Well I bought an ALTO Lxi about 10 days ago.

The car normally stays out in the open, outside where I live (in gurgaon).

The problem is, whenever I open the doors to enter inside, I find the air inside so intoxicating, my eyes start draining due to immediate itching.
And its not with me only. The same thing has been experinced by three other people as well.

I am totally confused about what the reason is. I normally open the windows and push the blower/AC button for a while to drain off the TOXIC air and then its normal.

I put the following two things in my car which might have caused the toxicity a) Ambipure car perfume b) Seat covers.

The ambipuer was chucked out thinking that it is the cause but the problem is still there.

Any body experienced this ? Any ideas of the cause ?


PS: Whenever I start the car, I hear a awirling sound from inside the dashboard. ANy inputs of what it can be ? The sound is similar to a sound produced when something gets struck in the revolving fins of a fan (trrrrrrrrrr.....). The sound is continuous and I couldn't really figure out what it was. Can it be possible cause of the toxicity ? Am I sensing AC gas leakage ? I am totally confused.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Is it possible for you to park the car somewhere where you can leave the windows open and let the air circulate for a few hours, maybe every day for a few days?

The smell of "new car" is such a sales point that maybe they are hyping it up these days, although a relative bought a new Alto here recently, and I didn't notice anything, nor did I notice anything in the very new demo car we took out first.

[mav2000]

Any chance that there is a dead rat or somehting in the car, specially since you park it outside and the smell does not seem to go away?

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Is it possible for you to park the car somewhere where you can leave the windows open and let the air circulate for a few hours, maybe every day for a few days?

The smell of "new car" is such a sales point that maybe they are hyping it up these days, although a relative bought a new Alto here recently, and I didn't notice anything, nor did I notice anything in the very new demo car we took out first.

Well even I didnt feel anything when I took the demo. The problem started after few days. Precisely after I added the seat covers. Doesn't sound logical but can the seat cover material be the reason ? I mean the material of the covers, in heat, might produce some toxic substance that gets diffused in the air inside ?

[bblost]

My wife hates Art Leather as she cannot stand the smell.
I have no problem at all and can barely make out any porblem.


A lot of hits coming in when I google for art leather toxic smell

OK just to clarify this, I do not find any smell inside. Its just that something is in the air that simply is not liked by the eyes. The effect is immediate. As soon as you enter the car, tears start draining like anything. The itch is stronger than we get when we are near an onion being cut.

I repeat, there is no smell. Just that my eyes feel that there is something terribly wrong with the air inside.

[snaronikar]

Couple of points:

1) It may be the smell of A/C gas leaking.
2) It may be because of the upholstry leather/art leather.
3) It may because of the gumming in upholstry.

If point no.1 you need to take it to MASS for sl no 2 & 3, pls go in for a some cabin freshner like ambi pure etc.

[rider60]

dude do you have any flowers in the car? my friend's alto use to have hibiscus flowers at the idol in the center and every time he opens the car after an hour or something its the same effect.

also just try and using the a/c in ventilation mode for some time instead of the recirculation mode and idle the car for a minute with the windows rolled down a few times before you park and see if there is any difference.


this very much happens in a new car if one of the quater panels of the inside orvms is missing or if any source for the air from the inside parts of the doors is let into the cabin, because that part of the space i mean inside gaps of the door will still have strong chemical smell, its like this, in my accent viva, while opening the door pads the installer happened to break away the quater panels of insides of the orvms where the mirror adjustment knob sticks out and i am yet to get a new set. and every time i open the car i have similar effect its like my eyes dont burn but i feel strong stinch.

well give me some time so that i can get back with pics to explain this better. all you need to do is check for the seals properly thats all.

