Musty smell in the interior..

[InstinctRacer]

So I've had the car a few months now, and have seen the condensation in the tail lights a few times. It always went away quickly, and unless I see standing water in them I won't get too worried.

But, it has rained really hard here in NorCal this week as huge storms have passed through the area. Now five days into this series of storms I get into the car for work this morning and could detect a definite wet mop kind of musty smell inside when I opened the door.

And again when I got in after work. I opened the windows and turned the heater on high and full blast for the short ride home, but this has me extremely worried. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this, and will it be covered under warranty if the damp smell won't go away.

I park outside, and the car was hit hard by the rain. Maybe the rubber seals around the doors? Cannot find any wet carpet or upholstery. Like I said, worrisome for sure.

[speedy racer]

Check and see if you have plugs underneath, if not odors can come thru here the thread http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22962

[DaJo]

Check this thread to see if this is your problem.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...rubber+grommet

Do you have those rubber grommets in place underneath your car?

[InstinctRacer]

I did see those in the glove box, but could not figure them out. I wonder how water in the frame would have something to do with a smell in the interior?

Is there a port somewhere in the cabin that originates from the frame? Seems to me that it should be sealed off from the exterior.

[Tiremonkey0824]

Literally had this problem for the first time this morning. Got a little bit of rain last night and all of a sudden it smells like moldy beach towels inside my car. Weird thing is that it's prolly rained 15 times since I've owned the car and it has never smelt like that.

[Maik L]

Bring the car to the dealership, that will take care of it.

[DaJo]

Originally Posted by InstinctRacer

I did see those in the glove box, but could not figure them out. I wonder how water in the frame would have something to do with a smell in the interior?

Is there a port somewhere in the cabin that originates from the frame? Seems to me that it should be sealed off from the exterior.

The manual says water will get in under the car via those tie-down holes and seep up inside, so cover up your holes!...

[InstinctRacer]

Wow, thanks for the heads up. I wonder why they would supply them but not have them installed from the factory..

[DaJo]

Originally Posted by InstinctRacer

Wow, thanks for the heads up. I wonder why they would supply them but not have them installed from the factory..

The dealers are suppose to install them during PDI; reason why they are not on from factory is because they use these holes to tie them down onto the ships/trains/trucks when delivering them to your dealerships. (Hence the name "tie-down" holes lol)

[fistpoint]

Leave your car in direct sunlight to dry it out. Open the windows and doors too, have a fan pointed from one open door to the other.

I successfully dried out a Civic once that made it through 2 foot high water without stalling. When I did finally bring it in for the insurance claim a few weeks later(car felt low on power), the dealership actually had to call me back and verify that the car is in for a flood repair. After they pulled the carpet up is when it became apparent.

Anyway, it dried out perfectly and had no smell at all despite having enough standing water INSIDE the cabin to float my Pink Floyd Pulse double disk set past my feet in the footwell.

Anytime you buy a new car the first thing you do is Scotch Guard the hell out of the inside and floormats, anything made of cloth. 2 coats is good. I'm fairly certain that was largely the reason for my good results.

* I know you said you didn't feel wetness, but the musty smell came from something wet. My fan idea works for smells too.

[wbradley]

Stop smokin' blunts and rippin' them in your vehicle!

Oh, and buy car Febreeze