Chemical smell from air conditioning

I have a new i3 BEV and every time I run the A/C, there's a strong chemical smell. It's not musty or moldy. It smells like nail polish or glue. It only happens with the air conditioning, not the fan or when nothing's running.

Haven't taken it to the shop yet, but planning on it. Any ideas?

andrew said:

I have a new i3 BEV and every time I run the A/C, there's a strong chemical smell. It's not musty or moldy. It smells like nail polish or glue. It only happens with the air conditioning, not the fan or when nothing's running.

Haven't taken it to the shop yet, but planning on it. Any ideas?

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How long has the smell stayed? Have you tried running it for a while with windows open while parked to see if it goes away?

Yes, it doesn't go away until I turn the A/C off. Running the fan is fine, but the smell doesn't go away while the A/C is on.

I've also tried it with the recirculating on manual and automatic. I think it's less when the recirculation is completely off. But I'm not sure.

Wonder if there's a leak in the coolant. If so, eventually, it will stop heating or cooling. I'd check the level of the coolant and monitor it to see if it is dropping, or is no longer full. The user's manual shows where it is located underneath the hood.

Hi Andrew,
Did you ever figure out the source of the chemical odor from your A/C? Our i3 Rex does the same thing.
?,
Stormsaw

2014 Rex, loaded except for the wheels

I had the odor right after my EME and batteries were replaced. Lots of different coolant lines were removed and replaced. Took about a week for the smell to go away while AC was on.

Sparky said:

I had the odor right after my EME and batteries were replaced. Lots of different coolant lines were removed and replaced. Took about a week for the smell to go away while AC was on.

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I hope that none of those chemicals have any carcinogens in them. Since you are in California, the Prop 65 warnings should apply as well as the requirement to inform you if there is a potential exposure risk. Being sealed in an airtight box while having unknown chemical vapors pumped into it for a week does not sound like a very good idea.

At very least the dealer should have told you what was causing the odor so you could decide how to proceed as opposed to guessing at the source yourself. I am pretty sure that is the whole point of Prop 65: informed consent so that the consumer can choose what they are exposed to instead of having that choice made for them by someone else.

Battery replacement ... Realy !? What was the symptom before recognizing a
battery issue ? Check engine light maybe?

Just curious bcz i observe a drop of range or Batt. kapa. max in the service menu.

Problem Solved!!!

OK, so we had the chemical smell issue as well - something that smelled like fingernail polish coming from the AC. Somewhat intermittent. It seemed to be getting worse, so we took it to the dealer. The dealer claimed they could not repeat the smell, but nonetheless they searched for a Freon leak. Finding none, they pumped all of the Freon out of the system and weighed it, to find that little to none had leaked out the system compared to spec. They then phoned me and we spent the better part of an hour trying to brainstorm what might be the issue. No joy, and we took the car back home. The smell continued off and on.

So yesterday it rained like crazy around here, leaving the roads wet with lots of puddle splash. The smell was overwhelming in the car - to the point that my wife would not drive the car without the windows down, even in the rain. (Its her car). Back to the dealer this morning. When I got there, the odor had gone away of course. The head of the garage came out and we spent the better part of an hour driving it around together, trying to repeat the smell. Back at the bimmer garage we finally figured it out. Amazingly it was...get this... windshield washer fluid.

Here's the gig: the bmw washer fluid has an odor. When you wash your windshield the fluid drains across the cabin ventilation intake under the top of the hood. When you have the AC set to anything other than recirculate, the cabin air samples any vapors that reside in the ventilation intake. The intake has a drain so that rainwater, etc., flows on through, but as washer fluid in the ventilation intake dries it is by definition turning to vapor. We simply took a hose and washed down the windshield, which in turn flushed out the ventilation intake. Back in the car, there was no odor. When we switched on the windshield washers - voila, odor.

The fix was extremely simple of course. Run the washers until they are dry. Refill with a different washer fluid. Run them dry again. Repeat. Flush the ventilation intake with a garden hose. Refill the washers with your fluid of choice. All done. Wife happy.

Hope this helps others.

Marco said:

Battery replacement ... Realy !? What was the symptom before recognizing a
battery issue ? Check engine light maybe?

Just curious bcz i observe a drop of range or Batt. kapa. max in the service menu.

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http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3083

I guess the only way to get rid of that nasty washer fluid smell is to fill the tank with water. I’ve tried multiple brands of windshield washer fluid, but as soon as I turn on my ac the nasty smell is there for a few mins. It just a different every time I switch brands….