2013 edge A/c smell.

[bce]

My wife's 2013 Edge Limited ecoboost is having the exact same problem! When you intially start the vehicle the musty/moldy smell is most prevelant, then, the smell will occur randomly as you are driving the vehicle. Another issue we are expierencing is momentary heating while the A/C is on, all of the sudden the A/C will start blowing warm air without the system being under load. By not under load I mean not excellerating or going up a hill. At this point really regreting trading in the Audi Q7.

 

Has anyone seen a service bulletin on this?

 

How long does it blow the warm air? If the refrigerant is low, the coils can freeze up, especially in a humid environment, and stay that way until they thaw. It will cycle through this (warm, cooling off, warm again) until you stop long enough for them to completely thaw.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Could also be the condenser fins are dirty (check the front/radiator area), or a radiator fan is malfunctioning.

[patik83]

I also have this problem. Here's my experience: I bought a new 2013 Edge Limited w/EcoBoost in late November. It presently has ~1200 miles and is producing a "chemical" smell from the A/C. This occurs nearly every time I drive it, but only after the A/C has been on for about 5-8 minutes. The smell is very strong and is obvious when it starts. Then after about 1 minute, the smell stops and then takes a few minutes to be purged from the car's interior. On longer trips (over 30 minutes), the smell sometimes occurs again, but only lasts for a minute or two - then it's done. Have you found a solution to this issue or does anyone else know what this could be? Thank you so much.

 

UPDATE (July 18, 2013): Vehicle now has ~4,600 miles and the smell is occurring more frequently. On a recent trip to work, the smell showed up every 2 minutes (almost exactly) all the way to work which is about 18 minutes from home. The peculiar smell and the regularity with which it occurs really has me bewildered.

 

I took the car in to the dealer and, naturally, it wouldn't produce the smell on the test drive. On the subsequent customer survey, I rated the dealer low in the "Care" department because they wouldn't even entertain trying to figure it out since the smell wouldn't present itself during the drive. The follow-up letter I received from Ford's Customer Relationship Center offered a phone number, which I called and after 3 weeks, nothing has been gained. They're really nice but that's about it so far.

 

The smell is making my wife and me sick, REALLY, and I'm just about ready to park the car at the dealer and walk away. Is the AC system in a car THAT mysterious that no one knows how it works? Again, the smell is not mold. Something is being injected into the HVAC system in measured amounts and at random intervals and it's getting worse.

 

Art, I know this post is more than a year old, but it's the only one I can find on the internet that exactly matches what I'm experiencing with my 2013 Ford Edge 2L Ecoboost. It's not a mildew smell or a burning plastic smell, and it doesn't happen right when the car turns on. Instead, it's a chemical smell (like freon or similar) and it first occurs maybe 10 minutes into our drive, is unpleasant for a minute or so, then goes away. It's not so bad that I need to put the windows down to vent it, but I worry that it's toxic to our health to be breathing it in, or that there's something wrong with the car. We got it last September, so we only have 10k miles on it. However, we live in Florida, so we're running the AC just about all the time.

 

Art, did you ever get a solution from your dealership? Does your Edge still have the problem?

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Patrick

[Art]

Patrick,

I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing the same thing we did. I wish you luck. Here is an update on my issue:

 

I had pretty good success in getting Ford to respond to me. I was in email and phone contact with the regional rep who seemed eager to help and used all the right customer service phrases. Unfortunately, it came down to money. The dealer would not explore the problem further than what could be examined superficially. On only ONE occasion, did the car produce the characteristic smell during a test ride with the service manager. I was so excited because he had the same reaction I had. He too couldn't put his finger on it...it had a sweet component, but was also a little thick/oily smelling and stuck in your throat and after 10 seconds, was kind of sickening. I really thought this was the day it would be fixed. But no.

 

They said that in order to really diagnose the problem, the whole dash would have to come out and since it was 8+ hours of labor...just to explore what MIGHT be wrong...they were not willing to do it. It took a long time to get the service manager to admit that and I had to ask some specific and leading questions.

 

I am completely dissatisfied with Ford's service policy - especially when the car is less than a year old and had less than 7K miles. By the way, DO NOT let the service adviser talk you into getting an ozone treatment. Not only did the treatment make the car smell worse (different, but now all the time), it made the interior dirty, most noticeably, the headliner with circular brown/black splotches. This was done against my will, because as you're probably aware, the smell IS NOT coming from the interior or plastic outgassing. They just did it anyway.

 

I too have concerns about whether the smell could be harmful and since this car was for my wife, I didn't want to take any chances. I ultimately traded the car for an Explorer in January.

 

My issue wasn't so much with the Edge itself, but with Ford, so I'm embarrassed to say I stayed with Ford for the replacement. But the Explorer was the only real candidate in our price range. I felt I was taking a gamble in hoping nothing quirky would go wrong and having to enter another frustrating ordeal at the dealership. So far, so good.

 

Trading a relatively new car is usually a costly experience, but I can offer no better advice to you than to get rid of the Edge before the frustration gets the better of you or the smell makes you or your family ill. Good luck.

