32krazy!

2014 f150 xl supercab 56,000 miles. after reading 50 pages of this thread and only owning my truck for 1 month i have this smell. in Tn its just now starting to get cold at nite so im running the heater when i start the truck and the smell is noticeable . i have an extend warrenty thru my credit union so i need to see what if anything they will cover

Masi1926

Give what I did a shot first. It may save you some back and forth with the Union and/or the Service Department.
Snake out the drain tube first. Then dry it by running the heater for a few.
With the truck running and the hvac controls set to the dash/upper body vents, 'make sure they are shut tight' I sprayed the duct cleaner into the intake in front of the windshield. When the can was empty, I shut the truck off and let it sit for however long the directions said to.
With all the windows and vents open, I turned on max A/C and let it blow for however long the bottle suggested.
It's been 2-1/2 years, no smell. I still think the drain was somehow clogged. Otherwise I would think I'd have to perform the same procedure every year

32krazy!

you read my mind!! i found the cleaner at oreilly's and will do this maintanence first. did find a thread on toyota forum about a guy complained the soap smell after he did his with this cleaner . excessively strong but he did 2 cans so that may be why.

its funny i bought the truck and first thing i did was stick an air freshener in the d/s vent. found it was to strong so i tossed it. just days later i noticed a smell and couldnt figure out what it was. have smelled it randomly for the last week and was searching for the cabin filter location when i found this thread. read almost every post and it seems to me that the fix is a new evap and /or coil which is the same as the old and after a yr it will be back. pretty disappointing since i never owned a ford and the horror stories of service techs and dealerships doesnt instill a warm fuzzy.
i have a 1000 rwhp turbo porsche and dealing with dealerships isnt bad buy very expensive. so i do most of the work myself. with this truck as a daily driver i bought a warrenty so i wouldnt have to deal with issues. never knew ford dealerships just dont want to work on warrenty issues major bummer

Masi1926

In my case, the service department at Stoneham Ford in Mass, is the primary reason I buy my trucks from them.
They've never let me down.

In fact I wrote a few months back, about when I went in for an oil change. They noticed my rear shocks leaking. I was and still am close to my standard warranty ending. So they made an appointment a few days away so that it would definitely get taken care of.
I could barely notice any oil running down the shock and would never have seen it in time. Also didn't realize the ride had deteriorated until the new shocks were put in, then it was very noticeable. Funny how you just get comfortable with it and don't notice the subtle changes.

Anyways I hope you have luck resolving this issue. I definitely never got any overwhelming smell from the cleaner. 2 cans is a lot...

SmokeRoss

My old F250 was doing that. Turns out the after market auto start used scotch lock connecters. it was wires burning up.
On another note about smell. When I was driving from the Peninsula up to the Valley in winter on a regular basis, I would notice a weird smell when I stopped at the end of my trip, or to fuel up on the way. Going north only. Heading south was a different story. I finally figured out it was something the state used in the sand in that region. Likely an anti freezing additive. It got on the exhaust.

2013 ecoscrew

I’ve read through most of the comments on this thread. Seems like it’s the evaporator. It’s been over 5 years since the thread ended. Couldn’t find a TSB # anywhere. Has Ford definitely found and solved the issue. Looking for advice before I contact the dealer. Any updated information would be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

digitaltrucker

I am on my 3rd evap, it does it mildly for a short time. Other than what has been discussed, no changes. Not sure though if changes have not been made in newer models since I have not seen any complaints from those guys.

NYFordTruckMan

I believe I have this issue. I also had a locked caliper (probably from a hose). Both the A/C and caliper made for some aroma .
Truck parked since to do some detailing and reconditioning.
I just sat in the truck to listen to music, ignition off, and I got the odor. Doing research on it...
Unless brake the odor got in the evap, I guess I will be dealing with it. It does smell a bit like PAG A/C oil, or a 'phenolic' smell, but when I was driving, I believed it was a locked caliper, took it very easy driving (confirmed smoking bad when I got home).

I do not believe I had the smell when I first drove the truck, but I don't remember. The brakes were working well too.

I can deal with it for what this truck cost, I would be fuming if I paid around sticker (54K) and this happened.

Also have a 96 Explorer, no smell but weak evaporator and lots of blend door problems, it can be repaired permanently though.