2011 Buick Regal Mildew/Musty Odor

[jay_broyles]

I bought a 2011 CXL a couple of weeks ago. There's an awful mildew/musty smell ONLY when I open the sunroof. I don't notice it when the windows are down and the heat/AC being on/off doesn't matter. If the sunroof is open, it stinks! Has anyone had a problem like this? I've read where it's possible the sunroof drain hoses could be clogged. Has anyone ever cleaned their sunroof drain hoses? I don't even know where they're located and I can't find any information online to help me that's specific to a 2011 Buick Regal. If the drains are clogged, I don't think they've created any leaks yet. There is no evidence of any leaks anywhere in the cabin of the car. It has only NOT rained 1 day since I bought the car here, but nothing leads me to believe there are any leaks anywhere. I also read a post where some people had issues with the spare tire area would fill with water. I checked there as well in my Regal and it was dry with no noticeable odors. Any advice? I've ordered a new cabin air filter to replace, just for good measure. Thanks

 

[kristofour]

You need to clean your sunroof drains. Attached diagram. There are ways to test to see if they are clogged (google), and clean them out (I would use compressed air) and then get some mildew cleaner and dump it in each location.

Good luck!

 

[jay_broyles]

kristofour I sure do appreciate it!

 

[jay_broyles]

Just an update for anyone who might happen to read across this and is dealing with the same issue; the sunroof drain tubes were not clogged. I tested them by pouring water into the corners of the sunroof track while it was open and the car was parked on my dry garage floor. All the drains emptied out quickly and clean. I then noticed the mesh air deflector that pops up was where the odor was coming from. I sprayed it down and cleaned it with some mildew/mold cleaner and left it open overnight to air dry. So far, so good. I guess the previous owner never opened the sunroof and all of the times that water collected when it rained, it created the mold/mildew in the mesh. Hopefully I have the issue resolved now.

 

[kristofour]

Just an update for anyone who might happen to read across this and is dealing with the same issue; the sunroof drain tubes were not clogged. I tested them by pouring water into the corners of the sunroof track while it was open and the car was parked on my dry garage floor. All the drains emptied out quickly and clean. I then noticed the mesh air deflector that pops up was where the odor was coming from. I sprayed it down and cleaned it with some mildew/mold cleaner and left it open overnight to air dry. So far, so good. I guess the previous owner never opened the sunroof and all of the times that water collected when it rained, it created the mold/mildew in the mesh. Hopefully I have the issue resolved now.

Awesome! Thanks for the follow up. Great to hear you resolved it.

 

[EnderWiggin]

When I've had that smell, it was the cabin air filter that was dirty. It'll go away once the car had been running a while (to blow out the old musty air).