Hi All,

Whenever I have the fan vent on without the air conditioning on, the air smells musty. As soon as I turn the A/C on, that musty smell goes away.

Has anyone else experiences this issue?

Thanks!

 

Hmm interesting. I wonder if maybe the cabin air filter should be cleaned or changed but then again if it's cabin filter AC should smell also.

 

I had the cabin filter changed last month when the oil change was done.

 

Is it really that bad and doesn't go away?

I have a sensitive noise and always smell the "switch" between fresh air and a/c. New car or not.

 

Nothing notably musty. This is without air-recircultation on? Maybe play around with foot vent, body vent and window vent to identify if it's isolated to a particular vent. Front row and back row as well.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try them out.
The strength of the odour does vary. At its' worse, the smell reminds me of stinky socks.

As Adrena pointed out, I believe that it is related to the a/c. When the a/c is on, the smell immediately disappears. When the a/c is turned off, that is when the smell is the strongest.

 

Have you checked under the hood? Check for animal activity like rat droppings or dead animals stuck inside of the engine bay.

 

I took a look and smell around the engine bay, nothing unusual.

My mechanic said to make sure that the air conditioner is draining properly by looking for water dripping from it after it has been running.

 

Our Acura did that and it was 4 years old. I found it was worse than our Lexus which is 10 years old. Never really figured out what it was. So I just thought that my nose was really sensitive. The same smell was worse on humid days (stinky socks/wet runners). I really don't think there's anything that you can do. At least it doesn't last long and if it was bad, I just turned on the A/C.

I figure it will show up with the Q once the "new car" smell is gone...

 

I also experience this on my Q5 when I turn on the A/C it goes away..

I had a CRV prior to my Q and same thing happened.. It really bothers me. I'm going to call Audi and ask them.

Will keep you updated