Air Con

In message , Kostas Kavoussanakis writes

No, you don't. Whack the temp control up as high as you can manage or if you *must* turn it off (blazing hot day perhaps, but it's not likely to be wet anyway) then wind the windows down fully when you do.

Why bother though? Leave it on all the time and make sure the drain holes is/are clear, that way at least the condensate is changed all the time, you may be surprised how little difference running with AC on all the time makes to fuel economy.

Thanks, but none of the two options pushes my boat out.

Reek is the reason why I bother switching it off. I have had it on wife's Almera and it's not fun; the Honda smells borderline just now.

Thanks anyway!

Umm, two different cars, but both with the same uncommon problem. Can I suggest that just perhaps it's not the cars? The other posters have alreadysaid how it should be used. My Dodge won't allow you to switch off air-con sometimes. It stops Americans doing what you do, then complaining about the air-con smelling bad.

It's a fair suggestion, but I bought both cars used (4 and 5 yo) and they both came with the smell. The Focus (A/C, not CC that the other two cars have) that I had from nearly new and used in the way I suggested did not smell when I sold it 8 years later.

Which method do you endorse, do nothing, run it with the heater at full blast or run it with the windows open?

Horses for courses. The manual of my 04 Honda Accord suggests that one can switch it off to save on fuel.

(I repeat that this is not my motivation, really.)

Thanks for your input.

I've only been in two cars that really ponged, both were driven with the air constantly on re-circulate. On both occasions the drivers were blissfully unaware that their cars were antisocial in the aroma department.