bad A/C smell when not moving?

[torqued]

Car has only 3800 miles on it. Starting a week or two ago I began noticing an unpleasant smell from the A/C after stopping and running it with the engine off. Today I noticed it while stuck in a drive-thru, engine running this time. I didn't notice it on the freeway coming home from that.

I don't know what it smells like. I think the system always comes on in recirc mode. First car I've owned that didn't always want to pop out of recirc mode eventually I think. Do I need to just drive it blowing fresh outside air thru it every now and then?

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[Shifting_Gears]

Have you noticed and change in its ability to cool, or any film on the front glass? The evaporators are a known AC failure point and will leak refrigerant as a first sign of failure.

Otherwise, change your cabin air filter. Could have mold/mildew if it’s a few years old. On my previous Ford (Focus ST) it needed to be replaced once a year or so to avoid that issue because their design was prone to collect debris and moisture. More than once that thing smelled like a hot gym sock.

 

[frank s]

I had a moldy smell in a previous car. It did not go away with filter changes. The relief was in running the air conditioning on full and spraying Lysol disinfectant into the external air intake grills. If your problem is another kind of odor, I'm at a loss.

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