Toxic interior smell caused by service (spray to cover mildew)

Dear PiP community,

Wondering if any of you know
1) about consumer rights when it comes to a dealership disclosing the MSDS of chemicals they used in your car?
2) if there's a way to get rid of noxious chemicals from interior

Background: A/C line leaked into interior of my 2012 PiP, causing strong mildew smell in carpets. Dealership "fixed" the problem by spraying something horrible to cover up the smell. Finally they agreed to replace carpets to actually get rid of the mildew rather than cover it up. But their first "fix" still stinks as much as it did 2 months ago. The smell is overwhelming--even the Asst. Manager agrees, but Manager wants me to move on and is hopeful I'll give a good Yelp review because he was nice enough to replace carpets. Fair enough, but how to mitigate what could be dangerous, mysterious, residual chemicals?

To play nice, I have tried to do my due diligence to see if odor goes away like manager said it would in a month: cleaned everything with vinegar and baking soda, bought steam cleaner, used S02 Odor eliminator, air it out in sun as often as possible, have a plug-in HEPA filter. Nothing working.

I have written emails to service mngr asking what the chemical is, but they are opting not to tell me. He said jocularly, "It's just new car smell!" Let's hope nobody would opt to spray that on purpose. I'm worried there are all kind of aldehydes (formaldehyde being just one), but chemical testing is super pricey and you have to know what you're testing for. Nobody can stand to be in the car--esp. not my 10 yr old daughter.

My end game would be for them to let me trade in the PiP for one of equal value without losing $ given that they caused the problem. But worried they don't have to tell me the chemicals. I've spoken with D.A.'s office and I can file a complaint but would rather negotiate first. BTW, Toyota Consumer Care has no ombudsman and backs away as soon as you say "rights."

Need to know rights going in before I try to negotiate for a trade: do I have a right to know what they sprayed and how much? Or can they just opt not to tell me?

And IS there a way to get rid of the actual chemicals? Seems to have soaked into all the works, including plastics (e.g. putty inside a plastic tub smells like that chemical, so it soaked through the plastic tub).

Thanks all for any insights on this tricky one.

 

Thanks, bisco. Today I contacted Bureau of Automotive Repairs (CA state dept) who will ask for the repair report if I want to file a complaint. Wanting to play nice first to see if they'll just trade my car in then tell them I'll report if they won't. Environmental Health Dept no help yet. Talked to a couple of detailers today, both of whom sound like they will put more chemicals in but not be able to help me identify chems.

 

Glad to be talking with someone who works in the chemical industry, Raytheeagle! What does it smell like? Cheap cherry cigar smoke, if that's a thing. But concentrated, like someone let off a "flea bomb" of a chemical cigar (you remember those from old cartoons?) in my car. Everyone who even gets close to the car says "Whoa, chemicals!" They don't even want to put their head in. I pick up my daughter from the bus stop every day after airing it out and keep the windows open on the way home and ask her if it's improved. "Nope."

Symptoms? I've had a cluster migraine for the same amount of time and a lot of sinus issues. I've been attributing it to stress because of 2 jobs, etc., but perhaps in denial because I know it's going to be hard to get to the bottom of it. I spend a lot more time in the car because my commute is 30 min. each way each day. Only subject my daughter to 5 min. from bus stop for the most, but still I worry. And now, I'm ready to take action.

In Aug., communication was mostly email. But since Sept/Oct, I have been to the dealership twice and found one nice Asst. Manager who agreed the smell is abhorrent still, over a month after they first sprayed the mystery chemical. I haven't yet met the manager but have talked to him on the phone. He was the one who had my car sprayed to mitigate the mildew smell. Then I held my ground and asked if he did anything to mitigate the mildew from the A/C leak. So he had me bring car back in. He said he he took it off site to a carpet place and had seats removed and all carpets replaced. He never showed me the documentation of that off site fix. He said he's absorbing the $1800 cost (he said) and would love a good Yelp review. I agreed to the positive Yelp review but never gave it because when I picked it up, the toxic smell was still there. At that time--6 weeks ago--the Asst. Manager agreed it was still there and he'd never experienced anything like this, and thought maybe the headliner absorbed it and asked service to spray a little Febreze on it. Ha! The service guy below him was just not as nice: "You'll have to deal with your insurance company now," and handed me a vanilla scented deoderizer.

So it's embarrassing to admit, but they sent me on my way that day 6 weeks ago without documentation of any fixes other than fixing the leaking A/C line. Now that I've spoken to the Bureau of Automotive Repair today (a CA. state consumer protection agency), I was told they could definitely get the documentation if I file a complaint. BUT they can't do anything beyond give the dealership a bad mark. They have no authority to make sure they "make me whole," so to speak. And that's what I want. A trade-in of the same value without the smell.

Why have I waited 6 weeks to go back and deal with this? Because the manager told me it would take up to 90 days for the smell to go away. Being a proactive type and wanting to work in good faith, I bought a steam cleaner and some chemical-eating spray (S02Pur), aired it a lot, etc. No change.

I also wanted to research my rights so I have some leverage when I go in and ask them to
1) smell the car
2) tell me what they sprayed
3) trade for another PiP of same value

I anticipate they will say, "Sorry, your car stinks so we can't resell it for same value." Obviously, i will say, you made it stink. Then I will play the "filing complaints" card.

Raytheeagle, if you have any idea what chemical a detailing shop at a dealership might spray to cover the smell, I'd be grateful.
Industrial hygienists are very expensive--around $1000 for a test--and you have to know what chemical you're testing for. I'm guessing formaldehyde, but god knows what else.

Thanks and sorry for length.

 

Interesting analysis--thanks. They did say it was an actual blocked A/C line that backed up and leaked rather than being behavioral. If I'm lucky enough to convince them to trade without much more cost to me, I will follow your advice and limit AC us and not shut off car with AC running.

 

This sounds like the spirit of my approach so far. And I'd probably wait for months like you and drive with windows open and steam clean repeatedly *except* that it's not cigarette smoke: it's some truly toxic chemical cocktail. Thanks.

 

And BTW, you guys are awesome! Wish I'd written earlier rather than trying to puzzle this all out alone. I'll try to keep my posts shorter.

 

Interesting, thanks! Makes sense they'd use a masking agent. Want to get ahold of the product name to see what all's in it.

Just looked up benzaldehyde which, if that's what it is, supposedly isn't carcinogenic when used in foods (almond flavoring) and and cosmetics. But according to quick Wikipedia search, "in high concentrations as seen in industrial settings, however, it can be dangerous. For a 70 kg human, the lethal dose is estimated at 50 mL.[9] An acceptable daily intake of 15 mg/day has been identified for benzaldehyde by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[18] Benzaldehyde does not accumulate in human tissues.[14] It is metabolized and then excreted in urine.[14]. "

As someone who works in the chemical industry, do you know if one could or should test for quantity? Would you test for benzaldehyde
for any particular reasons?

It's not stronger in one location more than another. It's just unmistakably part of the general air you breathe in the car.

Thanks!

 

Very smart. Good to know head space analysis exists, though all industrial hygienists so far have said I'd have to know what I'm testing for chemical by chemical and each test would be expensive, as you say. I like your idea of saying I'd contact a news station. Given the manager was mostly motivated that he receive a positive Yelp review, this might have an effect...

 

That's great to know! Been thinking that if I have to keep this chemical bomb of a car, I'm going to need to "defuse" it, so to speak, from the inside out. Clean deeply into the workings, if that's even possible. Wondering if frequent replacement of cabin filter would help, and if there are other filters to replace. Thanks.