in my son's gym locker - Yuck!

So, I've asked my Audi service dept. to please take care of the 'musty' smell that occasionally wafts out of the A/C. They tell me that the air filter just needs to be cleaned and that I just need to turn the A/C off a couple miles before I reach my destination, so that the compressor has a chance to drain and dry all of the condensed moisture off. Apparently, they think that this moisture remains in the compressor somewhere, doesn't ever completely dry, and then starts to get moldy, which is then the smell that I have been enjoying. <NOT>

My first thought was, how do you put the A/C into Econ mode? My service advisor told me to just put it in Econ mode, but how... there's no button...I looked...then, I finally hit the set up button for the climate control sys and there's a selection to switch Econ to on/off. I'm not convinced this will fix my problem, the last time I had them clean the air filter my car started passing that nasty smell on the way home from the dealer! So, if you've been trying to figure out how to put your car in Econ mode, now you know - the down side, after you restart your car, you have to go back into the menu and take it out of Econ mode to start the A/C again. Sheesh, you'd think they could have come up with a push button on/off switch for this one.

Is anybody else having this problem? I'm curious if the D3 has the same drains that the D2's have that can become clogged, and if this could possibly be my problem. Suggestions anyone? And No, I didn't forget any cheeze under my passenger seat!

See what occurs(or doesnt) after they clean the filter and you cycle the system. It does sound like a residual moisture issue. I as well think that the HVAC controls are lacking in their design. The system is too complicated for what it does. I am dealing with air flaps that dont open all of the way and the dealer just scratches his head. My next step is to put a rake in the dealers hand and see if he continues to scratch!!!

When the unit is in ECON, the compressor is off and it won't do anything. It won't dry anything. The compressor via the evaporator actual reduces humidity levels and drys the air.

Maybe there is a condensate drain for the evaporator that is clogged, causing excess condensate in the tray, which sits and gets musty.

When you run your car, does it drain water on the ground, such as in your garage after you drive around and leave the car there?

I hate to admit it, but... I haven't been paying attention to whether my car has been leaving puddles. If I were able to park my car in the garage it would probably be something I'd notice, however, we moved this summer and alas, my garage is still full of boxes and my baby sits outside... So, today, I will take note of what is or isn't going on under my car :)

Fairly obvious on concrete roads and parking lots.

I guess it's time to call the dealer.

A home remedy quick-fix is to run the heat on high with motor running and windows open with out sitting in the vehicle for 10 minutes. At least it works on the VW Touareg. You can probably sit in it during the process, if you want! :-)

I had the same problem. There is a service bulletin for this. It fixed the problem for a while, but now I have intermittant odors. Will address next service, hopefully this time it will last and not become a quarterly fix.

Everytime I take my care in for any kind of service, I complain about the smell. They always give it back to me with the same little song and dance, telling me they cleaned the air filter and that I should turn the system to 'econ' before reaching my final destination, as this should help dry things up in there so mold can't grow (doesn't that sound lovely?) There's got to be something more to it than this... Obviously their little suggestion doesn't work, because the last time that they supposedly fixed the problem I was only about 2 miles away from the dealer's, after picking up the car, and it started smelling - how could mold grow that quickly? Time to call my service advisor and let him know I'm on to them.

Gina-

I don't have the service bulletin, but it's listed as follows...

TSB #A870501 - Musty Odor from Heating and Ventilation System
Affects:
A4/S4 Cabriolet (2000-2005); A6 (2000-2004); S6/RS6/Allroad (2000-2005); A8 (2000-2005); TT (2000-2005) 2000-2005

Giving them the TSB number should give your service dept. contact the needed jolt ;-)

I had the same problem. There is a service bulletin for this. It fixed the problem for a while, but now I have intermittant odors. Will address next service, hopefully this time it will last and not become a quarterly fix.

My A4 has developed a musty stench that's only there for the first 10-15 min after startup then goes away. The dealer should have changed the filters at the 95K service in May. How do you access the filters and ducts to wipe out the ductwork?
Thanks

Wrong section man, and on top of that you have an A4 which is extremely easy to service. Everything is done just like any normal car.

I too noticed the musty smell when I first start it up. I will look into my a/c draining.