Compared to MY crossfire, all the other crossfire’s Ive seen STINK! ……

….Yes the stink of melted crayons due to the factory interior fabric and glues. Drive me crazy, a short trip but the smell would not go away.

I pulled the interior, power washed it and emptied the trunk and washed it all down and still the stink. Really did not like constantly hearing over and over that my car has a terrible smell. Not a good thing, left it in the sun for days with the doors and hatch open… no improvement.

Went to the auto store to get some help and was about to get the hanging pine tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In need of help, so I asked a kid that swore by the Meguiar whole car air freshener odor eliminator.

Did not follow instructions much, left the car running with the fan on for 30 minutes after opening this bug bomb like freshener. Gee golly it has worked and I can recommend it to YOU.

Have had it in for about two weeks and its gone, yeah bout time and good riddens. Its about 7$ and takes 15 (30 ) minutes with the blower on and windows / door closed. Yes you too can join me in ridding your car of that melted smell of wax, check it out and let me know.

Wdy - I can breathe easily now, yessss

CrossfireForum.org - waldig's Album: Air freshener

 

Never had the issue in mine.


Despite 4 nasal surgeries to correct it,,, I have it on good authority that I don't smell very good. Verified from medical practitioners to friends.
As for my crossfire, the ragtop is mostly down when I drive so,,, it's exhaust fumes and my neighbor's trash I smell, if I smell anything.


But thanks for the tip Woodie. As usual, strange but effective advice.

 

Hey Franc, usually a daily shower and brushing of the teeth can take care of that. Your friends and medical practitioners (and everyone else) will never notice it again (or will they?). LMAO


.

 

Thanks for the tip! I've always thought it was just me that smelt the crayons haha! I'll have to give this a try

 

LOL Thanks for the tip.

 

That's strange. I have not had a compliant, in fact I've liked the way it smells. But then I like the smell of fresh paint. Maybe it's from all the model glue I smelled while building models as a kid.

I suggest you not buy "New Car" car air freshener

 

Change the cabin filter

 

Im just guessing here (please correct me if im wrong) but i THINK its just the SRT6's that have this odor inside and not the Limited/Base models. My Limited is a year older than my 6 and has twice the mileage and doesnt even smell remotely as bad as the crayon smell in my 6. I believe it stems from the suede material on the seats that only the 6 has.

 

05 limited and it has the odor.

 

Ok, i retract previous statement lol

 

I love love love the smell!
In fact I asked the guy I was buying it from if it smelled
like crayons BEFORE I went to look at it. It was kind of
a deal breaker! lol

 

When I went to test drive the 2004 with 5K miles I got 2 weeks ago, the very first thing I said when I opened the door "Ew, something stinks". It went away as soon as I started driving, and I assumed it was just kind of funky from sitting unused in a garage. After I got it I started thinking it was a moth ball hiding somewhere, but I stopped looking when I read all of these posts. My wife still complained the couple times she went for a ride with me in it, but she hates it anyway. (I think the words used were "Stupid shape, useless(6sp comment), and hideous interior")

 

Sounds like you need a new wife........

The cabin air filter seems to be the source of most odors and if not changed, with a good one, some of which are carbon filters with scent, then the odor issue might be pervasive. I've never really had the problem except for when it's been sitting, in the heat, etc. I've come to find out you should always leave the fan / vent set on notch one. It's the notch which keeps the vent open and doesn't run the fan. I never close it.

 

She LOVED the Charger I traded in on it is part of the issue. And I got permission, if not blessing, so I'm ok with that. I have not checked the cabin filter, but I don't think that will be it. It smells OKish when in use, and with air flowing, it is when it sits overnight that it builds up. Also, when swapping the radio, I noticed some of the matted insulation back there was shredded. I HOPE it was that way, but there may be a dead critter to contend with. But it really doesn't smell like that.

 

I can confirm the Meguires Odor Bomb works. The "crayon" smell in mine was pretty potent. After driving it I could smell it on my clothes after getting out of the car. I'd have to roll the windows down ever so often driving down the road
It would smell up the entire garage!
No bueno.

