Wrangler smells absolutely awful inside.

[Squibbles]

For the past few weeks my wrangler is absolutely horrid inside. 2022 rubicon cloth hard top with 7500 miles. It’s worse in the heat, I thought maybe coolant but no indication of any coolant loss. I leave nothing in the vehicle like tools or chemicals. It’s not the jumper cables and roadside kit from my VW because it never made my car stink. Any ideas?

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[karynm8621]

Could a mouse or something have gotten into an area and died?

 

[#4Jeep 1st Wrangler]

Check your cabin filter for debris/mold/dead rodent ???
Changed mine, made a difference at 15k

 

[Riotfunk]

Pull the cabin filter. See if you have dead mice or something there

 

[TheBirdie72]

 

[Red Willy]

We left the wife's previous JK in the garage for 6 months while on an RV trip with the windows closed. When we got back, the interior smelled really bad. Turned out to be the aftermarket top created a stink for some reason. You can pick up a cheap ozone generator on Amazon that should remove the smell.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

Could be wet carpets. I got my carpets partially wet when I first got it from water getting inside during a rainstorm. Smelled horrible for 3 weeks. Finally dried out and then a couple months later I forgot to close all of my windows and we got a torrential downpour while I was at work. Carpets were soaked! I tried drying them but the smell was so bad I ended up just removing on the carpets at that point and tossing them.

What kind of smell exactly are you talking about? Does it smell like trash or burning plastic or what?

 

[Squibbles]

Could be wet carpets. I got my carpets partially wet when I first got it from water getting inside during a rainstorm. Smelled horrible for 3 weeks. Finally dried out and then a couple months later I forgot to close all of my windows and we got a torrential downpour while I was at work. Carpets were soaked! I tried drying them but the smell was so bad I ended up just removing on the carpets at that point and tossing them.

What kind of smell exactly are you talking about? Does it smell like trash or burning plastic or what?

It’s definitely a chemical smell, it’s not mildew or anything like that. Maybe comparable to plastics or rubbers smell after new kind of like a purple pillow. Kind of why I suspected coolant but no evidence of a leak.

 

[Squibbles]

We left the wife's previous JK in the garage for 6 months while on an RV trip with the windows closed. When we got back, the interior smelled really bad. Turned out to be the aftermarket top created a stink for some reason. You can pick up a cheap ozone generator on Amazon that should remove the smell.

I’ve still got the stock hard top, I’ll look into the ozone generator. Thank you

 

[whitechocolate]

It’s definitely a chemical smell, it’s not mildew or anything like that. Maybe comparable to plastics or rubbers smell after new kind of like a purple pillow. Kind of why I suspected coolant but no evidence of a leak.

what engine do you have? Did you check the all filters and cabin ?

 

[Squibbles]

Could a mouse or something have gotten into an area and died?

Definitely not a decomposing smell, I’ll be changing it shortly since I just hit the one year mark but my A/C smells fine so I didn’t even think of it being the cabin filter.

 

[nU7OuxIx]

I’ve still got the stock hard top, I’ll look into the ozone generator. Thank you

Hold onto that ozone generator. If the smell is comparable to a new purple foam pillow then I think the ozone generator would make it smell even stronger.

Being that it has low miles, I wonder if it's still the new car smell. Can you get the opinion of a neighbor and see if you have a super sniffer or if it's normal?

 

[roaniecowpony]

I left a pack of wet wipes in the glove box and it kinda smelled it up with the summer heat.

 

[Squibbles]

what engine do you have? Did you check the all filters and cabin ?

2.0 which is why there were suspicions of coolant. I had a heater core leak badly in another vehicle and didn’t smell nearly as bad though. Something I forgot to mention is driving for a few minutes with A/C blasting and windows down can get rid of the smell for the most part until it’s parked and sits

Hold onto that ozone generator. If the smell is comparable to a new purple foam pillow then I think the ozone generator would make it smell even stronger.

Being that it has low miles, I wonder if it's still the new car smell. Can you get the opinion of a neighbor and see if you have a super sniffer or if it's normal?

My girlfriend complained about before I really noticed it, and now she is very vocal about the smell.

 

[Jelllo]

For the longest time, the hardtop on my 2019 smelled bad from the chemicals used to make it. It has gotten better, but I can still smell it.
I've stopped using my A/C because of the moldy smell. If I spray a can of Lysol in it with the cabin filter removed it gets rid of it, but it comes back after a couple weeks of use. I change out the cabin filter once a year.

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