[figure99]

Originally Posted by 04cobra

You actually should NOT start the car, unless you can drive it for 30+ minutes. The condensation will build up inside and cause more damage if you don't clear it out then just letting it sit.

I don't know anything about seal conditioning, but living in Minnesota I rarely turn the A/C on (gone 2 years without turning it on) and A/C always works perfectly even on my car that was 10 years old. Also, if you cant dry out the vents/ducts from when you turn the A/C on, you are going to get that mold smell. So again better to just let the car sit until ready to be used.

I've never had any issues with condensation for the 9 years I've owned the car, and I store it almost every winter (it's never been driven in the snow or while salt is on the ground (except while in Germany during ED pickup)). The car sits in a garage, and while not environmentally controlled like the house, it is insulated... I suspect that helps.

Sorry I should have been more clear about turning the AC on - Have you used your front defroster in 2 years? (I suspect you have living in Minnesota) That accomplishes the same thing as turning the AC on in modern cars... it turns on the compressor. Turning on the compressor ensures that the refrigerant will circulate in your system keeping the seals from drying out. I've never had any mold smell in any of my cars over the years of doing this... I typically turn the defroster or AC on with a warm temperature instead of cold, perhaps avoiding that. Again, it accomplishes the same thing by turning the compressor on. I've owned several cars where it is advised in the manual to ensure the compressor is turned on via the AC system or defroster as often as every 2 weeks to properly condition the AC system seals. The AC system in a 10 year old daily driver Acura I owned worked perfectly for all 10 years, until it was no longer my daily driver and I did not used it for about 4 months... my own fault, several of the seals went bad and had to be replaced. I suppose it's technically possible for a vehicle manufacture to program the vehicle to run the compressor without you knowing it if it hasn't been turned on in a while to help alleviate this issue, but I've never heard of any manufacturer doing that... and doubt they do.