[Aurora Blue]

June 19th 2022

Good Moaning…

I recently took my car for its 1st service and prior to this when turning the AC on, a damp rotten smell would flow from the vents. I was led to believe that the air filters were/would be changed at the service but I still have that smell wafting through the cabin post service.

I’m now thinking that if the air filters were changed, are leaves, silt and water building up somewhere and seeping into the air conditioning system? I noticed when cleaning the car and opening the hood/frunk that a small amount of fine flower petals where collecting in certain areas and they were either bone dry or starting rot. I cleaned under the hood and windscreen wiper area but the smell is still there so I can only assume it’s not this fine debris or it is and it’s the last batch working it’s way into the system in a place that can’t be seen?

Is anyone else getting mellow notes of stale air wafting in on the AC breeze?

I’m also wondering if the smell may be water getting in somewhere else? I recently had a cup full of water spill on to my foot while leaving the parking spot.

 

[TheRonin]

Have you tried using an air con bomb that cleanes the system? Only about £8 throw it in the car with the air con on full and leave it for 10 minutes.

 

[Aurora Blue]

Have you tried using an air con bomb that cleanes the system? Only about £8 throw it in the car with the air con on full and leave it for 10 minutes.

Morning I haven’t. Is that for general smells in the car and will solve the smell problem if it’s coming from the other side of the air vent?

 

[Fluff]

Try putting full heat on for 30 mins. Basically you have damp/mould somewhere in the ducts. Cycle through the different vents.

 

[TheRonin]

Morning I haven’t. Is that for general smells in the car and will solve the smell problem if it’s coming from the other side of the air vent?

They are specifically for cleaning the whole system, so yes it will clean the air vents.

STP Auto Air-Con Cleaner 150ml | Halfords UK

Shop the latest STP Auto Air-Con Cleaner cleans, disinfects and refreshes the entire A/C system in 10 minutes. at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

 

[Chrisnic]

Do you not always have the AC on, I’ve only experienced this in the distant past when AC hadn’t been used for a while.

 

[Aurora Blue]

Do you not always have the AC on, I’ve only experienced this in the distant past when AC hadn’t been used for a while.

Afternoon Chrisnic

Usually I do have the AC on most of the time even if on the lowest setting. However if condensation or water or debris is getting in to the system I’d rather take the prevention route rather the the cure route. Also, I think it’s not unreasonable to turn the AC now and then and not have to worry that I’m doing something wrong or that the AC is hiding an issue.

 

[tc95]

Aurora - I would replace the cabin-air filter ... it is easy and take about 5 minutes to do ... I went with a K&N filter so that I could clean it and reuse it ... plus with my other ICE cars they seemed to never get that weird smell ... I would stay away from spraying something in the system ... Jaguar's are finicky and it might cause other issues later on ...

If you go with a normal filter try to get one with activated charcoal that should bring down that smell ... when it comes again ... I found that every 4 to 6 months you might need to change it out ... but I am also in a high humidity environment ...

With the K&N I take it out every 3 months and clean-it and let it dry ... then pop it back in ... it is a little difficult at first ... but once you get it down it is very easy to do.

This person has detailed pictures and explanation on doing it... Pollen filter replacement

Search YouTube there are several videos out there for Jaguar cabin filter replacements ... use the 2019/2020 ones ... and to start it is behind the glove-box ...

Hope this helps out...

 

[Aurora Blue]

Aurora - I would replace the cabin-air filter ... it is easy and take about 5 minutes to do ... I went with a K&N filter so that I could clean it and reuse it ... plus with my other ICE cars they seemed to never get that weird smell ... I would stay away from spraying something in the system ... Jaguar's are finicky and it might cause other issues later on ...

If you go with a normal filter try to get one with activated charcoal that should bring down that smell ... when it comes again ... I found that every 4 to 6 months you might need to change it out ... but I am also in a high humidity environment ...

With the K&N I take it out every 3 months and clean-it and let it dry ... then pop it back in ... it is a little difficult at first ... but once you get it down it is very easy to do.

This person has detailed pictures and explanation on doing it... Pollen filter replacement

Search YouTube there are several videos out there for Jaguar cabin filter replacements ... use the 2019/2020 ones ... and to start it is behind the glove-box ...

Hope this helps out...

Good morning tc95

…yep really useful and thanks also for the link with detailed photos. I’ll definately take a look at how it’s done just to see how clean the filter is JLR put in three weeks ago.

 

[ANBO]

Started having this issue just now as well after a week of extreme heat. Generally I would say its bacteria which will not be removed by a filter alone. On previous cars I had the AC ozon-cleaned every few years.

 

[Lobster]

I’m also wondering if the smell may be water getting in somewhere else? I recently had a cup full of water spill on to my foot while leaving the parking spot.

Several owners have reported smells due to windscreen leaks into the footwells. The carpet and underlay padding may be saturated under your removable floor mats. This is best fixed promptly under warranty before the carpeting is damaged, it takes forever for replacement I-Pace carpets to be sourced.

Cheers, Steve

 

[Kuehnhammer]

I used to have a car that was susceptible to this, but haven't noticed it with the I-Pace yet.

What helped the most was turning off the A/C 5 minutes before arrival every trip, to dry out the ducts and get them back up to environmental temperature in order to avoid condensation while parked.

 

[Aurora Blue]

Several owners have reported smells due to windscreen leaks into the footwells. The carpet and underlay padding may be saturated under your removable floor mats. This is best fixed promptly under warranty before the carpeting is damaged, it takes forever for replacement I-Pace carpets to be sourced.

Cheers, Steve

Hi Lobster

Thanks for the reply. So far I’ve been very lucky with no major issues or leaks except for the cup full of water on to the accelerator pedal.

I have spent an hour or so checking under the mats and sniffing the carpet and it’s seems fine but you are 100% right about getting it sorted asap should I or anyone find damp carpets or odd smells. Many on here have reported leaks and terrible experiences getting them repaired including cars return with damp smelly carpets.

I’m going to keep a close eye on it and see what happens. I’m also wondering if water is building up underneath we the wind screen wipers after it drains from the collection point around them. Could this be the source of the damp carpets as well as the wind screen?