Bad smell through vents?!

[commosmart1]

I have an 04' F-250 and when I turn on the fan or the a/c it blows out a rank mildew old smell. I thought it might be the cab filter but my model does not have one. What could it be? It does it with the a/c or fan turned on.

[Rob]

it's most likely mildew, get some Lysol and spray it in the air inlet, that should help.

[dsltech]

smell your coolant and see if that is the same smell , could be oil cooler or egr cooler!

[mdub707]

My father always taught me when I was young to shut the AC off in the vehicle every time I got out so mildew didn't build up, not sure if it is even true anymore in newer vehicles, but I never have gotten that smell in any of my vehicles, and I know my gf's 02 escape has it, and she leaves hers on (whether it be heat or AC).

[19558077]

dont know if it works but gm sells a spray can to eliminate the mildew smell. the lysol he said may work just as good

[Jarrod B]

well its a ford :



i turn the ac off to vent to dry out the ducts for a few mins to help prevent that.

[jamstoyz]

are you a smoker? if so, do you smoke with the ac or vent on? when i smoke, i shut my ac off cause it smells like chit lol

[06F250FX4]

Frigi Fresh, spray it in the intake in the cowl of your truck while the fan is on, then get it in the truck and turn the a/c on Max A/C or Recirc, which ever you have and let it run so that the Frigi Fresh can get into the evap canister, which is where the smell usually gets caught up