Unclog A/C drain and remove musty smell easily

[shadonoz]

Thanks, tomcat. I've had the smell in every car I've owned. Your step by step is invaluable. I'll be ready when it gets bad.

 

[beginnerluck]

I think I may have this issue on my 2003 Protege5. I am struggling to remove this trim to get access to the drain. I loosened the screw, it is very loose on the left side but seems stuck in the top right corner. Any idea why?

 

[Jedi54]

my 2019 just started having this odor whenever I turn the car on so reading up on some older threads.
this looks like a great one, unfortunately oP's images no longer show.

 

[cz5gt]

you could clean and disinfect your evaporator and the smell will go away for some time.
A proper ac spray would help and can be sprayed through the blower motor below the ac cabin filter.
Its highly unlikely your drain pipes are clogged so early.

 

[rovi]

I've had a spider web clog the ac drain hose on a Toyota.

 

[Jedi54]

first off you guys are awesome!
My 2019 (54k miles) started doing this the last week or two and this video greatly helped.

I did notice the hose is slightly different on the 2018 as it didn't have that retaining clip on the top part of the drain hose.

I was able to get the kool-it line all the way into this hose and emptied the can into the line.
had some discolored fluid leak out of it into a container while I let it sit for 15 minutes so you could tell it was definitley cleaning it out.

After starting the car up it appears the smell is greatly reduced / gone but I'll keep an eye on it the next few drive cycles.

one interesting things is I drove the car around for about 10 minutes after cleaning (with that kick panel removed) and I did see a bit of water on my floor mats. Not much but dripping from somewhere.
The drain line doesn't appear to be clogged as it was dripping into a tupperware container earlier so maybe it's just some extra condensation / fluid that I missed earlier. Something to keep an eye on the next few days.

 

[Orbita1frame]

Does anyone know if this is the same for the 2016-2022 CX-9s. Went to the dealer and that was one of the recommended services to get.

 

[cz5gt]

small leaks from lower vents when you do it this way. if its sprayed from the other side thriugh the blower motor (motor has to be removed) it doesnt leak. Also most likely your spray doesnt evaporate immediately. Not all sprays are equal.
But at the end it works

 

[GFrosty]

first off you guys are awesome!
My 2019 (54k miles) started doing this the last week or two and this video greatly helped.

I did notice the hose is slightly different on the 2018 as it didn't have that retaining clip on the top part of the drain hose.

View attachment 306240


I was able to get the kool-it line all the way into this hose and emptied the can into the line.
had some discolored fluid leak out of it into a container while I let it sit for 15 minutes so you could tell it was definitley cleaning it out.

After starting the car up it appears the smell is greatly reduced / gone but I'll keep an eye on it the next few drive cycles.

one interesting things is I drove the car around for about 10 minutes after cleaning (with that kick panel removed) and I did see a bit of water on my floor mats. Not much but dripping from somewhere.
The drain line doesn't appear to be clogged as it was dripping into a tupperware container earlier so maybe it's just some extra condensation / fluid that I missed earlier. Something to keep an eye on the next few days.

^ This is the basic method I just used, on my 2016 CX5. Did two cans of the Kool-It stuff. With patience, it was easy enough to get the long tube past that 90deg bend in the HVAC hose. Sprayed it, ran the HVAC for about 20mins until no longer a trickle, then re-did the process with a second can. Lots of darker greenish/brownish crud came out. Now, the smells are down ~95%. Works nicely enough. Annually, I'll keep an eye (nose?) on the smells, then do another can if needed. Seems to work well. No apparent leaks.

 

[yrwei52]

Hi, I searched and couldn't find a how to on this so I figured i do a write-up to help anyone in the same situation.....

First thing I did was check the CX-5 service guide for unclogging procedure,
there was none, but there was a diagram of where the drain hose was,
it's behind the panel by the passenger left shin: ⋯

Hope @tomcat1446 can re-post those pictures now are missing in his excellent write-up.