# One more Cruze with Cabin stench eliminated



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I took my Cruze ECO in this morning to have it clean out any possible mildew and mold in the HVAC system. This car has had an odor since I purchased it and after a few months I figured out that it was the odor of dirty socks. As a former Scoutmaster I am very familiar with this odor, having cleaned out my Montana on multiple occasions to rid it of this same smell. When the threads about the anti-freeze smell started, needless to say I was interested. I even went so far as to sniff the coolant in my car - it definitely wasn't the same smell. In addition, I don't have any engine coolant leaks and had my car pressure tested a few months ago in an attempt to figure out why the coolant level was dropping. The level hasn't dropped significantly in the past 10K miles and there was definitely a very small amount coolant/florescent dye residue on the surge tank vent, which would explain the small drop I've seen in the past 10K miles.

In addition to this odor, last summer I took my car in to have the A/C system checked. It was the weakest A/C system I have ever experienced - and I'm not talking about the fan speeds. I'm referring to the ability of the A/C to cool the cabin. I have a black car with black interior, which is probably the worst color scheme possible for overwhelming the car's A/C. The A/C was operating within normal parameters with a 53 F output into the cabin and since it would keep the car's interior cool once it finally got there I dropped the issue.

This past Saturday Robby posted in response to one of my posts about what I was smelling that it sounded like mildew and/or mold in the HVAC system. Today I took my car in and had the HVAC system cleaned and disinfected. There were no signs of leaks of any sort in the system and the HVAC drain was working properly. 

When I picked up my car this evening I noticed two things. First, the smells were gone and I was unable to make them come back. The second thing I noticed was that for the first time in nearly 24K miles the A/C nearly froze me out of the car, and that was with the fan blower on 2. The HVAC after-blow was also turned on. For those of you who don't know about it, which I was one of until this past Saturday, the HVAC after-blow is a system that will run the HVAC fans for a few minutes after you turn off the car. The purpose is to dry the condenser coils so I suspect it draws heat from the heater core to do this.

Time and mileage will tell if this fixes my car's cabin stench.


----------



## 2013Cruze (Aug 4, 2012)

Hope everything goes well for you.


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Me too. I have another Cruze that has a cabin stench problem, but I don't drive it enough to start the odor sniffing to provide a good description of the odor to my service adviser. In the case of cabin odors, being able to give a good description of the odors. Without a good description of the odor, finding the source of the odor can be as difficult as tracking down a rattle.


----------



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

What did they do to your car to make the odor go away? I'd love to give that a shot, even if to make the A/C stronger.


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

From my service ticket:

D3316 APPLY COOLING COIL COATING/INST ELECTRONIC EVAP DRYER

23822 applied cooling coil coating and turned on afterblos 0.80 inspected hvac drain and hvac box, ok. no standing water. applied cooling coil coating and turned on afterblow in hvac module.

===========================

The tech reported that he couldn't see anything on the coils, but he cleaned them and sprayed them with GM's anti-mildew & mold spray. I suspect that although he couldn't see anything on the coils, something was on them and it was blocking the ability of the condenser coils to chill the air as it blew by and through them.

Today was sunny and 52 so I turned on the A/C and nearly froze with the blower set to 2. Yesterday was overcast an mid 40s and I checked the vent temperature output by using my phone mount to hold a thermometer directly in front of a blower vent. The car cooled off significantly faster today and I have never been able to actually cool the car without using both recirc and blower setting 4. It's supposed to snow this weekend and I'll get a much better sniff with the heater when I go down to Colorado Springs.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

> In addition to this odor, last summer I took my car in to have the A/C system checked. It was the weakest A/C system I have ever experienced - and I'm not talking about the fan speeds. I'm referring to the ability of the A/C to cool the cabin. I have a black car with black interior, which is probably the worst color scheme possible for overwhelming the car's A/C. The A/C was operating within normal parameters with a 53 F output into the cabin and since it would keep the car's interior cool once it finally got there I dropped the issue.


