Has anyone ever had the "dead animal smell" in the Pat? I honestly thought something had crawled into the engine compartment and died. I spent about 2 hours inside and out of my car looking for anything. The dealer said it may have crawled into the heating ducts under the dash. So, I brought it in, and they found nothing. Just sprayed a little air freshner (GROSS) and called it a day. Right when I opened the car door, I smelled rotting death, mixed with flowery air freshner. Any ideas?
Thought it was a dead animal!
mdub78
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Has anyone ever had the "dead animal smell" in the Pat? I honestly thought something had crawled into the engine compartment and died. I spent about 2 hours inside and out of my car looking for anything. The dealer said it may have crawled into the heating ducts under the dash. So, I brought it in, and they found nothing. Just sprayed a little air freshner (GROSS) and called it a day. Right when I opened the car door, I smelled rotting death, mixed with flowery air freshner. Any ideas?
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well the smell of rooted flesh and death has a desticnt smell. It probably isnt the car would be my guess. maybe you ran over nasty road kill and it got spread throughout your undercarrieage.
My toyota t-100 had the same problem when I had it, turned out the duct that brought in air from the outside had a dead bird in it.... how it got there, I have no idea but when I put it on circulate, so it pulled in air from the inside, the smell went away. Maybe you can isolate the problem if you try that...
With the pat... once in a while I get a musky smell when the ac/heat hasn't been on for more then a week or so, but goes away pretty fast.
Good luck though!
With the pat... once in a while I get a musky smell when the ac/heat hasn't been on for more then a week or so, but goes away pretty fast.
Good luck though!
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1,783 Posts
Can't say I have smelled anything rank in my Patriot. Now that the warmer weather is here, I detected a lingering of some new car smell when I got in it the other day.
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Were you able to get under the car (or have it up on a lift)? If not, there would be plenty of places for a piece of animal carcass to fit between so it could sit there and rot. But am leaning toward the idea that WhatARiot has with the air intake catching something (that's now dead).
Good luck.
After many trips to the dealer (they kept telling me they couldn't smell anything) I found the cause. There is a leak somewhere, allowing water to gather in the wheel well. The mat under the tire is soaked and smells real bad. So back to the dealer I went, and voiced my frustration that they never even considered looking in one of the most obvious places. So now my pat is at the dealer hopfully getting fixed. Should have it back before the end of the week. Has anyone else had this problem w/ leaking in an 07? Where was it coming from? Was the dealer able to rectify at the first visit to the shop?
The dome light has no signs of water infiltration - I was reading through another post and someone had mention the roof rails not being completly sealed and water getting underneath and traveling down to the wheel well. We'll see what the shop has to say - I would just hate to have to go back and forth a bunch of times.
Thanks TMan
Thanks TMan
The leak was apparently located and repaired. I just got the Pat back from the dealer and they said there was a small crack in the sealant behind the housing for the third brake light above the back window. They fixed it, however the smell is still pretty well set in the car.
Here is what I don't get -
1. Clearly there was a problem with the vehicle while it was under warranty, yet the service manager insisted that they do not offer any type of loaner car for the duration of the repairs...
2. Ok so you found and fixed the problem. However my car still smells of mold and mildew from a manufacturer defect, yet you (the service manager) say that you do not detail vehicled after a problem such as this.
So now I have to pay someone who knows how much to clean the interior of my car due to a problem caused by the manufacturer - Can anyone help explain this logic? Am I out of line here??
Here is what I don't get -
1. Clearly there was a problem with the vehicle while it was under warranty, yet the service manager insisted that they do not offer any type of loaner car for the duration of the repairs...
2. Ok so you found and fixed the problem. However my car still smells of mold and mildew from a manufacturer defect, yet you (the service manager) say that you do not detail vehicled after a problem such as this.
So now I have to pay someone who knows how much to clean the interior of my car due to a problem caused by the manufacturer - Can anyone help explain this logic? Am I out of line here??
So the mat has finally come in from special order, and I will pick it up on Friday. The bad thing, is that my pat still smells on the inside just as it did prior to the discovery and repair of the leak. I spoke to the Service manager yesterday and asked that all the carpets be shampoo'd/steam cleaned and he agreed that this would be the right next course of action. However, one hour later he called again to say that the big boss didn't like that idea. Instead, they will be replacing all of the carpet!
Let's hope this takes care of it for good. (Fingers crossed!!)
Let's hope this takes care of it for good. (Fingers crossed!!)
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263 Posts
I have the same problem- After the leak was fixed, the car still smells like mildew. So I just grin and bare it- In fact I was getting on the forum to ask if anyone else had that problem and if they had any way to fix it...
EighteenWheeler,
I would strongly suggest you talk to you local Jeep Service Manager and have the carpeting replaced. It have certainly helped since the replacement, however the smell is still lingering. I am thinking at this point that since the carpet was replaced, all I need to do is continue to air out the interior.
Good luck - and let us know how it goes.
So it has been over a month now, and the smell is still there. I have brought it back to the dealership, and they have done nothing. I gave up, and said that we need to initiate the buy back process with Chrysler. I have no faith anymore.
So now, I am just waiting for the paperwork to go through, and they are then putting me in a brand new 08, with no increase to my current loan. The only stipulation, is that I have to pay a mileage usage fee for the miles driven up until the first visit. It's a big chunk of change however (15k was the first visit - there calc to get the $ amount is:
# of miles driven up until first visit with issue
100,000 X Contract sale price
All this comes out to just under $4K that I have to pay them, for them to take back my defective jeep. Does that sound starnge to anyone else? It seems a bit high, but the state lemon law board uses the same calc. Chrysler is trying to help me out with this so we'll see.
I have my fingers crossed that the new one will have no issues - but my faith in Chrysler is quickly dwindling. Has anyone else had to go through the buyback/trade on defect process with Chrysler?
So now, I am just waiting for the paperwork to go through, and they are then putting me in a brand new 08, with no increase to my current loan. The only stipulation, is that I have to pay a mileage usage fee for the miles driven up until the first visit. It's a big chunk of change however (15k was the first visit - there calc to get the $ amount is:
# of miles driven up until first visit with issue
100,000 X Contract sale price
All this comes out to just under $4K that I have to pay them, for them to take back my defective jeep. Does that sound starnge to anyone else? It seems a bit high, but the state lemon law board uses the same calc. Chrysler is trying to help me out with this so we'll see.
I have my fingers crossed that the new one will have no issues - but my faith in Chrysler is quickly dwindling. Has anyone else had to go through the buyback/trade on defect process with Chrysler?
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