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

My cleaning was just of the hvac ducts. There was apparently some mildew in them from the previous owner not running the AC enough to dry it out. I just put it on vent with full fan and blasted in a bunch of Febreeze at the intake in front of the passenger side windshield, and then did the same on AC (non-recirc). This is not just a squirt; spray for about 30 seconds or so. Make puddles. Three or four weeks later, it started coming back. I repeated the cycle and it's been gone now for 9 months. The Febreeze smell was pretty potent for about 7-10 days and I got some blowback from the princess bride, but that was brief and worth the annoyance in the end.

Your case sounds like it's in the carpet and upholstery, so much more of a challenge. They need to make that smell go away even if they have to reupholster the whole car. Otherwise, I'm quite sure you have reason to sue to recover the use of your vehicle.

As for not shutting off the car with AC on, I've been driving for almost 50 years, much of it in sub tropics or tropics, but the slight majority up north. If the AC was running, I never ever shut it off before shutting off the car and never had a smell except that one that I inherited. The smell in the ducts comes from not running it long enough to dry it out.

I hope you get this resolved soon!

 

I did not see mentioned if this is a warranty or insurance repair or if OP is paying out of pocket.
Also not mentioned why the coolant leaked...its root failure.

Seems to me the coolant removal was not complete.
Sometimes the carpet, lining under that carpet all must be replaced.
Residue coolant on the sheet metal and plastics may have to be cleaned with chemicals that also may also retain an odor for a period of time.
Hopefully the leak was contained to the carpet and not up behind the dash.

Good luck.

 

The cabin filter just removes physical particles (dust, dirt, hair), not gases or chemicals. You could add a charcoal filter for odors, but I think your situation goes far beyond this. Regarding other filters, there is a filter where air goes into the engine, but that has zero connection to cabin air.

The dealer claims to have replaced the carpet, do you know if they really did, or did they just shampoo it and call it new? Did they change out the carpet padding under it?

Have you considered renting an ozone generator for a weekend, put it in the car and just leave the car idling in the driveway with the dash fan set on recirculate for a day or two? Companies that do disaster cleaning have them.

I also would like to suggest that you consider getting out from the situation rather than wrestling with it. You didn't cause it and shouldn't have to live with it.