# Bad smell from A/C on 2015 Murano



## Crocker (Jul 2, 2016)

Occasionally when I start my car shortly after it has been driven with A/C on, there is a bad smell coming from the A/C. It smells like anti-freeze having dripped on a hot surface. The smell will soon subside but it is quite nasty for a while. Like I said, it only happens once in a while. I have had this checked at 2 different dealers but they can't find any problem. Has anyone else had this problem?


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## greebo (Jul 2, 2016)

I noticed it directly after buying our 2015 Murano, but it has subsided. I opened the hood once to take a glance at things, and noticed there was some coolant spilled out of the overflow. Maybe that's what you're smelling.


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## Crocker (Jul 2, 2016)

I never looked under the hood when it happened. Next time I'll take the time to do that. Thanks, Greebo, for your reply. At least I now know that other people are having this problem, too.
I can't help wondering if Nissan is aware of this problem and have a secret fix for it but they don't want to do a recall for it. I've asked service managers if they've come across this before but they say no. I think they've been told to deny it. Am I being cynical?


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Cynical? ....Probably. If it's not a safety related issue, it wouldn't likely be recalled. If there was a problem discovered and they've encountered it on several vehicles, they would likely issue a technical service bulletin, which aides their technicians in identifying and repairing an issue. Repairs under TSBs are fixed in accordance with the warranty guidelines for the vehicle. For heating and air conditioning issues, it would usually be 3-years/36,000 miles unless there was an extended warranty. Even when a problem is identified and a repair found for the problem, it usually takes some time before a TSB is released, as it has to go through the engineers and legal departments and be cleared by both before it is issued to the dealer techs. 
I worked as a Nissan technician for 16 years and never encountered any "secret fixes" for problems nor told not to say anything about a problem because Nissan didn't want to issue a recall nor fix a problem. There have been things that Nissan perhaps should have taken care of and didn't, such as the common radiator failures in the 05-10 Nissan trucks which can ruin the transmission, but it was never a "secret." They did do a warranty extension on that particular issue, eventually, but many of the radiators failed after 100,000 miles, which is still beyond the length of the extended warranty.


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## Car guy (Mar 31, 2016)

<I think they've been told to deny it. Am I being cynical?>

My experience is consistent with SMJ, though not as long as his service. But, beyond that, I found, over time, most answers were out of information- and experience-ignorance ... character-flaws ... relative laziness ... and poor listening skills.

But, also decided to comment, because I was at a non-Nissan dealer recently, in the service department, which was directly adjacent to the parts (was picking up a part).

While there, a manager collected a couple techs and pulled them together in a small circle (standing) and said "We aren't selling enough xxx. You need to start PUSHING yyy!" 

The parts area for customer pick-up was literally walled off from the parts where the techs pick up their parts and walled off from the service.

I happened to have opened the door and walked out into the conspiracy, and heard the entire thing. Being walled off from the customers, the manager thought he was 'protected' in what he was doing.

They never knew I was walking through, until it was too late.

The manager immediately stopped talking, and waited till I was out of earshot before he continued.

Caught in the act.

Doubt no more.

Fortunately, this was a dealer had not been to before ... and that is not for our cars. 

Wasn't planning on ever going back, anyway. But, that sealed the decision.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Yes, when it comes to upselling in service departments, there are some shady practices. There is a lot of overhead to running a shop and while cars and trucks require less service and have longer vehicles than years past, it creates a lack of income for the service department and they push to find ways to make them profitable, such as pushing flush services (oil flush, trans fluid flush, P/S system flush, etc). Often the technicians are pressured to sell these services regardless of whether they'll do any good for the vehicle or not. Or, they may push for doing tune-ups earlier than what the manufacturer recommends or selling more work in a scheduled maintenance service than what the manufacturer calls for doing; anti-freeze may not be due for replacing for 100,000 miles or more, but the 30,000 mile "dealer" service includes replacing the coolant. Not all dealers work this way, but there are plenty that do. Would be honest technicians are often put between a rock and a hard place: either doing the company thing or having to find another job. To top it off, any work they do under warranty is a fraction of what the "customer pay" labor rate would be and there is hardly enough time under warranty to do the job properly and still break even on the time.


