Interior needs some help

[SmoothJ]

So after nearly 3 years, my interior has an interesting smell to it which I can't seem to get rid of (like a locker room). Any ideas on how to remove it without hurting the interior? I was going to do a bunch of trees or some type of glade plugin (we have the outlet), but I think that is overkill.

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[Athrun88]

That's just masking the root cause. Is the smell all the time? With heat/AC on? Fan only? Receric on or off? Any leaks into the cabin through any doors, windows, or floor area? Did you spill something recently? If it's like a locker room, it could be some sort of mold in the HVAC system or water intrusion into the cabin.

 

[SmoothJ]

That's just masking the root cause. Is the smell all the time? With heat/AC on? Fan only? Receric on or off? Any leaks into the cabin through any doors, windows, or floor area? Did you spill something recently? If it's like a locker room, it could be some sort of mold in the HVAC system or water intrusion into the cabin.

Yea it all the time, and I just attributed to sweat since I work a lot outside on the weekends during the spring/summer/fall. Doesn't matter if its heat or AC, its just a "locker room smell" and I am not sure where its coming from.

 

[bmwhitetx]

Ugh. My friend had a similar complaint with his ICE F-150. Issue was water intrusion from sunroof causing the moldy/musty smell.

 

[Athrun88]

Yea it all the time, and I just attributed to sweat since I work a lot outside on the weekends during the spring/summer/fall. Doesn't matter if its heat or AC, its just a "locker room smell" and I am not sure where its coming from.

Should do a sniff test.. make sure to rule yourself out by taking a shower first! Sniff around the cabin and feel around for any moisture. Could be under your mats/carpet, Ford sunroofs have a reputation for leaking/water intrustion. If that checks out, then jump in and turn the HVAC system on and see if the smell gets stronger. If you haven't changed your cabin air filter, could be worth checking as well.

 

[SmoothJ]

Should do a sniff test.. make sure to rule yourself out by taking a shower first! Sniff around the cabin and feel around for any moisture. Could be under your mats/carpet, Ford sunroofs have a reputation for leaking/water intrustion. If that checks out, then jump in and turn the HVAC system on and see if the smell gets stronger. If you haven't changed your cabin air filter, could be worth checking as well.

Funny about checking yourself out first, but true. I will check around the vehicle tonight, but I know the filter was replaced around 10K miles ago.

 

[Athrun88]

I change mine out every 10,000km regardless of condition. Might be worth just a quick check since if there is any mold or biomass caught there might also cause unwanted odours. Hopefully you find the root cause.

 

[RocketGhost]

See what the fabric sunroof wind deflector smells like.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Well if it's not mold or any smell like that, maybe just start by doing a deep cleaning of your seats and carpet, see if that helps. Then you can start proceeding after that with the headliner, using some cleaners on the hard plastics and arm rests, etc..etc..

 

[chl]

Rodent in the battery compartment? Or in the cabin air filter area?
I've seen posts about both those things on the forums - a lot of places for them to get in.

 

[Lightning Rod]

I change mine out every 10,000km regardless of condition. Might be worth just a quick check since if there is any mold or biomass caught there might also cause unwanted odours. Hopefully you find the root cause.

I change my filter every Spring and Fall with a PureFlow charcoal and baking soda filter, whether it needs it or not. It keeps my cabin nice and fresh.

 

[Athrun88]

I change my filter every Spring and Fall with a PureFlow charcoal and baking soda filter, whether it needs it or not. It keeps my cabin nice and fresh.

I currently run that myself but not too satisfied given the price. Going back to OEM personally and will swap every 10,000km.

 

[Scorpio3d]

If you can borrow or rent an ozone generator that would probably take care of the smell but you need to find the cause of the smell first or it will just come back. I own one and would loan it to you but I’m in Texas.

 

[Scorpio3d]

If you can borrow or rent an ozone generator that would probably take care of the smell but you need to find the cause of the smell first or it will just come back. I own one and would loan it to you but I’m in Texas. Ozone can cause certain health problems so I would read up on that first.
You could probably also use some type of small HEPA filter since we have outlets in the truck that might be easier?

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