GeorgeSanJose - I think you may be right. I just finished cleaning every thing in the interior with my carpet cleaner and no surface was left untouched. I was getting that burning sensation in my nose and mouth as I cleaned so I was hoping I would find something. I checked under the seats, in the glove box and console for any clues but there wasn’t anything. BUT when I started to clean the floor mats with the pressure nozzle on the hose it became pretty clear - I got hit with the the strongest fumes ever and an immediate reaction, the burning mouth, etc. It was the driver’s side mat and I can’t imagine what was on it except it looked like a brownish green muddy color coming out as I hosed it constantly for over 5 minutes - there was a lot of something in that mat - nothing in the other ones. Some new mats are definitely in order and everything has to dry out for a day or two but I’m encouraged that this might be the end of the fumes. I did put some white towels in the floor where that mat was to see if anything is dripping inside or if that stuff on the mat was someone’s accidental spill of who knows what. I’ll keep everyone posted to let you know if that was it or if it turns out to be a leak under the dash or if the fumes still persist. I appreciate your advice and to everyone else too!
OK - just about the time I think it’s over -
The solvent or whatever that was so overwhelming when I hosed off that mat must have soaked through to the carpet underneath. I steam cleaned all the carpet yesterday but like the mats, when I used water on them it just intensified the fumes somehow. Whatever was there reacts with water and has made the fumes so bad that just a few whiffs of it this morning and I just about passed out. What the heck could react with water and cause such caustic fumes? I left a message with a place that does carpet repair on cars and am thinking I’ll get the carpet replaced at least on that side. I taped a piece of white plastic trash bag to the floor under the dash to see if anything is dripping and haven’t seen anything today - I’m running out of ideas, I’m thinking it just might be easier to trade it in but then I would be responsible for asphyxiating someone else - not good.
If the speedometer on you Jeep Cherokee is driven by a cable from the transmission, a bad seal at the transmission would allow transmission fluid to work its way up the cable and drip out on the left side under the steering wheel. However, most modern cars have a speedometer that is electronic, so this probably isn’t the problem. The only reason I suspected this was that the repair shop did work on the speed sensor which is on the transmission.
My only other suggestion is to remove the cap where you had windshield washer fluid and take a whiff. Does this have the same odor as what you smell in the car?
The other possibility might be a plugged drain hose from the air conditioner that drains off the condensation. If that hose is plugged, the condensation could be leaking on the carpet. Also, if the heater core is leaking coolant and the drain hose is plugged, the antifreeze may get into the carpet and this is toxic.
I just went out and stuck my nose into the washer fluid intake and no reaction, but as I was looking around I noticed that one of the clips that holds down one side of the air filter lid was missing so I started to examine it and realized that the lid that covers the air filter had not been replaced correctly and was just sitting on top of the air filter box. I took the lid off and the filter out and there were acorns, leaves and rat poop in the box so vacuumed all that out. Someone had not put the 3 tabs along the back side into their respective slots so the lid was just basically sitting unsecured on top of the air filter box. Could that have had anything to do with the fumes?
No, a loose air filter cover isn’t likely to cause caustic fumes in the cabin. The engine vaccuum would tend to draw any fumes there into the engine instead. You may need to replace the carpet under the driver’s dash area from what you say. I expect whatever solvent is doing this to you has accumlated under the carpet. It is probably economically fixable. I don’t see any reason to sell the car, unless you don’t want it for other reasons.
I’m sort of a cheapo – well, according to my ex I’m definitely a “cheapo” … lol … - anyway, if this were my car I’d be inclined to take a carpet knife to this problem, remove the entire piece of carpet under the driver’s dashboard area, then clean up the metal pan underneath so it is spic and span. Then I’d just drive it that way for a while, see if any new liquid accumulates there. If none, then I’d install a new piece of carpet.
Fyi, besides an auto-detailer accidentally spilling a cleaning fluid, there’s several on-car sources that can drip liquid substances into this area and accumulate under the carpet. As mentioned above, the speedometer cable can drip xmission fluid; also the brake master cylinder can leak and drip brake fluid there; and the clutch master cylinder can leak, also dripping (brake) fluid. You might ask your mechanic to visually check each of those for leaks.
I hesitate to chime in but are you sure you don’t have a rodent infestation and you are washing rodent urine off the carpet? This would be an ammonia smell and could certainly affect the respiratory system as well as other illnesses. Not sure where to go with this but the droppings and acorn suggest a rodent problem. Where and how? Pest control company? Clean or replace carpets by a pro? First thing is better make sure they are gone first. Cloth seats?
Guys, transmission fluid, engine oil, antifreeze and and condensation from the evaporator housing do not cause a burning sensation in the nose and mouth.
I’ve been doing this long enough and I’ve been exposed to those chemicals often enough to be able to say that.
I’m inclined to want to cut the carpet out of that area - I got in the car this morning to run an errand and had to immediately turn around - the burning in my throat and mouth about killed me! It is worse than ever and I think I woke up a sleeping dog when I took the mat out and washed the carpet underneath. Since I used the hand attachment for my carpet steamer that I use on spots it probably didn’t get the carpet wet enough to get our what ever is in there but got it wet enough to cause a reaction with the water and has intensified the fumes. The weird thing about this is that when I open the door and just sit in the seat I don’t get that sensation. It’s when I start the car and start backing out of the garage I get hit with it. If I decide to cut the carpet out, are there any wires under there that I might end up cutting? My luck with this snake bit project would be that I cut something and it causes even more expense and time to get fixed. The fumes were so intense that I came back in the house and had planned to rent a car for the week to get around until I can figure this out but of course the rental places closed at noon today and won’t open until Monday unless I want to drive an hour to the airport - which I might consider at this point - this is about to drive me crazy.
