[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Antonov32

We got a certificate of fitness from Hyundai saying the foot mats were causing some fumes to form. However, someone from the inside said they made changes in the AC unit without putting it on the job card. We are planning to sue them. It's clearly a problem they don't want to acknowledge.

If it is the floor mats causing this issue, ask them for a swap test. Put those mats in other car and observe for the change in interior color.

PS: Ask them for a written report regarding their conclusion. Is that an dealer provided or after market floor mat?

[deepfreak15]

What kind of roads does he drive on? If he goes through a patch of fine red sand at a fair clip or follows someone who does chances are it can seep in and get deposited.

[Anand3553]

@Antonov32, From your post it is clear that the issue has been there for more than 2 years.

I dont think it is related to the car freshener. The owner would have changed the freshener bottle multiple times and it is highly unlikely that all bottles were having the issue unless there is a pattern while using a particular brand.

The owner can check with owners of other white cars which are being used in similar areas to confirm if they are facing the same issue as well to confirm if it is related to the air/atmosphere of the area.

If possible, try to send the pen drive or the cable for a chemical analysis to understand what the substance on the surface causing the colour is. I am not aware of the technicality of this, but I assume this would be helpful.

Most important of all, please recommend your friend to stop using the car. Get rid of it if possible. No amount of compensation (If Hyundai is found guilty after a looooong legal battle) will negate what your friend and family are inhaling if it is something poisonous (I hope it is not)

[speedmunster]

Quick question. What industry does the gentleman work in? Is the office surrounded by pharma or chemical companies? If there are, then emissions from those factories seem to be reacting with the plastics / metals coated in plastic.

[Ravi Parwan]

I think the super sleuths of Team-BHP have captured the most pertinent causes of the discoloration. I would like to contribute my 2 bits worth as well.

1) The red coloration is most likely to be caused by iron ore dust.
If the car is being used in a mining belt, that would cause the discoloration in the car due to exposure to iron ore dust. While the exterior of the car is washed daily, the interior is not generally touched except for periodic services.

The only fly in the ointment for this explanation is that the unwashed areas of the car, i.e. inside the rear hatch and between the doors and the body are areas which are exposed to the dust and not washed. From what I can gather from the pics, they are not discolored at all. This is a strong point against the color being caused by mining dust.

2) The second pertinent point is due to leakage of coolant, which is sometime orange in color (Off-topic - Car makers are outdoing themselves in bringing out new colors in antifreeze). The simplest test for this would be if the car users can detect a sweet smell in the car. (Not sure how to quantify the smell, but you can open the coolant reservoir and get a reference smell).

3) The third and equally likely reason could be something that has dripped into the evaporator and is coloring the cool air. This could be something like a paper bag or something else that has water soluble color in it.

If the car owner can rule out the first two possibilities, (first by observing other white cars in the locality, the second by a smell check and coolant level check); then the third can be tested by trying to clean the coloration from the body and seeing how difficult it is to remove.

That can also provide a sample for chemical analysis, that should help in proper diagnosis.

Look forward to hearing more on this topic!!!

I think the discoloration might be caused due to acid exposure. Most of the content matter available online suggests that the orange coloration is caused due to acid exposure.

Please check if there is any lead acid batteries lying in the car or some effluent from nearby factories that is acidic in nature. Most likely is that the acid source is inside the car.

[Mortis]

Is it possible that the AC compressor oil is getting vaporized and is getting deposited on these surfaces by the air flow from the AC ?

[nishantbhatia84]

Extremely unusual issue this one! I did a bit of digging and got something related to food containers turning orange in the dishwasher. The reason being 'carotenoid' staining. Carotenoid is commonly found in tomatoes and tomato based products.
It may be possible that the vehicle was cleaned with a cloth containing Carotenoid dissolved in oil and because of the heat the Carotenoid reacted with the plastic and resulted in it turning orange.

[Rahul Rao]

To get to the bottom of such issues you have to empty the car of all non OE accessories.
Remove the room freshner, seat covers, floor mats, etc. Clean the car, and then just drive the bare car without any thing else.
As the Ac re-circulates air in the car, any fumes, deposits etc will show up in the air flow through the Ac. After clearing the car of everything, the Ac also has to be cleaned up.
Check with your friend whether he uses the fresh option, and if any thing emitting orange colour is stuck in the fresh air intake.