I tried many things first, changing filters, spraying cleaning solution up into the evaporator coil drain, Spraying AC cleaner in the vents, spraying Odorban onto the carpet which worked for a few days. Ozium in the air, bags of activated charcoal underneath the seats etc. But the odor monster would always come back.

So after determining the odor was emanating from the carpet and permeating into the AC and everything else I went and bought a Hoover carpet cleaner from Home Depot.
I then pulled the seats out. (A 12 point 10mm socket works great BTW.) After thoroughly cleaning the carpet using the solution that came with the Hoover, (3 oz per gallon of hot water) I put the seats back in.

The next day I used the MOB after first removing the cabin filter, pulling up the floor mats, opening up the glove box and console, moving and tilting the seats forward to expose the back panel. Probably should have pulled the visors down too.

I can now say that the monster is nowhere to be found a week later.

Crossfire's aren't the only cars that have this problem. MB, BMW, VW all have this issue apparently.

 

First of all I want to thank Waldig for posting this thread and the write up about this product

The Meguiars Odor Eliminator Car Bomb

I bombed mine today and the smell is great
Even the fresh smell is now coming through the vents
It's easy to use....
Just start the car, set the **** to all vent directions, press the recirculate button and turn the fan blower to high.
Set the can of Meguiars odor eliminator between the seats and be sure it is secure so it will not tip over
Press the trigger on top to start the bomb and shut the doors for 15 minutes

Once 15 minutes have passed open the window and doors and the hatch if ya have a Coupe and let it sit for about another 15 minutes before you get in and drive anywhere.

I will report back in a few weeks after I come back from my trip to the Tail of the Dragon in NC to let you know if it has lasting effects or not.

 

I have the same smell in my 2005srt ,if I Pledge the door panels it goes away for about a week, but I will try the meguires treatment .thank you for the suggestion

 

For me, this is a nostalgic European car smell that I wouldn't want to disappear. I had an old 1980 BMW320i at the same time my brother had an 81 320is, dad had a newer 535 and all 3 cars had the smell that is being referred to here 35 years later. The smell was explained to me long ago and I suppose it could be offensive to those who have never experienced it or weren't told the origins of the odors. If the Crossfire is a persons first experience in owning a European smelling car and they don't particularly care for that smell, then I would suggest they should toss a big mac wrapper or a Krystal hamburger box under the seat to give them a more "homey" smell that they might be more accustomed to....Peace

 

I'd like to complain about my AC evaporator smell.....if I run the AC fine....but once its off and the condensation takes hold....yuuuukkk!....once she dries out again - all's good...but that 10-20minute interim.....not good....any solutions appreaciated.....not sure Meguiar's would take care of that....


PS - cant recall if the AC evaporator is before or after the heater coil....I think before.....??


PSS - changed condensor to evaporator....my original mistake...been thikning Killer Chillers too much ....

 

I used two products to clean and deodorize the AC system. Both of them are available at Autozone. (Turned out I didn't need them, read below)

This one you run the hose up into the evaporator drain hose to clean it out.
The AC drain hose is way back in the tranny tunnel. You can see it if you pull the vent on the driver's out that's located below the ignition.

You can reach from under the hood side feeling for it. Don't confuse the two drains under the cowl for it, you can't see it. It has a scupper fish mouth on the end. Once you find it shove the hose in.
Quest/Odor eliminator OE-1 at AutoZone.com - 1 reviews


This one you spray into the cowl and and AC vents.
Quest/A/C odor out fresh clean scent - Not for Hybrid vehicles with electrical driven compressors 760 at AutoZone.com



I can tell you though that in my case it wasn't the AC ventilation system causing the odor, it was in fact the carpet and or adhesive causing the funk and that's what was getting into the ventilation system. So even though I did both of these procedures they didn't help because they were the symptoms, not the cause.

This past weekend I pulled the windshield cowl to put the missing wiper grommet on and double check for clogs. There were a few leaves on the far passenger side but no clogged drains.

Try rubbing your hand on your carpet and take a whiff, if it's funky pull the seats, do the carpet shampoo and MOB like I did. I recommend pulling the cabin filter out and put the cover back on doing the MOB.
Hoover Max Extract Dual V WidePath Carpet Washer-F7412900 - The Home Depot


It's the only thing that worked for me.