Well, I guess it's my turn now. Thought I had dodged the bullet, but started noticing it in the last month. Appointment booked for September.

 

Count me in. I started smelling something unpleasant. The air smells bad only for a while after start up in a humid condition (yea it has been humid ~90% all day here), though. I shall keep my nose on it.

F55 Nov 2015 build.

 

My daughter said "dad, your MINI has always smelled weird". He 2016 so far is fine. With all the recent rain, mine is musty too. Damn Germans. yes, I am German. I can make fun of my nationality.

 

I had 4 visits before I reached attorney to file my car for Lemon ( which is actually qualified) BMW called for a 5 final repair attempt and 300 miles after that it started the Vinegary smell which is initial odor I get before mildew smell.
BMW rejected it as not Lemon but am so upset I have to drive 100 miles oneway everytime hoping this time it would fix the issue and apparently Mini/BMW thinks its obvious.

 

I have had my car repaired twice and still had the bad smell at times. I got this on Amazon and put one behind the dash and other in the netted pocket and had no smell
"Mini Moso Natural Air Purifying Bags, Shoe Deodorizer and Odor Eliminator"
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Bought big one of same kind always kept under the seat but really did not help that one either but I agree with that one instead of those nasty smelling air freshners also keeps the cabin clean.

 

This seemed to help with the smell problem.

Even in California, I keep the air conditioning on all the time and just change the temperature setting. Sometimes I need to turn the temp. colder just to make sure that the A/C compressor is on. Then when I park the car in the garage, I see a small puddle of water on the floor that flushes the smell out from the A/C evaporator.

 

Use the recirculate function seldomly, and if the system has been deodorized, you should be a lot happier.

The wife's 2015 hardtop started to exhibit the smell, I had the system deodorized, and she's kept the recirc function off since. Smell has not returned.

 

Doesn't the recirculation go off automatically since it's always on automatic when you start? I think all cars have this problem, but some have worse designs causing worse stink. I just make sure I turn off AC and vent fan for at least 5 minutes before arrival.

 

Press it twice until no lights are illuminated on the recirc button.

No lights = pulling in dry outside air.

 

Automatic mode will also keep it in out side air mode for most of the time unless air quality is really bad. By the time the sensor detects something and automatically switch to recirculate mode the cabin is already stuffed with fumes from the pickup truck in front of me.

 

My last BMW X1 had this issue. The cabin filter was in a different place upper under hood but the dealer used some product they suck in and it worked for a bit but came back.

I did the same thing with a can of Lysol, removed the panel filter and sprayed into system air intake, I literally had Lysol coming out of my vents, made sure to cycle through them all.

For a day or so the Lysol smell was strong but after that no smell for 6 months and I traded car in so don't know how long it lasted. Theory on the BMW forum was you needed to get Lysol into nooks and crannies to actually kill mold and mildew. Some reported great success, others average but mostly positive.

 

The system is only used to regulate the interior temp of the car.

So if you have it set to Max A/C on a hot day, it'll pull outside (cooler than cabin ambient) until the cabin cools off, then it will switch to inside air to maintain.

It's designed around thermal efficiency - helps save energy and fuel on keeping the interior cool. The downside is, if you use the recirc function too often, you're turning it into a closed-loop system that just recirculates the moist cool air that breeds mold and mildew and doesn't get a chance to dry out.

 

I just joined the "locker room club".

 

Are we talking about the same automatic function? The air selection has three modes: auto/recirculate/always outside air. I don't think it has anything with efficiency. I read the manual long time ago and it only mentions how it behaves. If you put it to recirculate mode it'll sometimes (40 seconds or something) go back to auto to prevent moisture build up. That's the only thing that relates with temperature.

When using max ac it always do recirculate to cool interior faster. Same with any other cars I've seen (2007 elantra, 2014 cx-5).

 

1 think I don't miss from my 2007 MCS is the Auto AC feature where you set the temperature to 68 degrees. I use the temp wheel and the fan wheel, pretty easy. I've never pushed the recirc button either.

 

Oh right, the newer cars go straight to full recirc when you trigger the Max A/C.

Disregard then.

 

Our 2014 has been in to Crevier Mini 4 times for this problem.
All we get is a perfumed urinal deodorized smell upon return
from the dealer fix.
Who do we contact at Mini/BMW for recourse?

 

Sooo. Just read the whole thread and I noticed the stinky sock/armpit smell recently. Will be monitoring closely and see what options are available.

 

Bump -- apologies for the thread necro, but thought this might be the most appropriate place to post.

Recently had my 2014 MCS in at the dealer for a CEL and I was close enough to my scheduled maintenance window that I had them do oil change, new engine air filter, and cabin filter.

About a day after taking my car home from the dealer I noticed this smell and it was very strong. Haven't noticed any water pooling in footwells but I haven't really done a thorough inspection yet. Over a few days of normal driving (I always keep the AC on and rarely if ever use recirculate) the smell has dissipated, but still lingers. I mainly post this because I thought it was odd that changing the cabin filter seemed to trigger this issue in my car. Any thoughts?

 

Different versions of filter could be the cause https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=64_2034

 

Hi, I’ve a 2019 LCI MCS and I’m still having this problem after doing all these:
1. Checked the cabin filters. They are dry. I put on some silicone glue to raise the filter a bit and also sprayed Lysol.
2. Checked the AC drain hose and it is connected properly. No damp carpet and it drained to the garage floor.
3. Sprayed Lyson on all air intake and vents, and circulate.
4. Sent to the dealer but they just performed fogging.

Is this a permanent issue that has no solutions?

tq

 

My 2015 MCS "stink" issue was resolved by the dealer by correcting the kinked AC drain hose and swapping cabin filter out (w/ the Mini recommended glue shims on the filter).

My 2019 hasn't had the issue my 2015 did, however I do notice a slight "vinegar" smell when first starting up. I too never run without the AC on (Florida) and never run it in recirculate. I think there may be something else going on that isn't related to the AC discharge. As is, smell is minor compared to the 2015 and dissipates almost immediately. I'd liken it too a vapor that accumulates in the car's air ducts overnight, and is discharged as soon as the car is started. Once "that" air is pushed out, the continuing airflow is fresh and clean..