AC smell when first turned on

[minis2003]

anyone have a glue type smell coming from the AC when you first turn it on for about 3 minutes of running?
when i use the heat i get no smell just when i turn on the AC.
AC does get cold and air blows well

 

[jadnashuanh]

You might have a slow refrigerant leak...

 

[jfran2]

Often a smell for the first few minutes of air conditioning is caused by a clogged drain in the evaporator pan. I don't know about the i3 specifically, but sometimes they get clogged up with leaves or dirt. That sometimes means you have a little water in there that didn't drain out with some moldy crud in it. Again, I don't know about the i3, but in any other car I'd crawl underneath and see if there is a small rubber hose that's supposed to act as a drain and blow some air through it or something.

 

[maseace]

This might help: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/...r-manuals/64-heating-air-conditioning/2gWSJiy

 

[minis2003]

found a thread some where when i googled the issue, turned out to be the windshield wiper fluid. something i would never have guessed it.
i rinsed the windshield off with a gallon bucket of clean water and the smell went away. no more chemical (glue) smell.

if i can find the thread again i will post it just encase other might have the chemical smell like i had vs the damp smell

 

[minis2003]

here is the link i found on the issues

http://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3221