I’ve had this car for 6 years and probably mice and rats in the garage for that long too - I can’t imagine that they would be causing such an intense fume. I’ve never had any ‘fume’ issues until I had the trans serviced. I’m thinking since I got such an overwhelming dose when I hosed off that car mat that what ever was on that is also under it on the carpet. I’m going to see if there’s a way to pull it out or off with out cutting it so that I can really wash and replace it -
Can you use one of those portable carpet cleaning machines on the floor mats and carpet?
I did borrow my neighbor’s Little Green portable carpet steamer just to try to get all the water out of the carpet when I initially steamed the carpet with my steamer since her’s has a smaller suction head on it and there were a lot of nooks and crannies in that area. I did a number on the mats with the hose using a pressure nozzle and they are still out there on my deck and will probably not go back into the car so whatever is affecting me today is still inside the car. I went out to see if I could just pull the carpet out from under the trim and I was somewhat successful but it’s glued to some padding and there seems to be some kind of grey padding up higher under the dash. I took the panel off under the dash which was easy to pop off and looked at everything under there with a flashlight to see if anything was wet but it all looks dry. The carpet tho’ feels sticky and has a kind of oily feel to it after I was handling it and pulling it out from under the trim so if I can get it out without totally wrecking it, I’ll soak it and pressure wash it too and let it dry outside. The floor underneath seems dry without any oil or anything, just clean paint.
I think before you go any farther you should talk to a good auto detailer. Sound like the equipment you are using is just household stuff and not professional grade. To remove the carpet you have to take the front seats out at least. Whatever it is has soaked into the pad underneath too so I think you for sure will need to replace the pad, and I suspect the carpet will need to be replaced. Sure its not soaked in the seats too?
At any rate a detailer would maybe know what it is for sure and be able to clean it or advise but sounds like you’re using dirt devil type equipment and just re-wetting it and promoting mold.
I am right there with you! I can only pull the carpet out so far and then there are the seats… I know I can’t take those out myself, don’t have the right tools, and frankly this has been far more work than I ever bargained for. I’m just so disappointed that none of the places I have taken this to have stepped up and offered up any real help knowing that I’m about to die smelling these fumes. I so appreciate all your help. Now, to find someone who will know how to really clean this well enough to get whatever it is out of the carpet or be able to replace the carpet with carpet that matches the rest…
Usually all you need to take a seat out is a socket wrench or box end wrench. Mostly just four nuts plus any trim and disconnecting the wiring plugs, HOWEVER with possible air bags in the seats, its not something you really want to fool with.
I also advise against taking out the seats
If the passenger seat has an occupancy recognition sensor, it will need to be recalibrated after reinstalling the seat. And you need a factory-capable scan tool for that.
I found some stuff online called Vapor Sorb that is supposed to eliminate vapors from spilled liquids. It’s granulated and must be sprinkled on the spill. I’ll call tomorrow when they are open and maybe try that - can’t seem to find anything else that sounds like it would work in this situation but I’m ready to try anything at this point. It still causes a reaction when I get in the car so may have to rent something for a week or so until this gets figured out - what a torture. I have never had any kind of reactions like this to anything in my life and I have definitely used plenty of solvents and cleaners as well as been around dry cleaning chemicals, artist and printing supplies, etc. so I’m normally not sensitive to stuff like this. Would love to know what it was but the dealership won’t acknowledge that they used anything and the people I contacted who do air quality testing don’t have testers for car vapors. You’d think in 2013 there would be an iphone app for this…LOL.
One cheap trick you might try is to scatter some cat box litter in the offending area. It might absorb the odor. Let it sit overnight and then vacuum it up. Repeat if necessary. I know cat litter is effective on absorbing oil that has spilled. It just might absorb the liquid that may be causing the odor in your vehicle.
You can try sprinkling baking soda on the carpet too to let it absorb whatever it is. If it is rodent urine though, I’d be a little careful especially if you live in the south west where haunta virus is present. Now you can become sensitized to chemicals-don’t know about urine-so that you can go for a long time exposed with no problems and then all of a sudden reach your limit and can’t tolerate it anymore. Really wish you’d let someone else take a look and see what they say like a pest control company or detailer.
dognostrils
What happened with your car with odorless fumes from vents?
I have the same problem and want to solve and fix problem.
thanks!
@oamadrigal Please start your own thread with a clear description of your problems so we don’t have to wade through old threads that have no bearing on your vehicle.
Hello there,
I ultimately had to sell the car. I could barely tolerate whatever it was
that was getting inside. It all started after the dealership spilled
transmission fluid over the engine and it burned all over the underside of
the car when it got hot. After 6 months you would think that whatever it
was would have resolved itself but it just seemed to get worse. I used all
kinds of fume absorbing products, had the upholstery and carpets steam
cleaned, put a cabin filter in it, took it to so many different places to
get checked and no one could find anything that they thought could be
contributing to my issues. I ended up leasing a Prius and since then
haven’t had any problems. If you find a solution to your dilemma please
post - I’m still curious what it could have been.