[Pdt165]

IMHO,

The Source of the AC Mold Smell may be the Condensate Drain Design or moisture accumulation in the Evaporator Coil housing. A year ago I investigated our Pacifica Condensate Drain after a couple Temporary Dealer Refreshing Cleaning.

1. The Ribbed Drain Tube probably Remains water.
2. The Tube connects to a transition Block & turns at a Right Angle, another potential moisture collection point.

The Under-Vehicle Drain will Drip but not like any other vehicles I've ever had/have, even in Dry Arizona. I flushed the Ribbed Drain Tube & Drain out by injecting a mold cleaning solution into the top of the hose under the center console.

My Solution is to spray Ozium in the Air Intake when the Smell starts in the apron below the windshield & run the Blower a few minutes with the AC off after we use the AC.

Chrysler Cares provided a "Star Case" for the 2017 Pacifica's # S1624000008. Not sure what it involves yet.

Can you tell me how you got to that hose on the interior of the vehicle?


EDIT: I found it, so others know. It is below the center console, just need to remove the panel near your feet, one is carpet and one is plastic. You can then look in there and see it.

 

[Wing]

Bad smell

I have owned many, many cars and never had an AC stink, like this 2017 Pacifica. I took mine into the dealership after I had replaced my own cabin filter (no change in smell). They checked it out, aired it out, might have sprayed something in it, was OK for a short time and then it came back. I was always using the recirculating feature as it is really hot in our AZ summers. After reading the forum suggestions, I experimented with the Lysol trick and never using the recirculating feature. That lasts for a while. Yesterday I had the AC on high for a 20 minute ride, I left the car idle in my driveway and looked for a drain, puddle etc. but not a drop of water. I mentioned this to my dealership when I fist took it in 2 years ago. It hasn't left a drop... ever, and I run my AC 6 months a year. Perhaps they use the same concept as household appliances do. The condensate runs into a drain pan and the compressor cooling fan blows over the pan and evaporates the water, so likewise if you don't let your car blower/fan run for a period of time after the AC has been generating water, then the water doesn't get a chance to evaporate and then the mold starts to grow. My garage floor has never been wet in the 2 1/2 years I've owned it. Poor design is my guess and my solution is for Chrysler to issue a recall to install a proper drain line. Mold? Yikes, sounds like a health issue waiting to happen.

My 2017 Pacifica got bad smell in less than 5000 miles run. The dealer replace the cabin filter and charge me more than $50. The bad smell came back in a very short time. In cold weather, no bad smell.
In hot weather, the bad smell came when starting the vehicle.
I strongly agree with you, Chrysler should issue a recall and do something about this.

 

[Norbert]

Are you guys checking the rear evaporator as well? The Pacifica, thankfully still has a split system for the rear unlike the new Odyssey, where Honda cheaped out and went back to a single front only system.

 

[aridenour99]

Re: Star Case # S1624000008

I had this service performed 2-weeks ago, they used a new Mopar evaporator cleaner which included some additive to improve the condensate drainage.

Well now it Smells rotten once Again.

There is no doubt IMO this is a Significant Pacifica Cooling Design issue.

 

[hockyplar1]

aridenour99, that's what I was afraid would be the actions and outcomes of this Star case. I private messaged ChryslerCares earlier but was hoping the response would be to do something different. We'll see.

I'm hearing from this and another related thread (27402-c-smell-door-issues) that the condensate does not appear to drain out from the vehicle like traditional systems do. Does anyone know how the water is removed? Could a fix be as simple as drilling a hole somewhere to let the condensate drain? Seems ridiculous to even mention on a new vehicle that costs as much as this!

 

[rlee777]

Just finished a trip through Vegas to LA. Driving through the hot desert, the stink came back (did clean the evaporator with a disinfectant recently which has worked in the past) in full force. I think I found a clue to minimize the smell -- keep the A/C system on fresh air and NOT recirc ("Max A/C"). That means not using the AUTO setting when temps climb up. That may be why this issue seems hard to track down.

So I manually set the system with the A/C button on and kept the recirc off. After some time (5+ hours of driving), the smell disappeared and never returned the remainder of the trip; even through 100+ degree temps where the smell appeared initially. My theory is that the AUTO setting will kick in Max A/C when outside temps are high (causing this smell), but otherwise will keep the A/C on fresh air in more moderate temps (no smell).

