some of my friends and siblings say that when i turn on the AC they smell something funny. apparantly no one can describe as to what it smells like, just "funny" or "weird." i'm bad at distinguishing smells so i can't smell anything weird even when i try. i drive an 05 civic ex se and use it just as a nice gas efficient car--no racing. it's less than a year old, bought it new, now with 10-11k miles on it.


also stalled in 5th one/two weeks ago (let go of clutch before putting into neutral at a stop light) and the whole day it seemed like my clutch was slipping. the car never acted like that before and the next day till now, it's been fine. prolly nothing big to worry about but something that's been on my mind. i still have my 1 yr/12000 mile warranty if this could mean something.

 

ac's just smell funny sometimes, i wouldnt worry bout it

 

i had a '89 prelude and my ac would smell like maple syrup when the heat was on. there was no scent with cold air just when the heater was on.
it was kind nice in the winter, always made me hungry though

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Flexin_B18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i had a '89 prelude and my ac would smell like maple syrup when the heat was on. there was no scent with cold air just when the heater was on.
it was kind nice in the winter, always made me hungry though </TD></TR></TABLE>

i've gotten the maple syrupy scent as well...weird...it goes away though.

 

make a habit of turning your a/c off.. but leave the fan going for the last 3-5 mins of your drives. it will help dry out the vents..

 

thx for the helpful replies

 

you can have the a/c system treated with o-zone. this a method to have the odor removed from a/c ducts.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Uhkordguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">make a habit of turning your a/c off.. but leave the fan going for the last 3-5 mins of your drives. it will help dry out the vents.. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Yup

The reason is because cold vent ductwork will collect moisture just like a cold Coke can "sweats".

Extra moisture in a cool, dark area is a great place for mold to grow.

If you shut off the a/c and get the ductwork back to the ambient temperature, it won't collect moisture, and mold won't have a chance to grow.

If you've got a bit of a smell now, you can pretty much get rid of it by being extra-sure that you're drying out the system after each time you use it. It'll take a week or two, but it'll get pretty good.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Captin Bodussy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ac's just smell funny sometimes, i wouldnt worry bout it</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Flexin_B18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i had a '89 prelude and my ac would smell like maple syrup when the heat was on. there was no scent with cold air just when the heater was on.
it was kind nice in the winter, always made me hungry though </TD></TR></TABLE>

Haha, just put a smile on my face reading this. That's your rad. fluid there boys. Mmmmm Kool-Aid!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Highway Hypnosis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ac's just smell funny sometimes, i wouldnt worry bout it</TD></TR></TABLE>

If this happens when the heat is on I'm willing to bet that you have a heater core or heater hose leak. When coolant cooks off of something hot, (e.g. heater core, exh. manifold,) you get that sweet smell.