Have a 2017 f type R that I have owned since new. Car lives in central Florida, so AC is on all the time. No mechanical problems noted with car, but all of a sudden air coming out of AC smells like mildew. Car is driven maybe once or twice a week so I don’t know if it’s from sitting in a humid environment or just from the AC being always on. I presume there is a filter in the hvac but couldn’t find it in the manual. Anyone else have this experience?

 

Does the car leave a puddle when parked (and the AC was on previously) ? If not, it likely indicates that the AC drain is clogged and water has backed up in the condenser.

 

As mentioned above, a blocked drain line is a common problem and easily cleared with a compressed air hose, if that's the source. Also, check your cabin air filter to see if anything's going on there. It's an easy DIY replacement, when needed. Either way, give all your vents a good shot of Lysol or other mold-killing spray. Repeat in a few days.

 

The cabin pollen filter is a piece of cake to remove/inspect/clean/replace, see the attached extract from the workshop manual:

 

Here's a link to a Cabin Air filter. As mentioned above, it takes only minutes to do.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

Thanks all, great intel from everyone!

 

Checked the filter as it was easy, perfectly good. Ran the car with the AC on in nice hot florida weather, no drips from the condenser drain hose- I was hoping something would come out as even with a mirror and a strong flashlight I couldn’t readily find the drain tube, and I have no easy way of jacking the car high enough to get under it. Every other car I’ve ever owned the drain tube is readily visible if you know where to look, this one the location is still a mystery to me. I suspect the musty smell is indeed captured water in the condenser box, any insight as to where the drain line terminates would be very helpful, otherwise it’s a trip to the dealer - thanks

 

Moneywise, it's worth buying a couple car ramps instead of paying the dealer, depending upon your situation of course.

 

Is the AC coling normally, apart from the smell?
The reason I ask is that when the AC on my Jeep went bad it also smelled musty - a bit like a wet straw smell.
It was a very small refrigerant leak causing the smell and it lasted a few weeks until the system crapped out completely.
Hopefully, the blocked drain is your problem - much less costly!!

 

Yeah, I bought a couple of low approach car ramps to work on my Lotus Elise, but the Jag sits lower and won’t fit on them- bummer! I too hope it’s not the AC going away but since I see no sign of any condensation drooling out I’ll go with that for now

 

Can anybody describe where to find the drain line in order to unblock it? And where does one apply the compressed air? At the drain end? Wouldn't that blow muck back into the A/C system?

 

Well, just got back from the dealer about my musty smell problem, turns out it’s a lot more complicated than I thought. The reason that I couldn’t find the AC drain tube is because there isn’t one-not in the conventional sense. There is a rubber duckbill that acts as a drain that terminates through the top of the transmission tunnel and allows the condensation to drain off over the insulation and heat shield above the transmission. This drain cannot be accessed without removing the transmission and associated parts. The other option is to completely remove the ENTIRE dashboard, center column, seats, etc to get to the HVAC boxes to clean and replace any parts with bacterial growth on them. Great design work. Car is still under warranty but not happy about having this much induced trauma on a car that is currently cosmetically flawless and rattle free.

 

Oh man, that bites. You might search around via Google and see what the alternatives are. For example, is there anything that can be sprayed into the vents, maybe even something as simple as Lysol. Unfortunately that might only be temporary, in that even if it kills the bacteria, there's still the issue of the plugged drain. Definitely ask around on other Jaguar forums, or stop by an independent Jag shop in your area and ask how they'd deal with it. Dealers sometimes aren't the best ones to ask because in there book, the most expensive solution works in their favor, rather than some trick that an independent shop may know.

 

Just be glad it is still under warranty.
The AC repair on my Jeep (20K miles) involved complete disassembly of dash and cost $2,650.
I actually felt sorry the tech. who had to work upside down in the space under the front seats!!
I think it was a Ferrari that I read needed the engine removed in order to do an oil change!!

 

In case anyone cares, the AC drain is above the transmission and drains onto the insulation and heat shield above it.There is no hose drain as in normal cars and the condenser plenum is hard mounted
to the transmission tunnel with the drain “duckbill” just protruding through. I was able to force drainage out the plenum by closing all the dash vents and
turning the fan up to high, that produced enough pressure in the plenum to force the duckbill open and allow it to drain- something it was reluctant to do

 

Excellent idea!!! Thanks very much for sharing!

 

meaning you did this with the AC on, or off?

also, how do you know it really drained? Just from seeing fluid down the side of the transmission coverings?

 

Have you changed cabin filter? +1 if evaporator is problem, take apart dash!

 

Did the test with AC on , turned blower to full on. The pressure pushed what water there was in the plenum out the duckbill, more than has ever come out under normal running. I have no idea if all water was vacated during this, there is no way to tell, I just wanted to make sure that the drain wasn’t blocked with crud. This stupid drain design does not show signs of dripping constantly like on a regular car, certainly some of the dripping gets caught up in the insulation/heat shield it has to pass over before going on the hot transmission and next to the hot exhaust in close quarters on both sides. Yes, there is a new cabin filter installed and no sign of water in the floorboards. The AC smells normal most of the time, periodically it will blow a musty smell for a minute or so and then go back to normal. I really don’t want to have the major disassembly of removing the entire dashboard and center console if I can help it, knowing it will never be quite the same again. Thought someone who was having trouble with their AC drain might find my experiment useful

 

Could just be the final remains of the skunk you hit a month ago!!