Lately my trucks air smells like stinky nasty AC even though the AC isn't even on. I just had the hvac recall done, any chance they messed something up? Also seems stinkier after a carwash for some reason.
The recall has nothing to do with it. What you're smelling is mildew that has built up on the condenser coils. There are a couple of ways to take care of this problem. Check with your dealer as this should be a warranty repair IMO.
If you think about how the system works, it's not as weird as it might seem. I'm guessing that you run the defroster a lot and when the HVAC is in defrost mode, it activates the A/C compressor to remove moisture from the cabin air. This produces condensation on the evap coils. If you don't run the heat in one of the panel modes with the A/C off, the condensation stays in the coils and eventually mildews. GM had a HUGE problem with this a few years back. Once the issue is taken care of, I'd recommend running the heat in the panel mode for a couple of minutes after defrosting the windshield before shutting the truck off.
A/C odour comes from when you run your A/C on MAX for some reason condensation builds up inside the coils etc. There is a spray the dealer can shoot in there kills the mildew hence smell goes away. So run your air so it takes the outside ait in don't run on MAX all the time just to get the truck cooled down quickly then turn it to a regular setting.Good luck
Oh and I had the HVAC recall done like the week after it came out so we havent had that issue, not related to the recall.