Everytime I turn on the A/C there's a kinda stale smell or something coming from the vents. It's an 01 3.3 Caravan.
Thanks

 

Yup--that's a very common problem with all cars. It is worse in humid areas and is caused by mould building up in the housing and the evaporator coil. Most places such as Autozone, Checker, Etc, have a spray which you can use on the air intake grille and let it be sucked into the system--they work quite well. You can also get them at your dealer since this is a very wide spread issue.

 

There is also a second problem with these systems. If the smell can be described as "somewhat like a horse stable" instead of just moldy, it is caused by a freon leak in the evaporator. Freon itself has no smell, but there is something about the chemistry of these van AC systems that causes this particular smell. A spray is a temporary solution. My son had the evaporator replaced on his '96 van ($1K) and that solved the smell problem. I grew up on a farm and can tolerate the smell (so far) so I have not repaired my '97 system. I can buy a lot of Freon for $1K.

 

You may also want to consider replacing the cabin air filter if you have not done so already. My cousin had the same problem/complaint with his van, a 2002 I believe, and replacing the filter improved the situation. I used a Wix (#24864?) cabin air filter. Good luck!

 

where can I find the cabin filter?

 

Under the glove compartment.

 

Cabin air filter? I had no idea! My wife has been complaining about the smell for years. My granddaughter always asks, "Grandma, why does your car smell like a goat farm?" We've just had the entire vent system cleaned out in conjunction with replacing the front coils and things are fine now, but I'm sure it won't be long before I start hearing the complaints again. I'm going out tomorrow and look for that spray and see if I can find a cabin air filter.