I suspect my rear A/C evaporator is clogged with bacterial/fungal/mold growth. I get bad smell from the rear vents. Dealer cleaned it once but the smell returned after a couple of months. Looking to replace it. What is the part number?

Here is the opened up rear A/C if anyone interested. The front core is evaporator and rear is heater core.

Holy crap! No wonder that option is like $5k. Cool photo!

Evaporator 2218300258
Heat exchanger 2218300261

Thank you.

The car is under warranty, the dealer is saying both cooling and heating coils look OK and says the musty smell is coming from footwell+rubber mats. Sort of a stand-off as my claim is that musty smell is coming from rear A/C vents so something inside the rear A/C unit is the source of this smell but not able to figure out.

@konigstiger is it possible and safe to use this on rear A/C unit? Ideally I would like to reach the cooling coil from the A/C vents of the rear unit.

Somehow the dealer could not solve the problem for me. I have decided to open the rear AC housing myself to solve the mystery. This is how far I could open it and I don't have the courage to open it up any further



I emptied the A/C cleaner through the gap as shown in the picture. I expected the cleaner fluid to drip on the floor through the evaporator drain but not even a single drop fell on the floor. What gives?

I am planning to buy some heavy duty jacks to lift the car and check underneath.

You've got some ***** to get it this far. Agree with Jason that that was a cool photo. Basically a small HVAC unit sized down for the car. I'd be scared to ask how much that unit would cost to replace.

How did they resolve the first odor complaint under factory warranty lasting several months, check invoice narrative?

Attached bulletin covering alternate cleaning method to Contra Sept not specific to rear but you can pull procedures relative to what you already know about rear assembly. But before doing so, check that the condensation drain is flowing freely (120 in previous diagram). Not certain of location check around area beneath & rear bumper.

Thanks @konigstiger. The dealer fix was not helpful all through out my ownership, the odor was always there. So it wasn't that the odor came back after few months but I just did not have time to follow it up. Most of the time I drive alone so the rear AC odor didn't bother me much. I have got some free time these days and I have decided to fix this myself.

The smell is not coming from the cooling/heating coil assembly. I suspect it is the blower motor shaft/bearing but hard to tell because the odor stain has spread to all surrounding components. I am cleaning all the parts so that I may finally find the source of the odor.

I used the instructions you have mailed me last year and I am able to get this far without any special tools. I owe you a big thank you note, but waiting till I am able to put all the pieces back together

Jacked up the car to find the rear A/C drain. Could not see anything that looked like a drain hole. Squirted some water on the cooling coil and then found the tiny gap in the underbody shield though which water was dripping out. So the drain is working fine, but I was hoping to find a drain hole through which I could pump A/C cleaner foam. Also found out there is a nice jacking point between the front wheels.