Does anyone encountered this problem before… where new Almera’s air-cond suddenly emitting a large amount of snow-liked “White Sticky Films” into the car (see the pictures below) ? That was what happened to my new Nissan Almera which I bought in 2016 but still at very low mileage (i.e. at below 6000km) as I only drive quite a short distant on weekdays.

It all started on 23rd December 2016 (Friday), where, after leaving my Almera at home (without driving) for 6 days, and then, as usual, I started my car engine & switched on the air conditioner, then all of the sudden the air-cond blew out a horrible amount of snow-liked “White Sticky Films” ( which I had never seen before ), the amount of this “white films” was so huge that it stuck all over my body, my face, nose, mouth & the entire car interior... and as a result of that, I was choking & coughing non-stop but I immediately drove the car to the nearest Nissan Service Centre (in Chan Sow Lin) for inspection.. & the Supervisor there told me that he has seen cases like this before, where car owners left their cars without driving for 3-4 days & then when they started the engine the air-cond blew out white films (similar to my case).



I was totally terrified because the entire car interior & my whole body were covered with this “white sticky films”... It was like a volcano erupted & emitting large amount of white sticky films non-stop inside the car… but the Supervisor told me it was just the “normal dust” (that we see everyday) -- which I don't believe because as a car driver for more than 20 years I had never seen anything like this (i.e. air-cond emitting white sticky films), or heard anything like this before.. For sure, it was not the kind of "normal dust" that we see every day !

Since air conditioner works on close-loop environment... & in order to get rid of this whole mess, I have thoroughly vacuumed my car many times... also, my family members have to wear face mask (whenever I drive the car) because all of them have serious Sinus problem (and need to take sinus medication regularly), but still, regardless of how many time I vacuumed the car, after a short while of driving... the new “white films” will re-appear again... although it appears to be in smaller size & lesser quantity now... but still, it can be seen emitting all over the car whenever I switched-on the air-cond… and since I have coughing almost every day for the pass two months, I have to stop driving the car for the time being because I just couldn’t keep vacuuming the car everyday... What I am worrying the most is,

1) What are those snow-like white films (that keeps emitting out of the air conditioner) ?
2) Are they toxic/ poisonous & hazardous to human (as I was coughing for nearly 2 months since Dec 2016) ?
3) How could that possibly happen (to a new car) ?

Is anyone encountered this problem before, or knew about the problem... please help to advise, or share your experience.

Thank you very much.

This post has been edited by MIRAMAX: Jul 21 2017, 10:05 AM


Attached thumbnail(s)

Thank you very much for your input...
The Nissan Supervisor (at Chan Sow Lin Centre) has actually checked my cabin air filter (on 23 Dec, 2016) & he told me there was nothing wrong with my cabin air filter..

This post has been edited by MIRAMAX: Feb 8 2017, 09:57 AM

Visually it looks like dandruff... except that it is much bigger in size..
Yes, when press it with finger, it feels like powder form... it would disappear when you press on it... just like you are pressing on flour (tepung)..

This post has been edited by MIRAMAX: Feb 8 2017, 10:53 PM

What did you do to make it back to normal again ? Did you replace, or change anything ?
I bought it in late March 2016... it could come from the same batch of production (during that time) & having a same defective part, or quality issue..

This post has been edited by MIRAMAX: Feb 8 2017, 06:07 PM

Yes, it was the thread that I posted just one week before Chinese New Year, the reasons being:

1) The pictures I posted back then were really very small (unable to see those white films clearly)… so, I decided to enlarge it so that it is clearer.

2) Secondly, I hope more car experts, or more people (with the same problem) could have seen it after CNY & give their valuable comments/ share their experiences… and indeed, there is another Almera customer (that purchased the same car model around the same time) had faced the same problem... Also, another expert commented that it could be “Aluminium Oxide” & later another expert confirmed that it was indeed “Aluminium Oxide” (based on the powder nature of the white films) - which can potentially causing severe health & life threatening issue to its passengers…as you know, all these extra information were really really important & I must personally thank them for providing those invaluable inputs, because without them, I would have thought that it was just the “normal dust” (like what the Nissan supervisor told me when I sent my car to them for inspection)… and, I would like to sincerely apologise if this thread has directly, or indirectly annoyed or offended anyone in whatever way, because all I wanted was really additional information & suggestions to solve the problem.

For those who have commented, thank you very much for your invaluable inputs.

This post has been edited by MIRAMAX: Feb 9 2017, 03:32 AM

Yes, it looks exactly the same to my case, but in my case the intensity of the white film (that blown out) was very much worse... where I have to immediately stop the car & switch-off the air-cond, otherwise I just can't possibly breath…

Thank you so much for the video, really appreciate it.

This post has been edited by MIRAMAX: Feb 9 2017, 11:28 AM

Hi Ginny88 & Andy0625,

Thank you very much for your invaluable inputs..

No, not yet.
I have sent the car to Nissan Service Centre 4 times..
1) First, on 23 Dec 2016 - they asked me to come back if problem persists (where I had very serious cough for 2 months until after Chinese New Year)
2) Then on 9 Feb 2017 - no air-cond technician available on that day
3) Then on 11 Feb 2017 - all full booked, they scheduled my appointment to 16 Feb 2017
4) Then on 16 Feb 2017 - again they re-scheduled my appointment to the following week (because they have only one air-cond technician at the centre)
So, untill now, I am still waiting for my appoitment next week.. which they also told me I have to leave my car over-night, and, as a matter of fact, they told me they have not seen & have not encountered this kind of air-cond (white film) problem before..

To ascertain the risk of those white films (allegedly Aluminum Oxide),
1) I have sent an official "customer care request" to Nissan Malaysia Website on 8 Feb 2017
(http://www.nissan.com.my/?gclid=CjwKEAiA8JbEBRCz2szzhqrx7H8SJAC6FjXXTLibLTBeSvFFdDozvPdzKUEwzQR8xoMH3zHMkaaLiBoC26fw_wcB#)
But until today, there is no response & no reply.
2) I also sent two "technical assistance requests" to Nissan Motor Corporation Japan (on 10 Feb 2017 & 16 Feb 2017)
But also, until today, there is no response & no reply.

This post has been edited by MIRAMAX: Feb 21 2017, 11:59 AM

Hi Leon, since you have encountered the same problem before (though not as serious as mine), I would advise you wear face mask, because as I just found out in my case, those white films that stuck on my cabin air filter (allegedly Aluminium Oxide) can easily dissolve into powder form (just like cigarette ash) & blown-out along with your air-cond towards you... & I don't think you will notice it (because it is colourless, odorless & no smell).. worse still, it may possibly end up on car seats, floor mats & creates long-term risk & health hazardous to you... so, for the sake of your health, wear face mask, until you are 100% sure that your air-cond is free of those chemical substances (as you know, as in my case, I had severe cough from Dec 2016 till CNY 2017). One more concern is, imagine if those white films is to suddenly broke out in the middle of highway & causing accidents & loss of life, then who should responsible ? Just sharing my experience & concern on this problem. Thank you..

This post has been edited by MIRAMAX: Feb 18 2017, 02:16 PM