This has been talked about before, it's the transmission fluid that you are smelling, it's going to take at least 3k miles before the smell starts to go away. The cleaning agents need to burn off in the fluid.

 

how is the smell getting out of the transmission and into the cabin, and how hot does the fluid need to get to burn off the "cleaning agents"...and what exactly are "cleaning agents" for that matter

 

But the usual Giulia smell is chemical/hydro-carbon-y, not cat pee/ammonia.
Across almost all brands of cars you will find complaints of a cat pee smell in cars that comes from vegetation getting into the system and then decaying. This is nearly impossible to clean up and harsh disinfectant chemicals are often used to treat the problem.

I had this happen with my 2000 Dodge RAM, shortly after I took delivery. It took nearly 10 years for the disinfectant chemical smell to wear off. I don't know if it was bad luck on the RAM or bad design. The water drain in that truck is badly designed such that when driving in the rain there is a ram-air effect on the drain that will blow some of the draining water up into the HVAC box. Adding a drain hose to the forward pointing pipe appears to have fully resolved the issue with my truck.

To fix this particular problem properly requires fully dismantling the dash, then dismantling the HVAC box to clean in the inside, then lots of prayers and incantations that everything will go back together and fit properly and not squeak and rattle. I would be very surprised if any dealer would agree to attempt this method of repair under warranty.

 

If we spend more than a few days at the beach, in SC, for a short time when we return to UpState SC, our cars' HVAC smell kind of musty, like the get a mold or something from the salt air, or humidity or something. Noted this for years. In past years, have bought a spray can of mildew auto spray or something like that and sprayed some into the incoming vent system. Now I don't bother, it just quickly goes away. Some Alfa's just seem to have an odor when new, I think from some coating somewhere being off-gassed when heated. NV

 

Yeah, this sounds like a case of mixed descriptors, because while a strong odor in the cabin of new Giulias while stopped is typical, the cat pee description is not, but if you think of the common petro-chem descriptors and cat pee as both pungent, noxious, odors, then everything does point to the classic, new Giulia stink phenomenon.

There is no known certain cause or cure for the problem, but as noted above, it does resolve itself in time. I’ve experienced it in both of the new Giulias I’ve owned, and can say that there are a couple of ways to manage it.

First is to get the car hot; put long drives in when you can to heat fluids and components. I’ve got the theory it primarily affects those who purchase in cold seasons, and also those who make, primarily short trips. In both cases, the operating temps are low, so being deliberate to get the car hot seem to expedite resolution.

Second is to turn off both the auto start/stop and auto air recirculation (i.e. turn recirc on manually). The main goal here is to close out-cabin air sources to avoid pulling in the odor, making things more tolerable; ASS activation turns recirc off, which is why you want to hit that button when you start a trip, but also perhaps there is some value to keeping the engine running to help speed that heating/burn off.

Anyway, provided it’s not something else, like the unlikely chance rodents have nested in the car somewhere (which I can tell you from experience is very nasty and durable odor), you should be fine in time. I picked up my current car in early January, had the smell, made some long/hard (1.5 hr) drives, and already at 1600 miles, the smell is gone.

 

Mine developed a moist smell a few months back that can only be compared to sweaty gym socks, after the initial smells had all worked themselves out. Sometimes it is more noticeable when on recirculate, and sometimes when fresh air is coming in. It usually occurs when there is moisture in the air after driving in the rain. I sprayed some lysol into the AC intake vents and took a couple fabric softener sheets and placed them near each of the air intakes for the AC, one under the seat and one hanging through the ac intake grill under the hood where fresh air comes in. It helped for a while, I was thinking of going ahead and having the cabin air filter replaced the next time I have it serviced.

 

mine still smells like leather and new car. I think you guys are just too close to your cats

 

Spray some creed aventus in the vents. I always keep a small bottle in center console for after the gumads.

 

This was my morning...

Thats an 8HP50 out of a 2020 Jeep....lots of metal but no smell...

 

I have 5 cats at home, I could ask some probing questions regarding their alibi's.....

 

Would it help to park our cars over a litter box?

 

Didn’t the TSB also replace the cowl gasket with a taller piece, in addition to providing for the hole stickers on the hood? Anyway, that’s old news, long since integrated into production, and obviously irrelevant to preventing the noxious odor I and may others have experienced.

I don’t know whether transmissions are fluid-filled at their assembly or on the vehicle line, but it does make sense that fluids sharing the same performance spec could have different characteristics. Specs could have an odor requirement, but easily could not. Motor oils can share the same spec, but certainly smell different, anyway.

I think the point in this piece of the discussion is that the cause of the odor is unknown, and speculation should not be put forth as certainty.

It’s both good and fun to speculate and evaluate guesses, though, as that’s how we often figure stuff out, and hopefully robust discussion of this noxious cabin odor will catch the ear of someone at Alfa who can do something about it.

 

Didn’t the TSB also replace the cowl gasket with a taller piece, in addition to providing for the hole stickers on the hood? Anyway, that’s old news, long since integrated into production, and obviously irrelevant to preventing the noxious odor I and may others have experienced.

I don’t know whether transmissions are fluid-filled at their assembly or on the vehicle line, but it does make sense that fluids sharing the same performance spec could have different characteristics. Specs could have an odor requirement, but easily could not. Motor oils can share the same spec, but certainly smell different, anyway.

I think the point in this piece of the discussion is that the cause of the odor is unknown, and speculation should not be put forth as certainty.

It’s both good and fun to speculate and evaluate guesses, though, as that’s how we often figure stuff out, and hopefully robust discussion of this noxious cabin odor will catch the ear of someone at Alfa who can do something about it.

I'm not speculating of guessing, I have personally smelt the trans fluid myself. I loosened the drain plug on the transmission and let out just enough to soak a small section on a paper towel, it's the EXACT same smell.

 

I have 10K miles on my car and it's 2-1/2 years old, and still very occasionally get a whiff of something odd.

 

This particular thread, on a topic which has dogged Giulia from the beginning, is no closer to either an explanation or a fix than other discussions going back to 2017 have been.

 

You're extractor will work fine.....the fill hole is about 3/4 inch..but the engine does have to be running because with the engine off the converter drains back and then the fluid level is probably about a half an inch over the fill plug...thats also why it must be running when you fill it ...you simply won't be able to get enough oil in it unless the torque converter stays full which it only does while the pump is operating...

And oh boy...I also miss dipsticks....

 

Hmm, that sounds like the extractor will not work unless I use it with the engine running. With the engine running are there turning parts on the other side of the fill hole? Topping up runs into the danger problem again with working on a running car on a lift.

One fault I experienced first hand with an old school transmission dip stick: after an extended climb up hill in my Dad's truck with a camper and trailer, the transmission fluid boiled when he let off on the power at the top of the hill. The dip stick tube guided the boiling fluid to the exhaust manifold and the truck promptly caught fire. Fortunately we were able to put it out with the fire extinguisher in the camper before any bad damage happened. The moral of the story being never ease up on the throttle...

 

And just for reference here is our high-tech shop tool

 

Make sure the moonroof drain tubes are working properly. Mine were plugged with leaves once and it was driving me crazy. Every time it rained the car would smell super musty. I blew both drain holes out with compressed air and haven't had a problem since.