[cosgos]

Hi guys,

Last summer i bought a second hand F25 LCI and i have this issue. Every time it rains, the air inside the car becomes very stinky (AC on or AC off or even with the ventilation turned off). The car has a panoramic roof, when i bought it one of the gaskets had leaks but those were fixed. Currently there is no leak in the car. The sunroof drains are not cloged, new filters were fitted (even the small ones from the glove compartment). I have a moisture meter (not sure if this is the correct name) that i use to check if there is any moisture in the carpets or in the roof and everything is bone dry.

Any ideas on what could be issue or what parts should be replaced or cleaned?

[mwat]

Honestly bro maybe the same thing but I've noticed a similar weird smell that seems to be after it rains too. I don't have any leaks or clogs. Not sure...

I'd say it happens like 1/2x a month so maybe it is correlated with when it rains.

[Opie55]

Keep in mind that the carpets have a very thick rubber backing. There could be pools of standing water under the carpets and they would be bone dry on top.

[littleob]

I agree with Opie. there could be water under the rug. Also as an FYI the rubber backing socks up a ton of water. I live in New England and we had 2.5 days of rain last weekend. I had an 1" of water in the passengers footwear. I bought a floor dryer and lifted the carpet sticking the exhaust part under the carpet lip. 24 hours it was completely dry. If the carpet is wet there will be a puddle under it. I would pull a seat, lift the bass cover then you can peal the carpet back to see about that water. If you find wet backing, dry it and put some backing soda under it. It shouldn't take too long. Good luck

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by littleob

I agree with Opie. there could be water under the rug. Also as an FYI the rubber backing socks up a ton of water. I live in New England and we had 2.5 days of rain last weekend. I had an 1" of water in the passengers footwear. I bought a floor dryer and lifted the carpet sticking the exhaust part under the carpet lip. 24 hours it was completely dry. If the carpet is wet there will be a puddle under it. I would pull a seat, lift the bass cover then you can peal the carpet back to see about that water. If you find wet backing, dry it and put some backing soda under it. It shouldn't take too long. Good luck

I think you are confusing a couple things here. The rubber backing I'm talking about is part of the carpet itself. It will not absorb any moisture because it is solid, hard rubber. You must be referring to the sound deadening material under the carpet.

[cosgos]

Good ideea. I will lift the carpets in a couple of days to check.
Why do you think the smell comes to life only when theres moisture in the air? I was thinking of cleaning the evaporator but cant find any entry point.
Maybe buy a evap cleaning spray that has a hose and stick it in the vents? Would help if someone has a guide or some pics.
Thanks!

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by cosgos

Good ideea. I will lift the carpets in a couple of days to check.
Why do you think the smell comes to life only when theres moisture in the air? I was thinking of cleaning the evaporator but cant find any entry point.
Maybe buy a evap cleaning spray that has a hose and stick it in the vents? Would help if someone has a guide or some pics.
Thanks!

Look online for products to clean the evaporator and YouTube videos. They have a long wand on them, and access is through where your cabin air filters go - under the glovebox. Dealers do tithe same way - with a long wand.

[cosgos]

Finally had the time to clean the evap. I tried accesing it from under the pollen fillter (aka under the bonnet) and also from the inside of the car through the glovebox (by removing the two small air filters) but both methods didnt work.

The method that worked was from the front vents. I inserted an endoscopic camera and and the wand and i was succesfull. There are some flaps that close and cover the evap after 1 or 2 minutes so i had to press the start button once in a while to uncover the evap.

I’ve seen a video where they replace an f25 evap and the front looks clean but the backside is very dirty. I suspect that the same thing could happen to mine also. With the first rain, the bad smell came back…maybe its not from the evap and its from the headliner. Not sure what the previous owner did to it.
Below is a link to that video. Its one of the few that i found on this topic (scroll to the end for the evap)
https://youtu.be/cfi9_Vw3ci4

Do you guys think there is a posibility to also access the backside of the evap in order to clean it?