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ADVICE ON AC REPLACEMENT PLEASE

Pnygrl61

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Hi all,

I had a thread on another subject regarding mold that got in my hood insulation. It was pretty bad, and it contaminated my car... long story short, the dealer replace the insulation, ozoned the car, sanitized the AC, blah blah blah. Ford motor actually paid for it, even though my car is a 2015. Longer story. My problem is this:
I am severely reactive, and sensitive to mold spores. I've spent a few hundred dollars so far, Ford paid the bulk of it so I'm not out a ton of money just yet. My car is a 2015 convertible GT, 30,000 MI beautiful car. I have a full factory warranty until 50,000 miles on the car. I probably could get realistically 36,000 for it. Here's my problem:
I love this car and I desperately want to keep it. If I get out of the car, since I owe nothing on it, I obviously can get a different car... but I don't want a different car. 🥺 At this juncture I feel that I can't trust the air conditioning unit. I live in Florida, and I have to tell you it's been miserable not using the air conditioning because of this problem. I just spent another $450 to get a mold remediation done in my car. I think they did a good job, however I don't trust this air conditioner. I don't know anything about air conditioners. I don't know what part of the air conditioner could have mold and or spores in it, and would need it to be taken out and replaced or cleaned. I don't want to get cleaned (literally) at some shop because I don't know what I'm talking about. So please, tell me if you think I'm out of my mind pulling my air conditioning out and having it cleaned, or replaced. The facts are the facts. Mustangs are bringing all the money but if I got into another car I'm going to have to pay the sales tax, the dealer shakedown fee etc etc. Since I love the car and since I don't owe money on it, it makes sense in my head to invest the money in trying to keep it... but I have to know when to cut the umbilical cord. Tell me what you think realistically I'm looking at money wise, and whether the whole thing would have to be taken out, or what part of the air conditioner would be contaminated, and could potentially either be replaced or cleaned, for the least amount of money. Or, just tell I'm out of my damn mind. Thank you so much... I appreciate any input.
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I can't imagine how you're still alive living in Florida if you're mold-sensitive. Every time I visit my parents down there, I'm reminded that mildew is the state smell.

To get a mold-free car, you'd have to buy a brand new one, and never even turn on the fan, much less the A/C. Mold spores are omnipresent in all vehicle ductwork, especially ones driven in southern states with the A/C on.

The best you're going to do is get a fungicidal vent cleaner and use as directed. Then replace the cabin filter. To minimize recurrence, turn off the A/C a few miles from your destination and increase the fan speed. The goal of this is to raise the temperature of your evaporator coil to ambient before you shut the car off, so moisture does not collect and breed more mold.
 

JCFoster

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Me personally I’d replace the cabin filter and while it’s out, I’d run the fan and spray Lysol in the filter cavity. Put in a new filter and Lysol it see how you feel.
 

KeyLime

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Something that might help after you get the system cleaned up. You're cooling down that moist FL air and moisture is being condensed out and collecting in the duct work. Before you shutdown turn the AC off and pull non-cooled air through the system for a few minutes. Better yet turn the heat on too. That will help dry out the ducting before you put the car away.
 

DANA44

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Me personally I’d replace the cabin filter and while it’s out, I’d run the fan and spray Lysol in the filter cavity. Put in a new filter and Lysol it see how you feel.
in addition one could acquire small tubing, from the dash side use that as an extension with spraying Lysol
 

ORRadtech

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I know this is an old thread but I'm going to chime in.
In my opinion the only way you have any chance at all of getting rid of the mold in the AC is to pull and replace the evaporator coil. And probably the heater core as well. The fins on those two things are so tiny and close together that there's absolutely no way to completely clean them. Just look through your grill and try to imagine cleaning every speck of dust from between every fin. It's simply not going to happen. And if you don't get every bit the mold will return.
The problem with this is the entire dashboard has to come out. It's around a $3000.00 job, mostly labor as the parts aren't that expensive by themselves. Then, while the dash is out the vents can be throughly cleaned. There are also a lot of foam seals for the blend doors, vent couplings, etc that I'd expect to be contaminated.
I'd suggest checking around and find a shop that specializes in automotive AC to get an estimate. They could probably also advise you on how to keep it from returning.
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