If you’re a car owner in Dubai, you know how important your car’s AC is in beating the scorching heat. At times, your car’s AC may smell bad which might leave you thinking what went wrong.
It’s important not to ignore this issue as it often signals bigger problems. You’d certainly not want your car’s AC to stop working in the middle of your journey. Therefore, it’s important to have the issue checked with a professional. We, at DX Garage, provide professional car AC repair and maintenance service in Dubai.
Here are some of the common reasons for bad odour from your car’s AC
1) Bacteria/ mold growth: One of the most common reasons for your car’s AC to smell unpleasant is the growth of bacteria and/or mold in the air vents. The evaporator of the AC is one of the common spots for bacterial/mold growth. If you don’t use your car or the AC regularly, bacterial/mold can quickly grow and cause the interior to smell bad. Also, turning the AC to maximum can cause excess water to drip from the unit and quicken bacterial/mold growth.
As part of your car cleaning routine, make sure to clean the air vents. Using anti-bacterial treatment is a good option to properly clean the interior components of the AC. Also, check the drain pipe of the AC unit. If it’s leaking, get it immediately fixed.
2) Fuel leakage/ leakage in the cooling system: Fuel leakage is another common reason for unpleasant odour in your car’s AC. Whenever there’s as fuel leakage in your car, the AC sucks the odour of the fuel along with fresh air, leaving your interior cabin smell like gasoline. To fix this issue, you need to spot the leakage. In your car’s engine compartment, inspect the fuel injector ‘O’ rings and fuel pressure regulator; these are the two common areas where leakage occur the most.
3) Leakage in the cooling system: Modern cars come with AC units that work with the cooling system. Any damage to the cooling system’s components can cause glycol to leak and give off a bad odour. Glycol works as an antifreeze agent in the AC unit.
Bad car AC odour also indicates health risks
Apart from indicating serious technical issues, bad odour in the AC unit also increases health risks. For example, if there’s bacterial/mold growth in the AC unit, neglecting to clean it increases the risks of airborne diseases such as common cold, influenza, measles, chickenpox, and whooping cough.
Also, Glycol, the colourless liquid, is harmful for your health; prolonged exposure to it increases the risk of kidney and nervous system complications.
Get your car’s AC system professionally inspected for proper diagnosis of the problem
Through professional inspection, you can choose the right solution to fix the underlying issues. The better you maintain your car’s AC unit, the safer will be the air in the interior cabin.