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## Car guy (Mar 31, 2016)

Nice honesty. If I wasn't a car guy but lived near SMJ, would take the cars to him.

<... work they do under warranty is a fraction of what the "customer pay" labor rate ...>

One of the regional Nissan dealers recently imposed a reduction in the portion of the per-job (hour) time the techs get paid. Same work, less of the cut (to the techs); same work, more of the cut to the owner. On a Friday, the techs earned X; when they showed up for work on Monday, they now earned <X. 

Techs have to work more now to earn what they were before. This encourages selling the unnecessary. 

Turnover has been high. Customers would do well to monitor turnover rate. 

On the other hand, 'like feathers ... flock together.'


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

I don't work in the auto field, any more. I got a state job working in a prison. Less aggravation, steady paycheck, benefits and retirement plan. Best of all, I work in a climate controlled environment and my hands stay clean!


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Crocker said:


> Occasionally when I start my car shortly after it has been driven with A/C on, there is a bad smell coming from the A/C. It smells like anti-freeze having dripped on a hot surface. The smell will soon subside but it is quite nasty for a while. Like I said, it only happens once in a while. I have had this checked at 2 different dealers but they can't find any problem. Has anyone else had this problem?


The origin of the smell may be caused by fungus, bacteria and other microbes growing inside the evaporator core. The moisture-laden environment is very conducive to the growth of these organisms.

As automakers downsize components to save space and weight, this problem has been increased. Because the automakers made the evaporator smaller, the added more fins and packed them closer together to increase the efficiency of the evaporator.

While this has made the evaporator more efficient, it has also made it more prone to trap moisture that contributes to the growth of these organisms.

To fix this problem, locate the drain tube in your A/C unit. Make sure that it's working properly. Use an anti-bacterial treatment that will destroy bacteria that is growing behind your dash panel. Inject the treatment solution into the air conditioner case. It is advisable to turn off the car air conditioner for awhile and let the fan run instead for a few minutes. This will help evaporate the water on the coils of your unit.


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## Crocker (Jul 2, 2016)

The smell first appeared in a month or so of the car being brand new so I wouldn't think mould & mildew would appear so quickly. Also it is not a musty smell which is what I would expect it to be if it was caused by fungus or bacteria. Rather, it is a sharp, almost burning in the nose type of smell. Like I said in my original post, I think it is a few drops of anti-freeze dripping on a very hot surface. Another reason I don't think it is fungus is that the smell disappears after a couple minutes. If it was fungus, I think the smell would persist.
But I will try what you suggest, rogoman. It can't do any harm.

Thanks, everyone, for your posts. If anyone has experienced something similar, I'd like to hear from you.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Back in the "old days," evaporator cases were lined with Styrofoam. A while back, they started using a foam liner which contained chemicals to help prevent mold from forming, but didn't smell particularly good. Usually it smells worse when the vehicle is new, but subsides with time. One good thing about late model cars is that almost all of them have cabin air filters, now. These are great because they keep a lot of leaves, paper and other debris that would normally get blown into the evaporator case, where it would sit in the moist environment and decompose and possibly plug the case drain. There are auto A/C system deodorizers that can be sprayed into the vents and recirc intake to help make the system smell better. BG's Frigi-Fresh is one that comes to mind.

https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/climate-control/bg-frigi-fresh/

BG Frigi Fresh 7083 1oz Can | eBay


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## Car guy (Mar 31, 2016)

smj999smj said:


> I don't work in the auto field, any more. I got a state job working in a prison. Less aggravation, steady paycheck, benefits and retirement plan. Best of all, I work in a climate controlled environment and my hands stay clean!


Well earned.


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