2007 Mini Cooper S: Stink Bomb

That's something that I like about my Volvo S60... if the A/C was being used, the car will operate the HVAC blower fan through all of the interior ducts for 20 or 30 minutes after the car has sat off for a while to dry out everything before any funkiness can set in. Of course, I thought something was wrong with the car the first time I noticed it... one of the rare times the owner's manual actually helped (otherwise, it reads like IKEA assembly instructions).

"What the hell is an aluminum falcon?!?"

Yay! Estreka wins a gold star.
 
Link to Robot Chicken Star Wars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me8I1GAd-ys

Here's an easier one:
"It tastes like feeeeet..."

no it means your mini has mold. A common problem with some bmw's, and other cars.
 
stolen from another site:"BMW NA Customer Relations 11-15-2004 12:19 PM
 
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I'm with BMW of North America, LLC. I've checked with our experts regarding this issue. This is an industry wide problem caused by humid conditions. Moisture that condenses on the evaporator can provide an environment favorable to microorganisms drawn in either from the outside air, or from inside the passenger compartment (particularly from food or pets). This can cause a musty odor, when the air conditioner is first switched ON."
 
http://bmwboard.com/forum/printthread.php?t=13246
 
its common with other cars. My sunfire developed it this past year (granted its 7 years old not one like the mini).
 
The short term solution was to in the middle of summer run the ac system full blast on HOT, will spraing lysol by the blower. It killed most of the mold, and dryed stuff out, hopefull it lasts

Thank you for posting a picture of the Mini dashboard. The one time sat in a Mini, I couldn't get over how friggin ugly the dash looked. Not just ugly, but plastic and cheap looking.
 
As often as the media praises the Mini, I just can't take it seriously, when the interior looks like it's made by PlaySkool.

^^I can see how it can be considered ugly, but I thought the materials were pretty high quality.

Can you imagine the reactions if that interior was in a Cobalt or Focus.
 
To call it ugly, is an insult to ugly.

The best thing to use to get the moldy smells out of a car that I have found is a GM Vehicle Care product. Its simply call odor eliminator and its used to kill ANY smells in a car including smoke, wet dog, feet wrapped in bacon etc...
 
Anyway, its about 16 bucks a bottle(expensive but its the only thing that works)

Febreeze rules.

Funny, being in South Florida the humidity capital of the US, I have never had that problem. I would think SoCal climatically would never have humidity problems so sever you would get mold in the A/C system.

karjunkie, I've had this happen with a few cars here in Socal. Strangely, my Mini will get this once in awhile yet I rarely use my AC. My 2001 Jetta had this exact problem but I used my AC constantly then.

I've found that turning the ac off and letting the blower run for a few minutes before shutting off the car works.

greenpony: right on... drying out the system is the way to go/prevent this from happening.
 
karjunkie - it doesn't happen to every car, some are more prone to this then others... in some cars more water gets trappend and creates a nice climate for fungus

"Can you imagine the reactions if that interior was in a Cobalt or Focus."
 
I would celebrate. The center stack is a little PlaySkool-looking, however, the overall materials quality is pretty darn good. And unlike the last Mini, put together well. The Focus is bad and the Cobalt's cabin in particular is a real shame considering how otherwise good the Cobalt SS is.

opfreak, My Sunfire has that same smell, and I would have never thought about it being mold.
 
I just learned something new today. Thanks for the advice.

glad I could help. I'm waiting to see what will happen this summer. The smell might come back, but I haven't had anything all year. I thought something died in my car last year.
 
Though after looking under the car this year, my sunfire will probably be retired next year. This winter was terrible, so much snow and salt around here, that the rust on parts is sad. Its had more rust on it in 5 months of winter, then in 7.5 yrs before it... Its all surface rust, but so much, ick.
 
oh well, I figure a 8-9 year run with one car is enough for me.

My sunfire is on it's last legs to. It's my beater that I drive sometimes to work, but I think she's only got a year left in her. I figure next winter will be her last. Mine's a little older, has been reliable form me, but she starting to get a little tired.
 
I don't run that AC nearly enough times a year and now I know why i'm getting that smell. It can't help being parked outside year around. I'm going to give your methods a shot.

one of the few reasons the sunfire is around, is because its paid off, and it has so few problems.
 
the ac thing was nasty. My car is outside too, and has been for all but one year(had indoor parking one year).
 
I would try the lysol, take the center vents out, spray some in there. Turn the ac to max power (recirculating), but instead of on the cold setting turn it to Heat and spary the lysol in the passanger footwell.
 
Spary it for a good while, then turn everything off, so some of the lysol stays in the system.
 
The next day, while driving just crank the heat for like 10-15 mins to dry everything out.
 
I had to do it 2-3 times before it stuck.

My car was fine when I lived in dry places but as soon as I moved to a humid place, the fungus attack began. I used a common ac cleaner (foam) that came with a little hose. I stuck that thing all the way in each ac vent and emptied out half a can as I don't like cheese blowing in my face when I start driving. I fired my driver Noor thinking that he's farting as soon as I got in the car (and I don't allow him to leave the ac on idle).
 
Can't imagine the stink in a small car like the Mini. If I had a Mini, I probably would have killed the driver.

AUTHOR: briancam
DATE: 04/18/2008 05:27:54 PM
EMAIL: bmoody@edmunds.com