I have a '99' Chrysler LHS and it smells like something died in it!?

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khandilipps2kiss

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I absolutely love my car. It's a Chrysler LHS! Hi Five! Anyway for the past two years I have been having a problem with the air coming from the vents inside smelling like something died in it! To best describe it, like a dead rat or sour milk! I first noticed the odor when the freon was low. So I had it serviced, no leaks, filled up nicely no problem and no odor. It happened again 'bad odor' had the unit serviced this time the odor was a lil faint but still there. I had my heater core serviced < I am no mechanic > nothing wrong with it, no leaks under the dash no condensation on the windshield ac blows wonderful, heater heats up and blows wonderfully BUT still funky as hell. Took it to a mechanic again thinking the third time would be a charm. I was told that Chrysler's were known to have fungus and mold accumulate in the ventilation system and that he'd have to order this fungicide that only Chrysler sells for their cars. < I am no mechanic > this cost me $100.00! smell went away for about 4 months. But back again. Paid the $100.00 again smell went away for about a week. But now....yep back again and with a stinking vengeance. Should I just have the heater core replaced anyway? What is causing this funky odor in my car. And For the record to my knowledge it was not a 'death car' before I took ownership of it 5 years ago.
 
I would pull the heater box apart and pull the heater core out and wash as much of it as you can with bleach and even spray some bleach or mildew remover into the vents, bleach kills most microbes, hopefully it will help the smell.
 
I had this problem on my '97 Chrysler Town & Country. I turned the A/C on full blast and made sure it was on fresh air(not recirculate) then poored warm bleach water into the "vents" on the windsheild wiper cowl(the vents around the windshield wiper). This is where the HVAC pulls in air from the outside. I did the bleach water twice and then used fresh cool water twice to flush it out. You should also try to get someone to see if your evaporator drain is clogged which will cause mildew to form if water builds up.
 
My dad has the same car. Hi five :) and his for a while had a mildewey smell too. It just went away, but we live in a cold climate so the cold might have killed the mildew or whatever was causing the smell. I suggest taking it to a professional auto cleaning/detailing place and maybe they can solve your problem. They might be able to do something with ozone. good luck and keep on LHSin!
 
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