Alfa Romeo Giulia Forum banner

strong smell from vents

9K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  lockem 
#1 ·
Anyone else experienced really strong chemical smell coming from air vents into the interior ?
This was noticeable during the first few days and drives especially (with A/C and heater off) I can still smell it but very faintly now after 300 miles driving and 2 weeks. Tried to burn it off by running the heater and the A/C at different times and fan on high. Was not able to detect it in the engine bay.
 
#6 ·
It may be a finish treatment on the heat shields and turbo. As you've run the car, it has burned off or broken it. That's the best way I could explain a burning leaves smell.
 
#7 ·
I have the same problem. I can't seem to discern whats causing the smell other then whenever I'm making any adjustments to the air sometimes a very strong chemical smell starts to come from the vents. I was in the dealership today to address a recall that the alfa tech said mentioned something about an odor, but it didn't resolve the problem. Sometimes the smell will occur if I'm driving then stop park, and come back to car, and turn on ac. It will emit a smell thats so strong I have to lower the windows almost immediately because you cannot breathe in the cabin.
 
#11 ·
Could the dealer have poured disinfectant into the A/C box as a pre-emptive move against mold? My pickup truck developed a mold problem when it was new so the dealer dumped disinfectant into the system. I had to run full heat with all of the windows down for a week after the disinfectant was put in. No more moldy smell, but 17 years later I still get whiffs of that disinfectant crap...

I guess it is too hard to remove the box and clean it properly, at least for my pickup. The entire dashboard has to be removed to do so.

The real fix on the pickup was to install a simple drain hose on the front of the A/C box. As-was the unit had an forward facing open drain pipe in the engine compartment and my guess is that wind was blowing in and splashing the drain water all over the inside of the box, preventing proper drainage and increasing the potential for mold growth. Hopefully Giulia is designed better.
 
#10 ·
Our F-Pace smelled funky after driving for the first 3,000 miles or so. Dealer said the exhaust system was coated with something to minimize corrosion while being shipped over sea. It did smell bad, but not just in cabin. I could smell the car in garage when hot. All gone now.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top