Truck smells like a catbox on hot and humid days

[2wheeltraveler]

I've read dozens of posts about musty and other smells and all were fixed by cleaning the condenser coils, and when they did come back (nearly everyone said it did), it was after 6 months or longer.

My situation seems to be different. I first paid to have the truck fully detailed by a 3rd party ($400 it was due for a good cleaning) and that didn't fix it, then the dealer performed an HVAC clean ($200) that resulted in some foaming in the vents and such. It smelled nice for a day and the smell returned.

Now they have a technician looking at it and they can smell it (they described it as musty, but you have to trust me when I say there is a distance difference between a musty/moldy/mildewy smell)

This has been getting worse for over a year, only to subside during the colder months.

Anyone else have a similar situation and can offer guidance? I'd hate to keep paying to investigate things without formal resolution... this could get expensive but it's embarrassing to have people get into your vehicle and ask what the smell is.

PS. I did notice that a neighbor a block away leaves their garage door open and they have a couple cats that come and go. I'm wondering if they may be going up under the truck and leaving scents that are somehow coming in through the vents.

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[TaxmanHog]

PS. I did notice that a neighbor a block away leaves their garage door open and they have a couple cats that come and go. I'm wondering if they may be going up under the truck and leaving scents that are somehow coming in through the vents.

The outside air intake is on the passenger side between the frunk & windshield, if they're napping or marking on top of your frunk that could be an issue.

As far as the mold smells, it's been a nature of the Ford HVAC system for decades, all my F-series trucks eventually develop this, it's probably worse for folks in the south having a longer AC season than folks in the north like me.

 

[Zprime29]

My A/C gets used between March and November, haven't had this problem. Only time it smells bad is when we drive by a dairy farm or someone who has clearly neglected their exhaust system. These are usually rectified by switching to inside air. ( Note: Inside air circulation does not say on while using auto )

That said, humidity is in the single digits most of the year so that may have something to do with it.

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