Hi, I have a 530d E60 which within the last few weeks has developed a really bad smell when first starting up the car, the a/c is left constantly switched on all year round but now the weather has warmed up I now have this smell. The pollen filters have been changed regularly, I've tried one of those a/c cleaner sprays that you set off in the car whilst the a/c is on recirculate.

The smell is that bad it makes me feel sick, I'm getting that desperate I'm considering taking it to the dealer which I know will cost me loads, therefore any help would be much appreciated :-)

 

mold may have set in the heater core or AC ducts. As a general practice, you should switch off AC few minutes before shutting down the engine - the air circulation (with AC off) will help dry off the AC ducts.

 

Probably need new microfilters. When you open the hood and look at the top/back left and right side near the wipers you'll see two boxes. The filters are in there and after X number of miles they need to be changed.

 

I had this problem both on my previous e46 and now my e60. I read a thread in the past that one member from e46fanatics sprayed lysol in the ducts of the microfileter. i have then been doing that since and it works getting rid of that mold smell.

i took my e46 in the dealer in the past, dealers are aware of this problem but was not covered under warranty??? they ended up spray some other type or aerosol spray to get rid of the mold smell, what ever they used didnt get rid of the problem.

Ever since, i been using lysol crisp linen, it a disinfectent spray, works great. Plus, smells good when using the AC!!

 

Yup, Lysol works. Dealer used Ozium on mine once covered by warranty.

 

Thank you all for your responses, will look into your suggestion and give it a go :-)

 

I have tried Ozium, Lysol and changing mircro filters -- Nothing worked.

I had to take it to a dealer and they got it fixed.


If you change your microfilters and the smell doesnt go away, its better to revert back to your old filters until you get the ac cleaned otherwise the bacteria will spoil your new microfilters again.

The problem occours mainly when you run your air conditioning (mostly when its humid) and you park your car in a dark place.

 

I had this problem last year. There was a special at the dealer and they cleaned it for $60 if I remember well.

I never had this problem with any other cars I have had. Strange that this happens on BMW...

 

Same here! I had a 77 320 that NEVER had an issue like this. My 94" 530i had this issue and I used Lysol to get rid of the mold issue. Now my e60 is the same but as a practice I shut down the a/c and leave the fan running for a minute or so......

 

I have had the dealer address this issue twice. Once, they used some sort of "frigi fresh" deodorizer on the AC system. That lasted about a month. Next, they used the "ozone machine" for two different cleaning cycles. That left the AC system with this foul plastic stench. I guess that's what ozone smells like.

I live in Dallas, so I have to run my AC even sometimes in the winter because of temperature fluctuations. The AC odor is still there, and it usually lasts about 1-2 minutes when the car is first started. BMW of Dallas emphatically told me last time they used the "ozone/plastic stench machine", that they would not cover the cost of that treatment next time. They said that AC odors are environment issues, and not their responsibility. Total BS.

Does anyone know exactly where the condensation from the evaporator drains to. I was told that it drips onto the plastic transmission tunnel cover, and evaporates from there. I would just like to possibly check and see if any condensation is present.