 

Sincerely, Art

[Slick56]

This is an ongoing problem with a lot of Fords. What happens is the ac water drian gets plugged up and does not allow the condensation to drain. As the water collects inside the condeser chamber it starts to mold. The only way to fix it is to clean out the vent tube. I have the same problem in my 2011 and 2013 Edge. I am going to tackle cleaning the vent this week. Hopefully this removes the smell. I also think after the repair the ac cleaning solution needs to be sprayed into the ac unit to kill the mold. From what I have read on the internet this is something that has to be done routinely as it will happen quite often. Ford does know about this design flaw. They just do not want to admit it!

Edited November 17, 2014 by Slick56

[FordService]

This is an ongoing problem with a lot of Fords. What happens is the ac water drian gets plugged up and does not allow the condensation to drain. As the water collects inside the condeser chamber it starts to mold. The only way to fix it is to clean out the vent tube. I have the same problem in my 2011 and 2013 Edge. I am going to tackle cleaning the vent this week. Hopefully this removes the smell. I also think after the repair the ac cleaning solution needs to be sprayed into the ac unit to kill the mold. From what I have read on the internet this is something that has to be done routinely as it will happen quite often. Ford does know about this design flaw. They just do not want to admit it!

Hello Slick56,

 

I’ll like to look into this further. What’s the mileage on your vehicles?

 

Once this info is received, I’ll see what I can do on my end.

 

Have a great day!

 

Tricia

[stevezii]

So are there two drains for the AC? One condenser, outside by the firewall and one inside? I found somewhere else talking about a drain next to the gas pedal and opened it, blew air into it, didn't get anything out of it, but I assure you my car stinks like mildew / mold about every 2-4 minutes as the a/c cycles in and out... Please anyone, post a specific location other than the one that I am mentioning.

 

2011 Edge Sport with 35K

 

and no the Cabin Air Filter isn't dirty and doesn't smell like mold.......

 

thanks,

Steve

[ls973800]

Many people who do not have the drain plug blocked still have the moldy smell from the system. This is because bacteria has grown on the evaporator coils themselves because of the high humidity in that area. Google "Moldy Smell Ford A/C" and read various ways to try and get rid of the smell. They range from making sure the drain ture is open, spraying a cleaner onto the coils, running the heat to burn off the mold, running the vents without A/C for several minutes before shutting off the car, etc.

 

Plenty of suggestions, you will just have to find one that works for you. Some F150 owners did have their evaporator coil replaced because the dealership found a leak in the coil itself, but most of those resulted in an oily smell because of the A/C oil leaking out.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Leak in the coil would explain why another member is smelling oil in the cabin but not outside, along with mustiness. Good info!

 

Plenty of suggestions, you will just have to find one that works for you. Some F150 owners did have their evaporator coil replaced because the dealership found a leak in the coil itself, but most of those resulted in an oily smell because of the A/C oil leaking out.

 

 

[A2Rog]

I have had my 2013 Edge in twice for this problem, and was about to do it again. My car only smells terrible when it's humid out, so in the Fall, it's hit or miss whether it's humid or sub freezing and dry. However, it blows out of the vent for the first few minutes. I have a mold allergy, so it makes me it hard to breath. The first time my car was into service, they replaced the cabin air filter. The second time, they replaced the AC condenser. Neither time did they smell it. I've asked that someone who doesn't smoke or breath in fumes from cars all day give it a try.

 

I'd rather clean it myself if I can, even if it has to be done often. Is there an online manual (not the standard one from Ford, it doesn't give any details) that I could get access to that would walk through how to, and where to, clean the lines?

 

thanks!

Edited November 24, 2014 by A2Rog

[Vik]

Hey there. My 2013 edge limited has had this intermittent obnoxious smell while the heating is on! It's unbelievable that after so many visits to the dealership they just refuse to acknowledge the smell! Recently they changed the evaporater housing claiming that that would solve it! But the problem is still the same! Any one face the same issues?

[Gimp]

Vik - I have a 2012 Edge that also gets chemical like heater smell when I start it up in cold weather. It last a couple of minutes until the system clears out and then it goes away. It doesn't smell like coolant and none of my other fluids show any sign of leaking. My suspicion is that the smell is coming from windshield wiper fluid that has seeped into the engine compartment. A couple of weeks ago I changed from my summer wiper fluid to the winter fluid and the smell seemed a bit stronger. I use the RainX brand summer and winter wiper fluids which I like, so I haven't bothered to try another fluid to see if it makes any difference. I also have noticed that if it rains in cold weather, the startup smell isn't as strong which leads me to believe the rain is helping to dilute whatever may have seeped into the engine compartment. This is just pure speculation based on casual observation.

[A2Rog]

So, since posting, I have purchased and read the Chilton manual for Do It Yourself repair of the Ford Edge. The manual is geared to DIY'ers, and I think it is telling that the section about bad smells coming through the AC is complicated, and best done by the dealership. According to my local dealership, there are several places where problems could exist, but the most likely is mold/mildew growing on the AC unit's heat exchanger blades and the drainage port gets plugged.

 

Mine smells like mold/mildew in the first few minutes. When I use the window washer, I smell the fluid strongly, even in the rain. The dealership guy said that those details are important for them to determine where the problem is, as it could be a few places. There are air intake ports just below the wiper blades.