You too?!? It's freaking pathetic. Grrrr. Even when it was 70 outside recently and the inside of my car was sorta warm, it still felt underpowered.

And, on fan speed 4, you can't hear anything in the cabin and the engine is bogging like crazy. On fan speed 3, it's barely blowing cool air.

Glad they got rid of that nasty odor though.


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I figured out last summer that once I had cooled the car (which cooled about as slowly as some members have reported their cars heating up this past winter) I could turn the blower down to 2 and leave it on recirc to keep the car cool. This was the first time it actually cooled off on 2, with or without recirc on.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

obermd said:


> I figured out last summer that once I had cooled the car (which cooled about as slowly as some members have reported their cars heating up this past winter) I could turn the blower down to 2 and leave it on recirc to keep the car cool. This was the first time it actually cooled off on 2, with or without recirc on.


Same, out on the highway anyway. It's terrible when sitting in traffic. Were you on the highway today with a lot of air flowing through the condenser at the front of the car or moving slower before? 

I kinda doubt that there was anything significant on the evaporator core that was keeping it from getting cold. And unless the programming somehow tells the compressor to run longer before cutting out, I can't see how that would make a difference either.


----------



## CruzeDFB (Mar 3, 2013)

Congrats on the fix!! Glad your AC performs better too. 


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I was on the highway but speeds were varying from 0 to 65 as it was afternoon westbound rush hour. Speed didn't seem to make a difference. Last summer I also noticed that the A/C worked better, if you could call it that, on the highway than in stop & go traffic. It could be that the afterblow keeps the air moving over the condenser coils when the compressor is turned off, resulting in better cooling. I'm only guessing as to why my A/C is working better and your suggestion is just as likely as my first thought.


----------



## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

So turning on afterblow in hvac module is something that the dealership has to do or a setting your car should automatically be set on?


----------



## blackonblack (Feb 22, 2013)

Starks8 said:


> So turning on afterblow in hvac module is something that the dealership has to do or a setting your car should automatically be set on?


...or is there a secret menu somewhere to get at it?


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Afterblow is a maintenance operation done by the dealership. My understanding is that if you predominantly drive very short distances afterblow will drain your battery because the car doesn't have enough time to recharge the battery. This is why it's left turned off at the factory and only turned on if a car needs it.


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Morning after update:

This morning it was in the mid 20's when I left my house. I turned the heat on high once the car warmed up. I have the digital temperature readout and with the car running at 223 F I had to turn the defroster off and the blower down. This was the first time I had to do this because I was hot and not because of the stench. There is a very, very slight odor that I didn't recognize, but that may be residue from the work yesterday.


----------



## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

I'm pleased you were able to utilize my info and, naturally, hope you will revisit this subject from time to time.

I wouldn't be surprised if, over time, a significant percentage of the folks dealing with car B/O find this odor is either, in conjunction with, or possibly the primary scent that has been infiltrating the cabin.

A hint though.......usually if it is the mold issue the odor will be worse at startup and decrease as the vehicle is operated......coolant odor, if not a heater issue, will become stronger as the coolant warms and pressurizes.

But, I still strongly recommend the coolant cold level be kept lower than the line provided on the bottle......this to provide a reduction in operating pressure and reduce the venting potental.

Good news so far!

Rob


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

It's activated through whatever GM's OBDII computer is called. 

The Cruze has a "battery saver" feature that will shut down certain functions if the battery level gets too low. The afterblow would be one of these.

After seeing 99.9% of the evaporator cores on Volvos like mine (happened to mine too) rot through the aluminum and start leaking from being covered in sweat and crud after being turned off, I'm going to have this option turned on in my Cruze too.


----------



## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

obermd said:


> I took my Cruze ECO in this morning to have it clean out any possible mildew and mold in the HVAC system. This car has had an odor since I purchased it and after a few months I figured out that it was the odor of dirty socks.