Rahul

[saket77]

The best place to check if the culprit is the HVAC unit is to check the ducts and the insides of ducts. The owner can also remove the vents, and paste white masking tape in the inside area of the duct. The orange deposit/ colour must show up most prominently if the culprit is the HVAC system.

Also, may I ask the OP if the orange colour is more like deposits or discoloration itself?

Regards,
Saket

[BowMan]

By any change someone tends to smoke in the car with windows up?

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by BowMan

By any change someone tends to smoke in the car with windows up?

This seems to be a question more than one member has asked but my take on it would be that cigarettes cannot do this. I have friends who frequently smoke in their cars and I haven't seen any discolouration or staining. Also, nicotine stains are yellow and unless the owner is running a hookah bar inside of his car, it is highly unlikely that this is the culprit.
GTO's last post probably nails it. In any case this is like an Agatha Christie novel.

[vigvr]

I bought my Star Dust Grand i10 Petrol Asta (O) 3 years back as well (December 2013). TBH, this post is chilling my spine a little bit.

It may not be relevant at all, but I've intermittently observed a strange odour (you'd just know when it smells chemical) coming out of the AC especially when driven continuously for a while and at fairly higher speeds. I dismissed this as something due to the ambient odour and also discounting the fact that the AC filter could have weakened since the previous service.

Does the person owning the car have a long drive to and fro? And also, is this a petrol?

I don't have anything white in the car to turn orange or any other colour, but I think I should give this a shot myself. Keeping a bunch of wet tissues in the car today.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Roy.S

This seems to be a question more than one member has asked but my take on it would be that cigarettes cannot do this.

Sure, smoking will stain your car, just as it stains your house, but this is an obvious and known thing to smokers.

[gkveda]

Two three things I observed from these pictures

1. In Picture 2, there is a cellophen tape stuck at one pillar and concentration of Orange is more here.
2. In Picture 3, there is something (May be a metal strip)that was covering in rectangular shape and so, the color has not turned Orange there, whereas, it is orange at other place where it is not covered.(This looks like, contradicting point 1)
3. In Picture 4, some plastic sheet is covering and pealed off. Hence, the already pealed off portion is orange whereas the place where plastic sheet remains is still white.
4. In the last picture (Dickey opened), the outside of the car is not affected

So, it is clear from these observations, that something that is inside the car is painting Orange color

In my gut feel, AC Ducts may not be emitting the chemical inside the car to cause this. Basis for my gut feel is,
A. There is no such case reported in any car so far in the history. (I mean, case of changing color is not reported so far. However, there are AC leaks reported but there is NO mention of changing colors in those cases)
B. Chemicals used in AC will only circulate in the AC Pipes to condenser, pump and surrounding duct within bonnet. There is no chance or path for chemical to enter cabin. IF there is a leakage in chemical to enter AC Duct, the car cannot run with good AC effect for 3 years. The chemicals would have got drained completely out.

So, the AC chemicals used may not be corroding the metal.

My suggestion is to do further checking of the following and try concluding.

1. Open the Bonnet and see whether internal side of the bonnet is turned Orange? If yes, then the culprit lies somewhere within bonnet.
2. If the bonnet inner side is white, Please clarify What is your friend occupation? Is he using the car for personal use or for material transport in his business?

My assumption (Purely my assumption) is, your friend is using the car to carry some materials and those materials (Not sure what) inside the car is causing this issue. (I may be wrong here as well).

[Pri2]

Going by the pictures, it doesn't appear to be caused by the air coming out of the AC vents, the floor mats or the car perfume. As someone rightly pointed out, the hatch from the inside has the most discoloration. Also, the pendrive appears to be discolored only from one side and not equally from all sides.

Going by the above, here is what I suspect,
1. The windows are rolled down while being driven in dusty/ toxic industrial areas and the dust & chemicals have accumulated inside dying the interiors.
2. The owner is carrying something in the car that is emitting orange fumes.
3. Use of agarbattis (incense sticks) inside the car.