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Help!! Smell coming from vents!! - READ ONLY

18 messages,  Last post on Oct 03, 2002 at 1:32 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Cavalier, Heating / Cooling, Coupe

Messages Page 1 of 2

#1 of 18 Help!! Smell coming from vents!! by bonnialisa

Aug 27, 2002 (6:59 pm)

I have a 2001 Chevy Cavalier with 14K miles on it. Recently I have noticed a smell when I turn on the vent or AC (not sure about heating as it is warm outside). The smell is sort of like, for lack of a better description, dead animal, must and cat urine. I tried an air freshener, but that is not helping.
 
It is getting to the point where I don't even want to drive it, and I certainly do not want to have any one ride with me because it is embarrassing.
 
I have to take it in to be inspected in September, but I am hesitant to mention it as I am afraid that it will not be covered, and it will cost me a fortune to have the mechanic disassemble the whole dash and try to find the problem.
 
I wonder if this smell contains chemicals or bacteria, and that is why I keep getting respiratory infections.
 
Is this something that I covered in a Lease Warranty or would I have to pay for it myself??
 
Please help.. I am beginning to HATE driving my car!!
 
Thanks,
Bonni

#2 of 18 might be in the air cowl or in the a/c by swschrad

Aug 27, 2002 (11:01 pm)

you should get to www.atmosklear.com and see if you want to try their excellent odor killer. if it is critter pee, a heavy spray of that stuff into the intake vents while running the fan full-bore in all hvac modes with the windows open should do wonders. if it is a plugged drain and/or lint and fizz on the heater or a/c coils breeding bacteria and mold, the problem will come back in a few days, and you'll know you face an extensive tear-down of the systems to take those coils out and clean 'em.
 
GM parts is supposedly going to be distributing this stuff through dealer parts operations, check that out as well.
 
// rant // which is why there should be micron HEPA filters AHEAD of the works in the air handling system in all cars, what the devil is wrong with automakers, commies, perverts all, etc etc etc..........
 
// rant off //

#3 of 18 RE:OOOO THAT SMELL by vidtech

Aug 28, 2002 (6:10 pm)

may be a mouse in the works who has assumed room temperature.

#4 of 18 I know what you mean!!! by encheritto

Sep 22, 2002 (7:39 pm)

I have the same year of cavalier as you and my a/c does the same thing especially when I just have the vents on w/o the ac on. I took it back to where I bought it and they sprayed some kind of stuff in the vents and some other places and it went away for about 2 weeks but its already back. I notice it the most in the morning but after it runs for a few min it goes away so it doesnt really bother me that much anymore so I guess that deoderizer/antibacterial spary did something. But before they did this for me they suggested spraying som lysol in the vents an where the air gets sucked in above the hood, so you might want to try that.

#5 of 18 would be nice if they had a cleanout trap by swschrad

Sep 22, 2002 (9:19 pm)

to shake all the dead little woodsy creatures out.

#6 of 18 by isseyvoo

Sep 23, 2002 (9:53 am)

When my Cav. was new (long ago in '92), the same thing happened every time I used the fan at a high speed. Though they never told me where it was originating, the dealer would "cure" it, but the fix would only last a couple weeks. Finally, they must have done something different on the 4th try, because it hasn't recurred since. It was all covered under warranty.

#7 of 18 maybe, just maybe by swschrad

Sep 23, 2002 (11:48 pm)

if you pulled the fan motor and cage (assuming your car designer didn't work in a rubber room, and that can be done with a hex socket in three minutes from under the hood)... and if you took a springy 3 or 4 finger "screw retriever" tool... and if you pushed that into the ductwork under the air intake cowl until you brushed something, and then clamped down and pulled it out... maybe, just maybe, it would be a little dried-up mousie and your problems would be over.
 
unless under the half-rotten elm seeds and leaves, there was another....

#8 of 18 Really bad odor... by lemko

Sep 24, 2002 (10:35 am)

...a friend of mine has a 1998 Corvette which he keeps stored in the garage. One day he turned on the A/C and got a blast of the foulest stench imaginable. He took the 'Vette to the Chevrolet dealer and it turned out to be dry dog food that mice were taking from a 50 lb. bag stored nearby, carrying to the car, and depositing it in the HVAC ducts. From what he told me, the HVAC ducts were nearly 1/4 full of kibble. The repair wasn't cheap.

#9 of 18 Serious Problem!! by greener98

Sep 28, 2002 (12:20 am)

A girl a used to work with had a 97 (I think) Cavalier that had the ac smell problem, she had been very sick for several months, eventualy found out that rainwater got in and grew a strange mold in vent system. She found out that prevous owner had been in hospital for same problem. I believe she got GM to buy the car back eventualy.

#10 of 18 it's possible indeed by swschrad

Sep 28, 2002 (4:51 pm)

there are a few molds that insurance companies hate to hear about, members of aspergillus and stachrobotyris families, that are very bad news producers of toxins. they are why household insurance companies are raising rates a couple hundred percent, along with floods and such. mold damage is killing them.
 
I'm surprised that she got GM to buy the car back.

Messages Page 1 of 2

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