I'm not sure if the 2000 civic has a pollin filter or not but if it does it should be replaced.
along with replacing it there is a spray that you would buy at your local parts store to clean out that smell.
where the hood meets the windshield there should be a vent of some sort. what you'll need to do is:
turn on the air to the highest setting
open all doors and windows
spray for about 10 to 15 secs
wait 2 minutes
do the same with the heat on
and repeat as necessary.
**NOTE** if there is a pollin filter you need to remove to do this and spray in the air box that filter is in.
As well. I also sprayed some anti bacterial Lysol and that seemed to work as well.
I also experienced the same musty smell on startup from my ac on my 99 Civic ex. My mechanic asked me if I was using the recirc feature, and I answered yes. Turns out that the recirc closes doors internally and can trap moisture within the system, which manifests itself next time you use the system. He advised me to turn off the recirc button and allow about thirty seconds prior to shutdown for the doors to sequence. This allows outside air into the ducting and will evaporate any residual moisture.
This procedure worked well for me and perhaps it can help your problem.
Bringing back an old topic, I've got a 96 Civic that has this musty smell with the AC on. I don't recirculate very often, and have had it on outside air for a while now. It's been musty the past few summers and I've just lived with it, but am getting sick of that. Is the place to spray into as described the same for a 96 as for the newer cars? Do I have an air filter, if so where is it? What do I look for at the auto store to get the right stuff to spray into my vent system to clean it out? Thanks!
1. no you don't
2. you can get the spray from an auto store or the dealer
3. if you need to ask a question, then make a new post, don't bring back two year old threads.
4. there are already like 3 threads going on right now about this topic that answers your question.
Thanks for the help. I didn't post a new topic because people usually get yelled at for not searching for existing topics. "musty smell" search gave this one so I asked here. If the more recent topics had come up in my search I'd have chosen a more recent one, but I went to search before wading through categories. I appologize for trying not to be a newb and failing.
it doesn't matter, i was just trying to say, if you can't find the answer from searching, then just ask a question, you won't get yelled at like other forums.
Change the filter first of all, I had the same problem with my 98 civic not to long ago, I would never run the a/c maybe every once in a long blue moon, then one day when I thought i'd turn on the air, there was the horrible musty smell, so I changed the filter, and turned on and ran the air on high for 15-20 min and repeated to following day, and from then on ran my a/c and air every time I got in my car never had a problem agian
air condition smell
