2020 ford explorer bad odor coming from a/c vents

This might be a mold or mildew smell. Get a opinion from someone besides the dealer.

Its not constant. It happens every once in a while. Normally happens when driven. I shut full power off to just the A/C while driving and it will sometimes go away.

Inspect the cabin air filter. It's too new to get dirty, but you never know if a rodent crawled in.

Have a bad problem with my 2020 Ford Exployer. Have been to dealer several times and they performed A RECALL FOR THE ODOR. nOTHING HAS FIXED THE PROBLEM. tHEY DROVE IT 30 MILES YERDAY AND DID NOT NOTICE THE ODOR. i DROVE IT 400 MIOES 9VER THE WEEKEND AND IT WAS BAD. I HAD TO PUT THE WINDOWS DOWN. I DROVE IT 2000 MILES LAST WEEK AND GOT A SLIGHT HEADACKE AND UPSET STOMACH.

I have a 2021 Ford Explorer XLT that had bad intermittent A/C smell since we purchased the car. Dealership worked with Ford Support and they had them change the cabin filter and a deodorizer treatment with the cabin area, carpets, etc. This services did not resolve our A/C odor issues. Did anyone else make any progress with their A/C odor issues?

2020 Ford explorer - dealer blows it off but a definite issue. every 60-90 minutes at least once a strong acrid/caustic smell will vent into the car. Not mold but chemical agent smell - at first you may think its coming from the outside but it comes from the vents, open the windows and it will not smell outside. The smell is unpleasant and nauseating - how do we get ford's attention?

I took my 2020 ford explorer in for exactly this and was told to turn off my a/c 10 minutes before I turn off my car, they basically blew me off as well

This unfortunately is the way it is, something they use in the material. I have had some luck using Lysol spray, fire up the rig turn the AC on then spray it right into the outside air intake just under the windshield on the passenger side. I use enough so you see it getting it blown through the inside vents, then shut off and let it stand overnight. Now it will smell like Lysol for a few days but it disappears. This is only temporary but it gave me about 2 months of no smell. Then just redo the procedure.

Hello all, I also have a 2020 Ford Explorer XLT 4 Cyl. and i also have this problem. The bad intermittent A/C smell, you can be driving for an hour with the AC on and you might start smelling that odor, if gets so bad you have to turn off the AC and vent the car. Give it a minute and turn the AC back on and it is fine. Is it a chemical smell or a burning electronic smell I don't know; but it's been doing this from when i purchased the SUV brand new. I talk to the dealer ship and they tell me to change the cabin air filter.

Change it and see if it goes away. Burning electronic smell could be the blower motor, resistor block wiring.

remember the smell is intermittent, I did change the cabin air filter and that was not it and if it was the blower motor or resister block I think I would smell that odor all the time. I can run the AC for hours before it smells an turn the AC off for one minute and then back on and no more smell.

Then I would be looking for something leaking in or around the engine/transmission that could be dripping slowly onto the exhaust or manifolds causing it to vaporize and get pulled into the air intake for the HVAC system. As it is intermittent it maybe really hard to find just where it is coming from. I had a full size Bronco that would get a bad smell under the hood very intermittently, shops couldn’t find it, did the dye thing in both oil and coolant and transmission fluid, finally just gave up and lived with it. But one day the power steering bracket broke and so it had to be replaced and then found that a bolt had snapped on the intake manifold in the very front and coolant was very slowly leaking out just enough to make a stink but not really much coolant loss, so had to have the broken bolt drilled out, the intake manifold gasket replaced and new bolt put in and the new power steering bracket installed.

you have to remember i am not the only one having this problem, several of us have this odor problem, but a leak was one of the things i was thinking it could be but within the cooling system, i was driving this pass weekend doing 75 on a major highway and the smell happened, there is no way that any odor under the hood or under the car would make its way to the vents on top of the car with me driving that fast.

At that speed it can force the smell right up through the drain tube that is down low on the firewall or even up a through the inner fenders

I have this problem, and have had similar runaround by Ford Service. I am not thinking they are hiding a solution, but suspect it is much like "G A" explained. Surely there must be someone who has figured this out?

This exact same issue happens with my 2020 Explorer XLT and the dealership has never been able to tell me what the issue is or recreate it. It seems to happen most frequently on road trips or when the car has been running for at least 20+ min with the AC on and windows rolled up. It is a very caustic smell, almost nauseating, and we have to roll the windows down and turn off the AC until it clears and then it doesn't happen right away when we turn it back on again. Sometimes it will happen again in 15-20 min, sometimes it will go hours without happening, but it is most certainly an issue with the system, not mold or mildew or anything like that. I am concerned that the fumes are toxic for my family. Has anyone ever found a diagnosis or solution from Ford??