My friend who is a mechanic came over today because the truck wouldn't start! Yes, had it exactly 4 days and already needed a jump. Twice. Anyway, I was scehduled to bring it in on Thusday for the a/c blowing warm in the front but I asked him to smell the car (b/c I noticedd a smell) and he immediately said mildew. Let me explain: the truck has a mildew smell. It's in the cabin itself and it's cold here so it's not to do with the a/c blowing. I have gotten down nose to floor, seats and the smell doesn't seem to be coming from any particular place that may have gotten wet. The carpet is not stained anywhere with water or anything else and nothing feels damp. It has rained twice and I see no water coming in from anywhere. My friend looked in a bunch of places and didn't see any moisture or notice a source of the smell.Sooooooooo, WHAT IS THE SMELL? and where is it coming from? He looked at the intake under the wipers and there are 3 dime sized holes in the screen. He gave me some possibilites-dead critter in there, junk-leaves, etc. in there, dirty cabin air filter. Combination of the 3. I have Googled this and can't seem to determine if this truck even has an air filter. The battery terminals were not cleaned not he said he's pretty sure there was no maintenance done on the coils or whatever and the screen wasn't replaced so I would have to agree with him. I am beyond pissed because this truck was "certified". If they didn't even clean the battery terminals and the air doesn't blow cold in the front it seems like they may have not done a great job of the "125 point inspection". I need to know what i should be telling them tomorrow exactly. Also going to address the fuel spillage issue too.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated. This our 4th pre-owned car-a Legacy wagon, an 03 Altima (husbband's current car) and my beloved 03 Liberty which I traded in for the Durango. None of those were "certified" and I never had a single problem beyond maintenance with any of them.

thanks!

 

The smell could be in the airducts themselves. A professional detailer can clean it and the rest of the vehicle for about $250.00,
FF

 

That is a common smell from any little used AC evap. It gets wet from condensation, its dark in there, warm outside, mold grows.

Spray lysol lightly up and under dash and inside vents. Let sit 10 minutes, air it out by running AC and windows down. Recheck.

Also, check weep hole making sure it is clear and allowing water to escape from housing.

IndyD

 

I have no idea what a weep hole even is but i will ask them to check it tomorrow since they are going to have to fix the a/c anyway.

 

We had to jump the truck again this morning and we brought it in to the dealer with the list of things including the fuel tank thing. They called my husband back later in the day and said they recharged the a/c, did some sort of deodoraizing thing to it, they are replacing the screen over the intake under the wipers and they changed the battery. No word on the fuel tank so I'm assuming they are going to sweep that one under. When i mentioned it to the guy, he tried to blame the pump. I told him I've been pumping gas for 25 years in many cars in that station and many others and I never once got doused in gas. When we were getting the loaner they had a thing on the counter about a thing they do to the car for $80 that gets rid of smells from the a/c. So I hope that's what they did. They're keeping it overnight until they get the screen and I can pick it up tomorrow. And if they think i'm paying for any of that, they are mistaken. I shouldn't have had to bring it back for any of that let alone after FOUR days of taking ownership after they supposedly "certified" it. So we'll see what happens tomorrow.

 

There are a few threads about the gas overflow problem. I think the inlet tube and tank neede replaced (recalled for 2005?). The search function in the top right can help you with that topic,
FF

 

They called my husband again today and they are keeping the car overnight again because they are fixing the fuel thing. So we will see what happens tomorrow.