Originally Posted by rider60

dude do you have any flowers in the car? my friend's alto use to have hibiscus flowers at the idol in the center and every time he opens the car after an hour or something its the same effect.

also just try and using the a/c in ventilation mode for some time instead of the recirculation mode and idle the car for a minute with the windows rolled down a few times before you park and see if there is any difference.


this very much happens in a new car if one of the quater panels of the inside orvms is missing or if any source for the air from the inside parts of the doors is let into the cabin, because that part of the space i mean inside gaps of the door will still have strong chemical smell, its like this, in my accent viva, while opening the door pads the installer happened to break away the quater panels of insides of the orvms where the mirror adjustment knob sticks out and i am yet to get a new set. and every time i open the car i have similar effect its like my eyes dont burn but i feel strong stinch.

well give me some time so that i can get back with pics to explain this better. all you need to do is check for the seals properly thats all.

No flowers in my car.

And yes I dont really run the car with windows down and the AC has always run in the reciculation mode. Can that be the problem ?

But there must be the source since the things comes back in a nights time. I leave the car fine in the evening and when I come back in the morning, the next day, i fell the same thing again.

ANother thing, I do not have any idea what ORVMS is. ANy inputs ?

Also any inputs on the sound coming from inside the dash ?

[tsk1979]

ORVM is outside rear view mirror.
I suspect somehow some cleaning agent has been left in the car. Was the dashboard or car ever chemical cleaned?

Originally Posted by tsk1979

ORVM is outside rear view mirror.
I suspect somehow some cleaning agent has been left in the car. Was the dashboard or car ever chemical cleaned?

Well the car was brand new. The cleaning guys must have cleaned the car before delivery. Not sure if anything is left inside the car.

Any inputs about the rotary sound coming out of the dash board ?

[HappyWheels]

Nitin,

Not sure about either of the problem, but I would suggest that when you park your car, please keep the circulation knob to fresh air and also you might want to keep the window a bit open (but if it is raining, dont). This will atleast keep the concentration of the irritation down (hopefully).

For the sound from the dash, of late I have noticed that when I accelerate from a stand still with A/c on, I get some kind of 'water circulation' noise. It is as if water is being passed thru a pipe behind the dash. Confused!!!

[Lalvaz]

Hey, I had a similar problem a while back. Got myself two neck supports, and they caused a similar effect. Dont know why, removed them for a few days and the smell was gone, put them back and viola, the smell was back. So, took them off, washed them well and left to dry in the open for a day. Now the problems gone.

So try removing the upholstery and see if it goes. Keep trying the process of elimination and you'll be able to figure out the exact problem. IF it is indeed the upholstery, you need to wash it well, and hopefully you should be fine.

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

Hey, I had a similar problem a while back. Got myself two neck supports, and they caused a similar effect. Dont know why, removed them for a few days and the smell was gone, put them back and viola, the smell was back. So, took them off, washed them well and left to dry in the open for a day. Now the problems gone.

So try removing the upholstery and see if it goes. Keep trying the process of elimination and you'll be able to figure out the exact problem. IF it is indeed the upholstery, you need to wash it well, and hopefully you should be fine.

Hope this helps.

I have a hunch that its the ART LEATHER seat covers. I cant possibly take them out, wash them and put them on, all on my own. Will try to sun dry the stuff by opening all five doors and keeping the car in sun for some good amount of time.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by nitin.dangayach

Well the car was brand new. The cleaning guys must have cleaned the car before delivery. Not sure if anything is left inside the car.

Any inputs about the rotary sound coming out of the dash board ?

The rotary sound can be of something stuck in the blower , I have observed if AC vents are open ( not in recirculation mode) it sucks in leaves and over a period of time they dry and create such sound. Now if the leaves are of some plant / weed to which you are allergic you can have such reactions.

Another possible cause of the smell may be the seat covers. From where you purchased the seat covers ?Shelf life of foam and PVC is is 5/6 years In case they are of some cheap material ( PVC) and if it is from very old stock then PVC and Foam starts decomposing and produce gases. Try removing seat covers for a few days and observe if the smell and eye irritation is there or not