If this doesn’t clear, take it to the dealer, they have a service bulletin for this , moldy smell inside the car when the AC first kicks in, is a known issue.

 

Do you have a link on the service bulletin? I've done some looking for TSBs but haven't seen this for a 2024.

 

Last summer (first summer with it) and happening again this summer the air conditioning smells really gross after starting it up. Kind of somewhere between vinegar and manure.

I can park in my driveway, pre-condition for 30 minutes, and have zero drips on the concrete under it. But if I move the car back and forth, then a bunch of water sloshes out. The driveway is uphill just a few degrees at most.

Looking underneath, I can see and feel some drips on the back edge and in some holes of a metal shield under the "engine compartment" and just forward if the battery.

Feels like a problem to not have it drain out of the pan with gravity alone. Maybe some of it blows out while driving, but that might not be enough.

Experiences with this? Views of what it should look like underneath?

The smell will be from bacteria within the vents, all a/c's suffer from this.

https://blog.atseuromaster.co.uk/air-con/car-air-conditioning-smells-what-to-do

You just need to have it serviced..

 

Literally never had this problem in 26 years across owning two Nissans. I do hope to avoid it again with my i4.

 

Any car can have this, dealers have a process to clean the system which will clear the moldy smell, at least for a while.

 

There must be something that causes it more or less often, though.

 

It's sort of a combination of the environment where the car is parked, how often the re-circulation or fresh air is used, how often A/C or heat is used, etc. I've had it happen in other cars I've owned, some more often than others, but every one of them at one point had the musty smell happen at least once.

I believe dealers would use something similar to this product, which I want to say someone at Toyota told me that's what they used and I've purchased it before. It does work and clears the smell, but like @cruzer666 said, for a while.

Amazon.com: nextzett 96110515 Klima-Cleaner Air Conditioner Cleaner - 10 fl oz : Automotive

Buy nextzett 96110515 Klima-Cleaner Air Conditioner Cleaner - 10 fl oz: Automotive - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

Can we agree it should drain out to the ground at some point in 30 minutes of running, not all pool on a metal shield?

 

I would agree with that. Any A/C drainage shouldn't pool anywhere, but the ground. The drainage tube might be blocked somewhere.

 

I just think it odd I never heard of this before coming on this forum, but people here think it's normal? I mean, I had my last car 19 years and never once had an odor issue.

 

You've been lucky then. I've experienced this all the way back to my first car in '94, 1984 Chevy Celebrity station wagon (hell yeah!🤘), and across 15 cars of different makes and models since then (but so far not the i4), so I consider it normal.

 

If I had a quid for everytime these sort of posts come up every year I'd be a very rich person. The best thing is to leave the climate on all the time at a set temperature and with the face vents open.

 

I’ve also never run across this before with any of my cars. To those who have experienced this before, do you live in a hot climate? I don’t

 

DC Metro area, it gets warm and humid sometimes, but nothing crazy.

However, bottom line is that the OP has an issue with drainage for sure and that would cause the smell issues as well.

 

Stagnant water in an electro-mechanical system is never good, no matter which side of the condenser it rests on. It gives a stepping stone to the biological elements that cause this kind of odor.

I wonder if any part of my "luck" in never having this problem stems from always garaging my car(s)? It means my cars have almost never been parked on anything steeper than a 1/4:12 slope for more than a couple of hours. I've always had attached and relatively clean and dry parking available. (That, and never living anywhere particularly tropical)

 

I wonder if any part of my "luck" in never having this problem stems from always garaging my car(s)? It means my cars have almost never been parked on anything steeper than a 1/4:12 slope for more than a couple of hours. I've always had attached and relatively clean and dry parking available. (That, and never living anywhere particularly tropical)

Could very well be, it would be more anecdotal than fact, but as you've always garaged, I'm the opposite, I've always parked outside, except now that I have a home with a garage, where my i4 lives. So it would be plausible to say that garage parking vs not, could play a part.