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Source of weird organic odor in my V70 V70-XC70 2004

Rain or shine, my 2004 V70 doesn’t get a garage.
For the past few months the interior has been smelling bad.
Smells like mildew or mold or something organic (not radiator fluid, fuel or exhaust smells).
I did replace the cabin air filter, shampoo the floor mats, and sprayed some Lysol down the air inlets (under hood/cowl).

There isn’t a pollen filter on this car.

I can’t generally determine by smell where it’s coming from.
It smells immediately when you get in before starting the car.

So, this is probably mildew hanging out somewhere.
Any ideas how to find/remove this smell?

Don








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    Source of weird organic odor in my V70 V70-XC70 2004

    Do you normally park up hill or down? If up hill, the rear sun roof drains may be clogged. This is rare as the drains are in the "C" pillars area, but can be easily checked by pouring a cup of water into each side of the SR channel and watching for water to drain out by the rear wheel.

    On a side note, the odor could be coming from the engine compartment. If found this oddity:

    "Hi all, I have a 06 XC90 and have always had the odor in rain or after I wash the truck. I confirmed my sunroof drains were all working fine and my AC drips like crazy under the truck when idling. So, by accident while cleaning my wiper blades I spilled bleach in down the windshield into the black part of the trim that the windshield connects to. I had a puddle of nastiness and ran water over it to avoid damaging anything. I started the truck and got a blast of bleach scented air and noticed the usual mold odor was gone. So, I waited a week and still nothing. I washed the truck again and with no bleach, the odor returned. So, I took an oil funnel and poured bleach into the openings near the windsheild (I think these are drains or air intakes) and immediately the odor is gone. I'm at 5 weeks with a few washes and rain and still no odor. If it returns, I'll put a few more drops of bleach in."
    Strange. Be very careful with bleach, always dilute it with a 10:1 water ratio. Straight bleach is a no no!
    --
    Keeping it running is better than buying new








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      Source of weird organic odor in my V70 V70-XC70 2004

      Klaus
      The car is parked on flat driveway.
      And I've run water down the sr channels, no prob there.

      Do you think the bleach guy is pouring it into drains or air intakes?
      If I tried this, how much solution would you start with? A cup?
      Thanks.








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        Source of weird organic odor in my V70 V70-XC70 2004

        I can't imagine anyone pouring bleach on a windshield, much less cleaning the wiper blades with it. But the newer Volvos air intake does have a bend in it before the cabin filter. Rather than bleach, which is really severe, vinegar might be a better solution?

        I would pour a quarter to a half cup of white vinegar into the intake as a 'test'. The vinegar will not harm the plastic parts and any 'overflow' should drain out of the bottom of the car.

        I only suggested this as the 'odor' goes away after a few minutes of running the engine, climate control, which could mean that the odor is before the cabin filter.

        Let us know how it works out, and how long the vinegar vapors last :)

        --
        Keeping it running is better than buying new








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    Source of weird organic odor in my V70 V70-XC70 2004

    Look around for signs of mouse infestation.

    Some popular locations:
    1. Hood insulation
    2. Air filter box
    3. Firewall area below windshield







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