Why does my interior smell after sitting for a few hours?

[StolenEVO]

I have a musty smell in my wifes car after it sits for a while. So i ran a dehumidifier inside for over 24 hours, emptied the tank a couple times, there wasnt a ton inside, maybe a half gallon at most (im not sure if maybe it is sucking moisture from outside as well?) But man it can really smell inside, and if it rains, it is extrememly humid. i even took out the floor mats to let them dry, though they werent terribly damp. lately ive been leaving the windows open, helps with the smell. ive read about leaking windows, but this model (2011 X5 panoramic roof) i dont think suffers from the same early edition clogs from what ive read. any ideas?

[zeroboot]

condensation in the vents from AC? Seems likely.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by StolenEVO

I have a musty smell in my wifes car after it sits for a while. So i ran a dehumidifier inside for over 24 hours, emptied the tank a couple times, there wasnt a ton inside, maybe a half gallon at most (im not sure if maybe it is sucking moisture from outside as well?) But man it can really smell inside, and if it rains, it is extrememly humid. i even took out the floor mats to let them dry, though they werent terribly damp. lately ive been leaving the windows open, helps with the smell. ive read about leaking windows, but this model (2011 X5 panoramic roof) i dont think suffers from the same early edition clogs from what ive read. any ideas?

Sometimes your AC system grows mold and such in the veins of the AC system in your car. As it condenses with the humid air and stuff loves to grow in their And it can cause bad smells especially when you turn it on.

Not saying it's the problem but sometimes a cleaning will leave your car with a nice fresh smell.

[champ198]

In other vehicles, I've seen water leaks (water pooling under carpet pads in floor boards), as well as, A/C condensation that is not draining properly to cause musty odors. Good luck with solving the issue.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by champ198

In other vehicles, I've seen water leaks (water pooling under carpet pads in floor boards), as well as, A/C condensation that is not draining properly to cause musty odors. Good luck with solving the issue.

Yes this happened in my Cooper s, pulled the carpet pad out had to remove my seat first but had 1.5 inches of water floating around in their.

Their was a bad seal in the firewall and every wash water would run down the firewall through the bad seal and then run down the inner fireball and under the carpet. Definitely check that!

[heatmizr]

My first thought would be to check / replace the cabin air filter.
Seems rare but wouldn't hurt to check for water under carpets if others have seen that. Or the presence of water anywhere.
After that you may be hunting for a leak into one of the hvac airways or such

I did see a thread on here recently about someone's a/c system leaking and making it smell like Band-Aids... does yours smell like that? If yes, do a search, I think it was resolved eventually.

[mleun481]

Originally Posted by heatmizr

My first thought would be to check / replace the cabin air filter.
Seems rare but wouldn't hurt to check for water under carpets if others have seen that. Or the presence of water anywhere.
After that you may be hunting for a leak into one of the hvac airways or such

I did see a thread on here recently about someone's a/c system leaking and making it smell like Band-Aids... does yours smell like that? If yes, do a search, I think it was resolved eventually.

I think its this post about the band aid smell
http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=916547

[StolenEVO]

thanks everyone, ill get those cabin filters changed out, and go from there. interesting about the band aid smell...my sense of smell is not great so im not sure what it compares to, but i bet my wife will know instantly of what to compare it to. at least you have given me a place to start checking.

[blue dragon]

Don't fart and close the car

[n_sievers]

Originally Posted by mleun481

I think its this post about the band aid smell
http://www.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=916547

A couple years ago my X6 50i developed this issue and it was in the shop several times for it and each time they insisted there was no concern and refused to do anything about it. Every time the car sat for a period of time, the first puff of air out of the vents was a pungent band-aid smell and I can guarantee it was a small refrigerant leak but could not get them to recognize or resolve it. This was just weeks before the whole N63 campaign was out and it was in for every symptom of that (excessive oil consumption, hard start, rough idle, intermittent stumble and CEL on acceleration etc.) and that too they told me that no cause could be identified and there was nothing that could be done...... I ended up finding an M a couple weeks later and traded it, within 1 week of that the N63 campaign was announced. I wish i could have taken advantage of the trade-assistance but oh well win some lose some.

[windtendo]

I've noticed this issue recently in mine, but NO MORE!

Make sure the A/C recirculate button is not lit on. I think the problem with mine was I was constantly recirculating and never allowed fresh air to run thru the system. After about a day or two of turning it off, the mildew/bandaid smell no longer comes in when turning the car on!