehicles would have the problem.

So what you are saying, if an automobile evaporator case does not drain properly it cannot be fixed?! Why is that? I am not talking about the smell, that is just a by-product of the ineffective drainage. Can they just not figure out why a particular automobile does not drain the way all the others do that don't have the smell? Or is it too hard to fix once the A/C system is hung in the truck.

I am really curious, especially since you appear to have some experience in this area. In 35 years, I have never had this problem with any other car I have owned (Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, GMC). This is my first Dodge. Do you think it is Dodge, Mazda, Nissan thing?

 

I have to say BS on that one!!! There is mold growing in your truck due to bad design/drainage how the heck is this not a warranty issue the truck is covered for manufacturer defects/issues explain how this is not a defect/issue.

This is a case where they know there is a problem but its to much $$$ to fix so they say its not a warranty issue and say it "IT CAN"T BE FIXED."

 

I would have to agree with your conclusion Tankit. I would think mold growing in the A/C system is not an engineered design feature. If an engineer comes up with a new designed evaporator/case and said, "The only problem is some will not drain properly and will have a very strong odor due to mold." I am sure his boss would tell him to start over or fire him right there. We are not talking about 4 and 5 year old vehicles here. I bought mine in April of this year. In a new building, an HVAC system with this problem would not be tolerated. In fact, they would probably vacate it until it was fixed. Why? Because it makes people sick.

Edit:
I have to share something. I work as an engineer and one of my fellow engineers was having problems with his system and the plant operators did not like it and wanted it fixed. The boss asked him about it and he told the boss, "It can't be fixed." The boss returned with, "Really! It can't be fixed. What if you had unlimited time and money?" The engineer returned, "I am telling you, IT CAN'T BE FIXED!" My boss got rid of the guy in less than 3 months, hired another guy that fixed the problem in less than 6 months. The only thing he did was change the way the machine was operated. We still use the machine without incident.

 

No my service manager's and writer's are idiot's and all think they know as much as the tech's in the back. The correct answer has already been addressed. A tech called STAR and they came up with a fix. Design issue, which makes it a warranty issue. I live in the desert and it should be no issue. My Kis doesn't do it, my Chevy didn't, my Nissan didn't, my other nissan didn't my GMC didn't, my . . .

To give you an idea of the "genius" of my dealer, I told them that the front end felt loose and I think the alignment is of. He looked at my tires and said "it looks fine to me". I told him that the trucks warranty covered it for 12K miles and he didn't know anything about it, put it on a rack, guess what. The tow was off. Not much, but it was off. He also didn't know that these trucks have a lifetime warranty on the powertrain!

 

You say the water wont drain unless the fan is on high... sounds like some kind of blockage. This may sound crazy... but... would it be possible that while the truck sat "wherever" before delivery from the plant or to the dealer, or even while at the dealer, an animal, more like insects could have nested in the drain?

I know how crazy/really stupid that sounds... but, can you stick a drain snake in the drain tube?? Can you reach it? What the heck, worth a shot. no?

BTW gotta agree with the dealers opinion. SOME dealers you can trust, most make you wonder.

 

It does not sound crazy at all. I was thinking the same thing as I was driving home today. I did not think of insects, but it is not out of the question given how long they sit idle. I thought it could even be that black stuff people are finding in their carpet. They used to use a foam tape to seal different areas of the case. Maybe some of it is also on the inside of the evaporator case or some other material for that matter and blocking the drain. The technician has not seen how the drain is affected by the fan yet. I did not find this until he installed the hose. I am going to show it to him this week. This guy is great. He will fix it if he can. I am very lucky to have such a great dealership given some of the things I have read on this and other forums about others.

Edit:
Now I am thinking of checking out a borescope from work. It may be possible to go in through the middle vents down to the drain area to see if any problems can be seen. Not sure if they will loan me the expensive one with the lighted tip and camera. Won't know til I ask though, huh?

 

The insect theory was thrown around as well when I had this issue with my Chevy.