Why does my 2001 VW Jetta TDI smell of crayons inside. It smells so bad we have named it the Crayon Box! When we are headed out, my wife asks are we taking the van or the Crayon Box. I have searched all over and can not find any crayons anywhere. What is the problem?
Is the car new to you, or just the smell? Do you have kids who might have stuck a crayon on the dash where it rolled into a defroster vent? Do you notice it more when it’s hot?
This made me laugh. I also own a 2001 Jetta (not TDI). I bought it new back in 2001. Anytime someone gets in the car they comment on how it smells like crayons. People have been saying that since I first bought the car. I guess I am used to it since I don’t notice it. If anyone knows the reason why, I would be interested in finding out a reason why.
A Google search for “jetta crayon smell” turns up tons of hits. One explanation is a rustproofing spray or sound deadening spray applied under the car when it was built.
To further compound the problem. VW also used a wax solution for body cavities before final assembly and sprayed a wax sound-deadener under the carpets. These cars must be very popular with pre-school through first grade teachers.
Back in 1969, my first wife’s father bought a brand new F-100 Ford pickup truck. He took it to Ziebart and had the rustproofing applied. That truck smelled like crayons after that. I agree that it may have something to do with the rustproofing.
The smell of crayons is the smell of interiors. Well VW must have used a very good material for the interiors thats why new or old the smell still exists.
The 100% reason for the crayon smell is the sound deadener pad under your carpet and behind the dash.
Detailed instructions to remove is about 9 posts down in this thread:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=124998
This was a terrible problem for me too.
Good luck!