This was a good discovery -- the smell was nauseating. Other cars that I have do not have this issue using Max A/C (recirc setting with A/C), but does seem to be a design problem with the Pacifica.

 

[rlee777]

Just finished a trip through Vegas to LA. Driving through the hot desert, the stink came back (did clean the evaporator with a disinfectant recently which has worked in the past) in full force. I think I found a clue to minimize the smell -- keep the A/C system on fresh air and NOT recirc ("Max A/C"). That means not using the AUTO setting when temps climb up. That may be why this issue seems hard to track down.

So I manually set the system with the A/C button on and kept the recirc off. After some time (5+ hours of driving), the smell disappeared and never returned the remainder of the trip; even through 100+ degree temps where the smell appeared initially. My theory is that the AUTO setting will kick in Max A/C when outside temps are high (causing this smell), but otherwise will keep the A/C on fresh air in more moderate temps (no smell).

This was a good discovery -- the smell was nauseating. Other cars that I have do not have this issue using Max A/C (recirc setting with A/C), but does seem to be a design problem with the Pacifica.

I have also found that I need to disable the auto stop/start during hot days -- when the A/C compressor is off, with the engine not running, the humid air and subsequent funky smell begins to return. However, with the A/C manually on (no AUTO and no MAX A/C) and vent on Fresh, no more smell for the past 2 weeks with the A/C running continuously.

 

[aridenour99]

The Pacifica has a Front Condensate Drain (see pic) The Problem is Not much ever comes out. As previously posted the Ribbed Drain Hose & Right-Angle transition Block are probably Restricting the Flow. Just 2-weeks after having the Dealer perform the "Star Case S1624000008" Service the AC Smell is back. I PM'd Chrysler Cares about getting their Engineering involved & the Reply was they were out-of Resources on this & I should go back to the Dealer again as they may have other repair options. Oh Well, that means I just keep spraying deodorizer into the air intake. The Dealer does have good Coffee & Donuts but I don't need to be going there every couple weeks.

 

[muscleman]

Could you guys please tell me where is the evaporator for the front and rear? I can't find any such info online. I am hoping to spray the foam cleaner onto the evaporator instead of using lysol to spray into the air intake.

 

[MesaMark]

Not user friendly. There is no easy access to the evaporator coil, nor the drain line.

 

[Sabdullah]

I am having the smell issue on a 2018 and had mechanics check the drain line and spray two bottles of evaporator cleaner. It smelled 2 days after and is getting worse. What is procedure for someone who is having issues in Apr 20 2022. Is there some recall or some modern way to address this as most posts are old.

 

[6Gen]

Horrible smell

We have intermittent smell that just happens when it rains out . Been to the dealer twice for this and they can't find the issue . Also the atuomatic shut off light comes on the dashboard every once in a while and the car will not shut off when your at a light , same thing the dealer can't...

www.pacificaforums.com

 

[Markdodge_383]

Can such a thing lead to legion airs Disease??? I have a 2020 water sloshing sounds in dash. Dealership "if you can leave it a couple weeks we'll get to it"

 

[Rob92321]

Does anyone have the text of the star case for this? I’m looking to help my dealer pinpoint the problem and Chrysler cares hasn’t responded to my message yet

the Star case is S1624000008. At least according to previous posts

 

[Rob92321]

Does anyone have the text of the star case for this? I’m looking to help my dealer pinpoint the problem and Chrysler cares hasn’t responded to my message yet

the Star case is S1624000008. At least according to previous posts

for anyone reading this later, we did the spray Lysol in the air intake trick for 5 mins with the blower on full truck to get rid of the smell. Still going to have the dealer look at it. The star case seems to boil down to clean the evap coil and check the drain isn’t blocked. I got the below from @ChryslerCares.


S1624000008 references musty smell associated with the AC ducts. The solution is as follows:
"When following the standard procedure for A/C Evaporator Cleaning in
TechCONNECT it is necessary to use MOPAR Cooling Coil Cleaner (05170022AB).
This is the cleaning solvent that will properly clean the evaporator. Follow the service
procedure for the necessary vehicle in “Section 24 Heating and Cooling – Standard
Procedure – A/C Evaporator Cleaning” and use the correct amount of solvent needed
according to the service information."