July 5th, 2010 
David 
monkeyhannah asked:
Especially in hot weather, my Passat stinks with a musky/rotten smell coming out of the air vents. I have changed the air filter, and that decreased the smell for a few weeks. I did do a search online for similar problems leading me to search for leaks or damage, but haven't seen any. I love my car, but HATE the stench.
David
Especially in hot weather, my Passat stinks with a musky/rotten smell coming out of the air vents. I have changed the air filter, and that decreased the smell for a few weeks. I did do a search online for similar problems leading me to search for leaks or damage, but haven't seen any. I love my car, but HATE the stench.
David
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Get one of those sweet tree air fresheners!
turn on the heating and the fan full blast for awhile. That should do it. Maybe again in 2 weeks for 10 minutes or so.
It could be just a build up of stale air in the heating vents that need to be pushed out. Could be the deteriorating plastics combined together type of smell.
If you drive the car all summer and never use the heater, come the cold days, the heater stinks. That or something died in there.
In my new vehicle when I got it home, I park it in an enclosed garage. The next morning I walk into the garage and it smells of “gear oil” That is 90W motor oil used in transmissions and rear ends. A distinct smell. This car does not use that type of oil. So have determined it is a combination of the new plastics in the car that produce that smell.
Use your favorite search engine and type in Passat World
Everything you need to know about a Passat is there.
I do know that the water drain holes in various locations in the Passat can get clogged & nasty water pools up.
its probobly mold or somethin in your vents u should take off the air filter, run ur ac at full, and spray lysol dinfectant into the where the air filter goes. this should help the smell and kill the mold
your passat has a pollen and dust filter that is different from your air filter. it gets dirty and wet and then smells when it gets hot out. i believe they recomend changing it once a year.