Just bought 2003 Terracan. Car Has AC. Very funny chemically smell like celery coming through vents. AC is working with no obvious faults loss of charge to the system.

Any ideas what it can be??

Gidboy

14/11/09

Car was serviced yesterday, all fine on pollen filter and AC system, but my mechanics has confirmed that with the fan on the screen actually goes damp, with moisture forming. This tastes of antifreeze. He is guessing that there is a tiny pin hole leak in the heater matrix allowing a fine spray leak to enter the air stream.

Does any one have info on changing the heater matrix//Cost/supplier of new one??

Gidboy

This post has been edited by GidBoy: Nov 14 2009, 04:02 AM

Odors coming out the AC vents can be many things, but most of them are from "time buildup" of whatever environment things were happening inside the vehicle for long time. A "celery" smell sounds suspicious like some kind of "air freshner" (herbal or something) that is still inside the car, probably under the dashboard.

Anyway, most of this odors are trapped in the AC pollen filter. Replacing this filter can be done.

Take a look here for detailed instructions on how to do this.
http://www.hyundai-forums.com/t39213-diy-t...replacement.htm

Pollen filter part number is: 97030-H1726.

Also, you can dump several sprays of lysol into the vents as well as the intake vents (below windshield, engine side) to diminish any left odors inside the AC ducts.

Robert B.

welcome to the forums gidboy (IMG:style_emoticons/default/00000732.gif)

take note of the above answer. also as you have just bought the vehicle, was the engine bay steam cleaned by the vendor before you bought it? when they do this they use a chemical detergent and this can leave a strong odour. can you smell this when you open the bonnet?

Hi G'Boy,

The above is all good advice - I had a foul damp/old curryish (really!) odour from mine as the previous owner hadn't used the vehicle in a while, so changed the filters (turns out, there weren't any in when I opened up the compartment!) as well as spraying antiseptic air-spray (used Dettol - cos I like the smell of apples (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif) ).

Made a BIG difference when even the Hyundai dealer's AC disinfectant "bombs" didn't work.

Happy Terracan'ing - I love mine!

Cheers,
T'bob.

Keep in mind that A/C refrigerant can go stale over time and cause a funky smell when the system is reactivated. Try running the A/C for a while to cycle the refrigerant through the system and get things fresh again. I also suggest the above advice and replace the cabin air filter element.