I've had the same issue, especially when I ran the heater. I finally tracked down the stinky sock odor to the shoes I usually wear. Treated the shoes and the odor is gone.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

GoldenCruze said:


> I've had the same issue, especially when I ran the heater. I finally tracked down the stinky sock odor to the shoes I usually wear. Treated the shoes and the odor is gone.


----------



## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

GoldenCruze said:


> I've had the same issue, especially when I ran the heater. I finally tracked down the stinky sock odor to the shoes I usually wear. Treated the shoes and the odor is gone.



Aha, ha, ha, 

Well, more than once, tounge in cheek, I've thought of bringing the operators odor into the discussion but then the threads title gets a bit subverted.

Enjoyed the morning levity though.

Rob


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Robby said:


> I'm pleased you were able to utilize my info and, naturally, hope you will revisit this subject from time to time.
> 
> I wouldn't be surprised if, over time, a significant percentage of the folks dealing with car B/O find this odor is either, in conjunction with, or possibly the primary scent that has been infiltrating the cabin.
> 
> ...


Sent you a PM.

I don't know if it was worse at start-up vs later - my nose adjusts to smells. I suspect I may have a slight issue with the glycol lubricant, but like I posted earlier today was the first day I had to turn down the defroster because of excessive heat and not smell. If the smell doesn't dissipate by the end of April I'll change my cabin air filter. The real test will be my wife's nose - her's is far more sensitive than mine.

I'm definitely going to let my engine coolant vent down some more - not as low as you and Blue Angel have reported your cars at, but lower than it is now. Driving in Colorado I can literally expect to see the 20 PSI cap vent in the mountains if the level is too high.


----------



## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Well, thats the whole idea here......lowering the coolant level lowers the jug pressure, keeping it well below the 20 psi threshold.

The only reason the pressure rises is due to coolant expansion from heat......nothing more.

Rob

Got your P.M. All input is needed, so, thanks.


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The relative pressure in the tank will also rise when going up in altitude, even if the absolute pressure stays the same. The cap is rated 20 PSI above the ambient air pressure. Like I said in another thread there is a 2+ PSI drop in ambient air pressure from my house to the mountains.


----------



## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Knowing that the cooling system is full anytime the jug has coolant above the lower hose is part of my recommendation.

There is no need for it to be at the arrow......it just increases the potental for venting, thats all I'm getting at.

Rob

I bring this up only because, IMO, before ever dissecting a dash, one should have taken every step possible to be certain the heater box lube is the culprit.


----------



## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Annnnnd, I forgot to mention that running the A/C on recirc will add to the mold/evaporator core problem.......REALLY keeps it wet.

Worst cases, evaporator core freezes over, obstructing airflow and of course, no airflow, A/C efficiency goes down the stack.

Recirc really should only be used for a few minutes after startup on a hot day.....kindof gives it a head start, but recirc should only be used for longer periods when operating under almost 0% humidity, like found in the desert.

Lots of years ago, like in the 1960's the recirculate position was labelled "Desert Only"

Rob


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Robby said:


> Annnnnd, I forgot to mention that running the A/C on recirc will add to the mold/evaporator core problem.......REALLY keeps it wet.
> 
> Worst cases, evaporator core freezes over, obstructing airflow and of course, no airflow, A/C efficiency goes down the stack.
> 
> ...


True for most cars, and I try to run it in fresh air mode just before turning it off.

Unfortunately, I feel like the Cruze's AC system was designed only to be operated in fresh air mode (a click up on the temperature dial; not the lowest setting where it's stuck in a little "notch") when it is under 80 degrees outside. Any hotter, it's completely overwhelmed by the heat unless it's on recirculate mode, where it eventually gets plenty cold.

Fuel efficiency and small engines and all...


----------



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

More updates:

My wife, who has a super sensitive nose (I think her nose is part bloodhound) couldn't smell anything in my car. In addition, it started snowing yesterday during afternoon rush hour and by 9 PM when we were coming home from dinner out I was dealing with very wet snow and high humidity. My Cruze did NOT fog over, even with two people in the car.


----------

