i work for a quick lube shop in south louisiana. we have many regulars who drive jettas and passats. a few months ago, i had a new customer come in, whose jetta smelled like a box of crayons. she mentioned this to us, and said she knew some friends whose vw's also had a crayon smell, and generally went on to state that it's just the way vw's are (yeah right). on the 29th of july, i had another new customer in an '01 jetta vr6 come in with the same mysterious odor. she asked if i would change out her air filter because the crayon smell was so overwhelming, it was making her nauseous, even though she had the whole interior steam cleaned from top to bottom, including the headliner. i checked her air filter and assured her that was not the cause. i suggested maybe the cabin air filter needed to be replaced, or maybe there was something in the duct work. if anybody has any ideas on what causes this, i'd like to know so i can give my customers some suggestions on how to possibly rectify the problem.

 

Perhaps it could be the duct work itself, if it seems to be common among several VW's. Sounds like a question for VW itself.
Should advise your customers to phone VW or the dealer they purchased the car from. Unless any members have some ideas on this issue.


-Jeff

 

i found out from a customer the other day that the problem is the cabin air filter as i suspected. the customer's father works in the service department for a vw dealership, and told her about the problem. according to my customer, volkswagen has either issued a recall or tsb, and that the dealership will replace the cabin air filter.

 

My Jetta smell like a crayon, i though it was the Volswagen air filter... But I guess im wrong... Well, i have to go to my dealer make a request in replacing my cabin air filter... thanks a lot...

 

tell them to hang a crayon from there mirrior and then it will look like thats it.

 

the crayon smell is from the glue they use to hold down the interior carpet...everyone except for me notices the crayon smell, i guess i'm just used to it. i've tried air fresheners, but nope...the crayon smell keeps on stinkin up the car!