Air Condition strange odor - DIY

[nene]

I have found that the air conditioning system on the RS6 happens to give this musty smell more often than any other car I've owned. Figuring this is a simple Do-It-Yourself (DIY) maintenance item, I put together a quick and fast write up on it.

Instead of paying your hard earn money on dealership labor, simply buy the part, and install the cabin/pollen filter yourself.

Cabin Filter: 4B0 819 439 C

Cabin Filter Change (http://www.htms.org/cabinfilter.html)

[Benman]

Great wripe up Nene. Especially liked this part: All the losers working or associated with Avalon Motorsports shall not use any of the pix included in this write up. The only thing they shall is BURN IN HELL!
:D

Ben:addict:

[Aronis]

Nene, nice writeup.

What is with your comment about Avalon?

Anyway, is this similar for all A6's?

I had a smell in my A6 after the second winter, and opend this same space to spray the A/C deodorant in and there WAS NO FILTER.

perhaps it is different in teh older A6?

Mike

[nene]

I only know that this location for the cabin filter applies to the C5 platform. I can't comment on any other platforms.
I do find myself changing the filter at least every 3 months or so.

[GEN XER]

Can someone tell me how this is done again? The link no longer shows how its done.

[hahnmgh63]

Link seemed to quit for me too. One other thing I would add is many parts places sell the cabin filter in Charcoal impregnated too for a few dollars more. Only purchase these from one of the more reputable parts houses as there is some scuttlebut going around on the internet about some cheap chinese fakes that have the filters litely dusted with black paint to appear like Charcoal impregnated filters. One discount parts supplier sold me some transmission mounts for my old S6 one time that were stamped "Made in China" and they looked fairly close to factory although the rubber molding wasn't quite as finished looking. I installed them anyways and they failed within 10K miles.

[MrBucket]

If replacing the filter doesn't work you can try a product like this that gets sprayed into the ducting.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=41

[terrytcl]

changing the cabin filter is very easy.

1) pop your hood
2) remove the rubber molding that goes across the width of the car. the molding is located about a foot in front of the windshield. this molding is the only thing holding the plastic cover for the master cylinder, coolant reserviour, and cabin filter access.
3) once the rubber molding is removed, you can slide the cover towards the front of the vehicle and out.
4) with the cover out, you can now see the cabin filter in front of the passenger side of the dash.
5) the filter is held on with a plastic flexible clip. just move the clip out of the way and lift the filter out
6) at this point, you should see 2-3 flaps and if the flaps are open, you'll see the blower drum fan. you can spray any kind of deodorizer at this point down the plastic duct. i would not spray anything directly onto the fan though. it is a pain the ass to remove the blower assembly if it ever failed... and it would suck if you shorted something by spraying intentionally into it.
7) grab your new filter and place it into the tray, while holding the plastic clip out of the way. it'll only fit sideways as the filter is a rectangle. be careful not to damage the air sensor that's mounted to the outter edge of the tray.
8) replace the tray cover. make sure you slide it into the groves of the vent tray that is just below the windshield. the cover will not sit right if you do not get it into the grooves correctly.
9) once fitted, replace the rubber molding. the hollow end of the rubber molding faces the hood, so make sure you don't install it upside down.

that's it...

[terrytcl]

yes, don't buy cheap charcoal filters... they don't last.

you may also want to check your coolant reservior level and brake fluid level while you have the cover off.

if you also park under trees, another thing to check for is if your drain is clogged. if clogged, it can cause water to enter your intake duct for your hvac system. the drain is located under the coolant reservior. there are two of them spaced about 1.5 feet apart. remove any debris and pour some water to wash anything down the hose. the drain hoses are clipped to the firewall and exit near the rear subframe mounts.

[GEN XER]

changing the cabin filter is very easy.

1) pop your hood
2) remove the rubber molding that goes across the width of the car. the molding is located about a foot in front of the windshield. this molding is the only thing holding the plastic cover for the master cylinder, coolant reserviour, and cabin filter access.
3) once the rubber molding is removed, you can slide the cover towards the front of the vehicle and out.
4) with the cover out, you can now see the cabin filter in front of the passenger side of the dash.
5) the filter is held on with a plastic flexible clip. just move the clip out of the way and lift the filter out
6) at this point, you should see 2-3 flaps and if the flaps are open, you'll see the blower drum fan. you can spray any kind of deodorizer at this point down the plastic duct. i would not spray anything directly onto the fan though. it is a pain the ass to remove the blower assembly if it ever failed... and it would suck if you shorted something by spraying intentionally into it.
7) grab your new filter and place it into the tray, while holding the plastic clip out of the way. it'll only fit sideways as the filter is a rectangle. be careful not to damage the air sensor that's mounted to the outter edge of the tray.
8) replace the tray cover. make sure you slide it into the groves of the vent tray that is just below the windshield. the cover will not sit right if you do not get it into the grooves correctly.
9) once fitted, replace the rubber molding. the hollow end of the rubber molding faces the hood, so make sure you don't install it upside down.

that's it...


yes, don't buy cheap charcoal filters... they don't last.

you may also want to check your coolant reservior level and brake fluid level while you have the cover off.

if you also park under trees, another thing to check for is if your drain is clogged. if clogged, it can cause water to enter your intake duct for your hvac system. the drain is located under the coolant reservior. there are two of them spaced about 1.5 feet apart. remove any debris and pour some water to wash anything down the hose. the drain hoses are clipped to the firewall and exit near the rear subframe mounts.


Thank you very much. I will change the filter out ASAP. I just changed the air filters this past weekend, my first DIY job on the RS6. :mech: I must say, this was the most over engineered airfilter change I have ever done. LOL!

[terrytcl]

Thank you very much. I will change the filter out ASAP. I just changed the air filters this past weekend, my first DIY job on the RS6. :mech: I must say, this was the most over engineered airfilter change I have ever done. LOL!


hahaha, that's an understatement. the airbox (including molds for the lower and upper cases, with the upper being carbon fiber) was definitely something that audi wanted to showoff... i think realistically, a single large airbox on the passenger side would've sufficed. especially with a cone filter with the inlet pickup between the lower part of the headlight and radiator. it would've drawn air from the lower and upper opening without allowing hot air to get in by having the inlets above the radiator.

the maf + turbo inlet aluminum tube interface is probably the most lackluster engineering design ever. the location of the mafs makes it easy to damage them when removing and installing the airbox. plus let's not even get into how the mafs are sealed using a simple flanged rubber gasket.

:rolleyes: