Mold/mildew. Unsealed & unaligned window trim

mistykelsey

I have the smelly car. Bought my 2014 Rogue in May '14. It wasnt long before that new car smell was replaced with mold/mildew odor. It's been in the shop 4 times and keeps getting worse. Found that all of the trim & seals were not in alignment on bottom of the front windshield. That was repaired but the odor is still there. I have had passengers have asthmatic reactions and I have greatly increased my need for allergy medicines. I dread having to get in my car and often cry and drive with the windows down in 33 degree weather. 3 Nissan service departments have no idea what to do. The last one has apologized but honestly doesnt know how to fix the problem. He seems a little irritated that using a Wynns fogger didnt fix it, claiming that it would have killed any bacteria in the vents. Has anyone experienced this? I need a solution.

PF_Flyer

Sounds like you have something cooking in the ventilation system. I don't think the windshield trim and seals really would have much to do with it. I've never had this issue in any of my vehicles, but I don't run the ventilation system on recirculate very often so I'm guessing my vent system hasn't had a chance to get really juicy from condensation. The trick is not only killing off the mildew, but to get things dry so it's not going to grow. If things are bad enough in your vents, it's quite possible that one treatment didn't do the trick. This is something you can do yourself, and online you can find any number of videos showing you what to do. Here's one example

Once you get things killed off and dried out, you should be better off. Might take a bit longer to eradicate in the colder months I would guess, but I wouldn't think it's hopeless! The procedure is an easy DIY, just cost you the product. And like the guy in the video says, you can even try Lysol