Well I was hunting and looking for the source of the melted crayon smell and as I said I found the trunk vents below the side markers were opening.

As I was going about my sniff fest, I smelled the rear hatch latch. Wow it is the smell. Now I gotta pull the rear hatch plastic cover between the tail lights to get more info. There is something there and that is it.

Doing ANALysis of the problem, I found that the car did not smell if I used the heater fan to blow air near high speed, without the recirculate function. That means that the car is ok front of the driver seating, and with the windows shut, the pressurized air is forced out the trunk hatch at the BLOW OUT VENTS; at the bottom side of the rear wheel wells. I got out with a window open 1"to see air was coming out of the car with some force, i.e. the car is pressurized with new air.

The tire inflator and the whole area of the trunk around it passed the sniff. The tail light access panels seem to hold the key and odor.. I like the melted crayons ANALogy, its most appropriate.

For gods sake, please please dont run out to your car - pop the hatch and sniff the hatch latch. Please wait till night or foggy weather what ever or go to a covered garage WITHOUT CAMERAS to check the smell. We are a fringe car in the world and the last thing we want is to be banned from Carlisle and other events. Tail of the dragon would have a new meaning and we just dont have the numbers to overcome the bad press this sniffing might create. Just a word to the wise, we dont want to create a big stink as it were.

Woody. OBTW I bought some fabric spray to begin to correct - remediate the problem.

Keep your nose into the wind and Ill let you know what I root out.

 

You know Google picks up on these threads.. " I was smelling my rear" is going to bring all sorts of fetish freaks now!

 

I'm pretty sure we've run this "in-you-end-oh" to it's legal limit.

 

Is it possible that the clear oval shaped portion of the tail light lenses are magnifying the sun rays and heating up the housing in there to the point of off gassing that melted smell??

 

Out of the box thinking, I like but its in the garage and driving in the afternoon, tends to dismiss that idea. Keep them coming.Woody

 

Very droll. I like a lot.
A fitting punch line.

 

Reminds me of a thread from days gone by....

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...mell-like.html

 

HAHA! Legend!

 

The crayon smell has to do with the adhesives used in German manufacturing plants... they can't use the harsh stuff we get away with, and their adhesives share a common chemical used in the wax that most crayons are made from. This is why most used German cars have that oddly sweet "waxy leather" smell.

True story.

 

Always full of good knowledge JHM2K, I always wondered about that odor, not offensive but there non the less. Thanks for the good info.

 

Haha thanks man. My friends have nicknamed my car "Crayola" for that reason. My buddy's VW smells the exact same, and my boss's Bimmer smells similar although the leather grade is a bit higher quality, so you smell that a bit more than the waxy smell.

 

How revealing....Thanks Woody

 

check your licence plate light covers, the lenses often begin to melt and crack