What Causes Vinegar Smell From Car AC? [Easy Fixes]

Now let us be honest, who doesn’t like a good-smelling car, a bad-smelling car can be a deal-breaker for many. A vinegar smell from car ac can be caused due to many reasons, you don’t have to be alarmed about it. Vinegar smells in your air conditioner don’t mean that something is terribly wrong with your car. There are a few different reasons things might smell sour, and they have nothing to do with any sabotage.

You likely have some sort of buildup of natural material in your air conditioner or vents. Some biomaterial decays, it can ferment and turn into alcohol, forming either vinegar or a vinegar-like smell. Let us learn more about it.

Causes And Solutions For Vinegar Smell From Car Ac

Before dealing with the solutions, you first have to understand what the smell is and where the smell is coming from. Many times when the foul odor comes from the air vents, the unpleasant smell happens as a result of turning on the air conditioner. So there can be many reasons, let us understand them-

1. Presence Of Bio-Materials In AC System

If you park your vehicle under trees or shrubs most of the time, then you likely have some sort of buildup of natural material in your air conditioner or vents. Plant matter such as leaves can decay over time, leading to fermentation. It eventually turns into alcohol. the classic “sour,” smell is emitted by forming either vinegar or a vinegar-like smell.

This situation can a slightly dangerous as the alcoholic smell can be a bit pi\oisionous and can cause headaches.

How To Keep AC System Clean?

The air conditioner of your car mixes clean air and controls temperature. Typically, for every 10,000 km, the air conditioner of your needs to be serviced. Use some effective car AC vent and duct cleaners. Also, regularly change the filters of the AC system. Air filters keep the inside of the car from dust and dirt. A dirty filter clogs the airway and lessens the coolness of the car AC.

2. Coolant Leakage In Heater Core

If you warm up your engine and detect a sweet/fruity smell, that resembles much like vinegar from the vents, that is the coolant. The antifreeze or coolant is the main agent that keeps your coolant system and car cool. If the odor is strong inside the passenger compartment and you are getting vinegar smell from car ac, it’s a sign that your heater core is leaking.

Leaking out through the heater core means that the overall coolant level in the system will be low and the engine is in danger of overheating.

How To Fix Leaking Heater Core?

If the leak is very small, then Fixing a leaking heater core will always be much easier. Since it is only a small leak in the heater core, you can seal that leak and leaving your heater core in place by using stop leak products. If the core has to be replaced, then depending on the core’s location inside your car, the job ranges from easy to difficult.

3. Presence Of Ozone

If there is an electrical short circuit in the car’s electrical system, it can generate a vinegar-like smell. It can cause a corona discharge, which is an electrical discharge caused by the ionization of a fluid. Air surrounding a conductor carrying a high voltage can cause this. When the air (or other fluid) has undergone electrical breakdown and become conductive, a corona occurs at locations where the strength of the electric field is higher.

Current leakage caused by coronas can constitute an unwanted load on the circuit. Coronas generate gases such as ozone (O3) and nitric oxide (NO).

How To Deal With Electrical Issues?

All cars are at risk of electrical problems at any time. There are a few warning signs that help figure out what the problem is with the car. Locate the problem area first. The reason can be worn-out wires or shorted wires. Water ingress in the fuse box can also cause these problems.  Frequent fuse blows can indicate loose wire, attend to them as soon as possible.

4. AC System Stuck In Fresh Air Mode

All cars equipped with air conditioners have fresh air mode features. Most of us choose the recirculation mode over the fresh air mode to get optimum performance and a cleaner cabin. In the air recirculation mode, the car’s air conditioning system recirculates the air inside the car. If the system is faulty, then the duct will remain open and it can cause the polluted air to enter the cabin. If the polluted air has broken or fermented alcohol traces, it can cause a vinegar-like smell. 

Fixes For Bad Circulation Duct

Most of the time, the culprit is the actuator mechanism of the fresh air mode system. It can be a failed motor or a bad cable linkage. Get the system diagnosed and replace the motor with a new one, or grease up the linkage system to fix the issue. Dirt and leaves can stick the duct and it needs cleaning to free it up for a smooth movement.

Is Vinegar Smell An Indication Of Danger?

If the reason for the smell is coolant leakage, then it can be dangerous. Breathing ethylene glycol vapors may cause eye and respiratory tract irritation but is unlikely to cause systemic toxicity. Ethylene glycol is poorly absorbed through the skin so systemic toxicity is unlikely. Eye exposure may lead to local adverse health effects but is unlikely to result in systemic toxicity. Don’t take the vinegar smell from car ac lightly.

How Much Will It Cost To Fix Vinegar Smell Issue?

It is fairly a cheap fix as it mostly involves cleaning the car AC system ducts, it will not cost you more than 50$. If the heater core needs replacement, then be ready to shell bout 500$. Fixing electrical issues can cost you around 100$.

Conclusion

If you are experiencing vinegar smell from car ac, then do not be alarmed by it. Mostly, it is related to cleaning issues. But if the source is coolant or antifreeze leaks, then get it checked soon. Comment down below for any further questions. 

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