information concerning the mildew smell from the ac

[dadsturn]

I have been back to the dealer now 4 times concerning this. they have replaced the cowling, sprayed the interior. Dismantled the passenger side carpet and under dash. Now, the fourth time they had two reps there and are now replacing the entire evap. box and heater. It wont be in until after the first. They have also stated that this is the last thing they can do to stop the mildew smell every time you start the car.

I have also run the ac with open circulation, that didn't work. The third time in I informed them that I have contacted a lawyer to apply the lemon law And I will go forward with this if it isn't fixed by the fourth time.

I, as well as many of you paid a good price for the ultimate and this is not negotiable to have to accept this as a standard. we love the car but if this isn't cured, then we have no choice. just wanted to inform all of what is and has been done to cure this. just hope this does the trick.

 

[Mark_888]

Hyundai definitely needs a design change of the HVAC to address this. I don't see how replacing parts is a permanent solution, unless the new parts are designed differently.

 

[dadsturn]

we will see! im tired of playing around about this. the smell has just gotten worse.

 

[confusedman]

Bro, keep us posted. Because, I'm in the same boat. Talked to more Hyundai reps than I care to in a lifetime. Keep telling me to go back to the dealer. Nothing happens and shit is ridiculous for the price. Let alone, the potential health negatives. If your lawyer works out, would love their info.

 

[Huddleston]

I guess I'm lucky mine hasn't been bad at all. Hopefully they get a fix in place soon. For such an expensive car it's a surprising issue

 

[coolasice]

I have a little bad smell when i first start. But it goes away pretty quick. Is yours just staying and not going away?

 

[Mark_888]

Bro, keep us posted. Because, I'm in the same boat. Talked to more Hyundai reps than I care to in a lifetime. Keep telling me to go back to the dealer. Nothing happens and shit is ridiculous for the price. Let alone, the potential health negatives. If your lawyer works out, would love their info.

There is no real "solution" until Hyundai redesigns the source of the problem. That is obvious, simply based on the number of complaints on this forum. Obviously, the problem varies to some degree, probably based on the general weather conditions where each owner lives (such as humidity, temperature, etc).

A dealer is not going to redesign it, only Hyundai can do that. The dealer may be able clean the system out enough to temporarily make the problem less noticeable.

 

[ep010835]

dadsturn - what part of the world are you from? I live in hot and humid Texas and during worst of the summer months I get just a little whiff of the smell you are describing but it goes away before I'm even out of the driveway.

 

[coolasice]

I am in canada and it was fine during the summer. But now if i leave the car outside i get a blast of it when the ac first starts but once it gets rolling it is seemingly gone.

 

[Mark_888]

If someone is getting a wiff of the smell at startup, and it seems to go away, that means the mildew is still alive in the system on a permanent basis. It is growing somewhere inside the HVAC system. Even if they can figure how to clean it out with chemicals, it will likely come back. It's a basic design flaw in the system.

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[dadsturn]

they are stating that the mildew must have started long before I received the car, and that the amount of mildew trapped is hard to remove and they have to replace the assembly. this I can possibly see. corners crevises inside that the solution they use wont get to.

 

[dadsturn]

dadsturn - what part of the world are you from? I live in hot and humid Texas and during worst of the summer months I get just a little whiff of the smell you are describing but it goes away before I'm even out of the driveway.

I'm here in Katy, Tx.

 

[Mark_888]

they are stating that the mildew must have started long before I received the car, and that the amount of mildew trapped is hard to remove and they have to replace the assembly. this I can possibly see. corners crevises inside that the solution they use wont get to.

What makes anyone think it won't come back even if they find it? This is a design problem, and more than a few owners have noticed it.

 

[GODZUKIHOP]

I have the issue also even after a trip to the dealer on it. Going to contact Hyundai today and then my next contact will be. Maybe we all need to contact NHTSA?

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

 

[Mark_888]

I have the issue also even after a trip to the dealer on it. Going to contact Hyundai today and then my next contact will be. Maybe we all need to contact NHTSA?

NHTSA only cares about safety problems. I am not sure whether they would consider an HVAC system that makes you sick to be a safety problem, unless it causes more accidents.

 

[dadsturn]

Mark 888 is correct. NHTSA will not become involved with this. Safety issues only. used them to correct a fuel tank leak problem on my 04 corvette.

I have asked just what Hyundai would do if this doesn't fix the problem but have not heard back. so as far as im concerned, they can step up to the plate and do whats right, or I go through the lemon law.

 

[Mark_888]

I have asked just what Hyundai would do if this doesn't fix the problem but have not heard back. so as far as im concerned, they can step up to the plate and do whats right, or I go through the lemon law.

Hyundai Motor America may not be able to do much to permanently fix the problem, if it is in fact a design problem (as I strongly suspect). Someone at Genesis engineering in Korea needs to figure this out, and whether it can be improved for existing cars, and also how to redesign the system to fix it permanently for future models (without waiting for the 3rd generation in 4-5 years).

If I had even a hint of this problem with a 2015-2016 (I own a first generation Genesis), I would open a case with Hyundai Motor America. If enough people do that it "might" get their attention.

 

[dadsturn]

I am not completely convinced this is a design flaw as many do not have this problem. Now......I don't count out a defective part, nor do I count out that something happened during the build time. For all I know the plant might have had a fire and the sprinkler systems went off in the build bays while some cars were being built. just don't know. but this can be remedied and it is up to Hyundai to do so.

 

[Mark_888]

I am not completely convinced this is a design flaw as many do not have this problem. Now......I don't count out a defective part, nor do I count out that something happened during the build time. For all I know the plant might have had a fire and the sprinkler systems went off in the build bays while some cars were being built. just don't know. but this can be remedied and it is up to Hyundai to do so.

I think the reason why not everyone has the problem, or differing degrees of the problem, is that in some places mildew is more of a problem than others. Based on the many posts on this subject, it seems to be fairly pervasive, although many only notice it when their car is first started. But if it is noticed at any time, and to any degree, that means there is at least some mildew or mold in there.

I would guess that it has something to do with water or moisture not draining properly from the system, and stagnant water can be a breading ground for mold and mildew. That is why I say it may be a design problem. Whether that is easy is to fix permanently, I don't know.

 

[ksoze]

Quick Google search of "mildew smell on start up" brings up over 15,000 posts covering virtually every car model. Not saying there is not a specific problem with the Genesis, but a cursory review of just the first page full of various car brands looks like it could have been this site.