Help!? I've taken my car in 3 times in 3 months for this smell in my car. I bought this car as a Certified Pre-Owned...it's a 2004.5 Volvo S40 T5.
When all windows are closed, there is NO bad smell. But, when I pop open the sunroof or crack the windows, there is a really bad mold/mildew smell. Also, the trunk smells really bad! They only do quick/temporary fixes. Does anyone have any suggestions? What could this be?? I love this car...but the smell is unbearable at times.

 

Who do you take it to? Volvo?

You might have to rip out all the carpet and all that kind of stuff. And replace it with new.

 

Luckily, the car is still under warranty and I do take it to a Volvo dealer and don't have to pay a penny for it.
I am going to suggest the carpet thing to the service manager that I've been dealing with. I'm sure they are saving that for the last resort.

 

I had the same problem with my '93 and what I did was to spray Lysol into the fresh-air intake (not the engine intake) up by the wipers while the fan was on full blast. I had to do it a couple of times over the period of a week or so, but in the end the smell went away.

 

Where exactly would I spray? Would I have to spray in through under the hood?
thanks for the suggestion.

 

I'm not 100% about the s40, but on my 850 there is a fresh-air intake vent on the passenger side of the car up by the wiper: I think it's called a cowl. If that doesn't work, I've also heard that the mildew smell is because the AC Evaporator and Heater Core are located too close together which causes condensation leading to leakage under the carpet. If that's the case, s70driver is correct, it's coming from the carpet.

I'd give it a good spray and see what happens - it's much easier than dealing with a dealer.

 

Take out the trunk carpet and leave out for a day or two and smell what happens.
I have found it is the jute backing of the carpet that smells like a dirty diaper when wet.

get dealet to supply NEW carpet if it works out, there is no clean it will always come back
on a wet or damp day. Plus, find the leak or conclude if something was simply spilled and
never cleaned.

 

I hadthe same issues. Have the Volvo dealership check for the following which is covered under warranty. I believe that both casued the mildew smell in my car.

A/C: WATER TESTAC DRAIN MAY NOT BE CONNECTED

SUNROOF: MODIFY SUNROOF DRAINS (MAY HAVE WATER IN DRAINS)AND ADJUST SUNROOF

Hope this helps!

 

Sure hope you didn't get a flood car.

 

anyone know what could be the cause of a mildew smell that only occurs when the A/C turns on? 2005 s40
thanks a lot

 

Most likely the air intake for the climate control system got some leaves, bugs, etc that have decayed, or the evaporator got the same stuff unless your system has a filter that blocks these things from entering the system. When you turn the A/C on, the evaporator collects moisture and that makes the smell worse.

Cleaning the evaporator may not be worth it, unless it is within easy reach. It is a nightmare on the 850. An easy/temporary fix is to buy a can of spray deodorant for automotive climate control or place activated charcoal (ones for fridge may work) somewhere in the system (this may require a bit of creativity).

As to the original poster, I would rip the carpet off in the trunk and if you do not wish to buy a new carpet (dealer probably wants $2,000 for a new carpet), I would wipe the base metal with mild alcohol-based cleaner/any household cleaner(pure disinfecting alcohol is strong enough to eat the paint) and clean the carpet with foam-type carpet cleaner (you can find them at auto parts shop or could also use household carpet cleaner) and scrub clean2-3 times and let it air-dry.

BTW, I hope you do not have a leak in the exhaust system.


JPN

 

Yeah, I had the same moldly smell in my Volvo 1981 240 wagon. AC was leaking condensate underneath the carpet in the driver's side footwell. The carpeting finally began to rot before the dealer could identify the problem.

 

That stinks, literally.


JPN