Smelly Carpet

[J509]

My truck has been at the dealership for a week because the carpet has a wet moldy smell. They say that they have sprayed water all over the truck and can’t find a leak. Anyone having the same issue? What would be the possibility of the the inside getting wet before or during shipping?

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[Bryan Simon]

A windshield leak can be very difficult to find.
One poster here removed his door sill plates and found the trough full of water.
All this has to do is catch a corner or edge of the carpet or padding and it will just suck up into the carpet by capillary action. This can get the whole carpet damp.
could be a door leak as well.
Will be a good idea to pull up a piece of the carpet and have a looksee/ feel for dampness

 

[Bravo36]

Do you have a moonroof by chance? If so, that's be a real good place to look to make sure it is draining properly thru the drainage tubes. I've heard of everything from cracked frame (on the moonroof) to drainage tubes being kinked to drainage tubes being entirely disconnected. Lots of info available.

Best of luck

 

[RJ82]

Someone mentioned dealer finding damp carpet in their truck on the windshield recall thread too I think...maybe related?

 

[J509]

Thanks everyone for your replies, I’m going to the dealership tomorrow and will cover your response with them. I really don’t want this to turn into a month long ordeal.

 

[J509]

Oh and yes my truck does have a moonroof. The dealership told me today that they had sprayed water all over the truck at different angles and didn’t find the leak.

 

[UNIKRN150]

Oh and yes my truck does have a moonroof. The dealership told me today that they had sprayed water all over the truck at different angles and didn’t find the leak.

On February 17th you posted:

" It has been raining here for a week and the undercarriage is definitely damp. We are expecting a few days of sunshine starting this weekend, hopefully it will be long enough to dry underneath and the sensors will behave. Thanks for the reply "

Sounds like your leak could be anywhere. Maybe not someplace obvious. I'd check under the cab for signs of rust. You might find that the water got in from below rather than above.

I'm not suggesting that it has rusted "through" but maybe a missing plug or some kind of breach that would likely be rusted by now.

You definitely want to figure it out before winter.

Good luck!

 

[LED206]

I have the same issue. One day randomly the truck had a horrible mold odor in it. I took the sills off, lifted the carpet and found some water on the passenger side floorboard as well as on the rubber grommet in the floor. Brought it to the dealer back in early June. They said it was the drain for the AC through the firewall. After 2 days they called said its fixed but needed to order new carpets as the odor was unable to be removed. Since we had a very heavy and long downpour in my area last night (and the past few days) I decided to check the carpet as the smell seemed a little worse... I lifted the floor mat and the passenger carpet was soaked. Removed the passenger door sill and foot kick and found water in the trough. Im dropping at the dealer tomorrow as the new carpet arrived. Was told they would be bringing in their windshield guy to replace it. Will post when they figure it out.

 

[Carphunter]

adding to this semi dead thread.... from another thread... if you have the BO sound system, the subwoofer has a direct port out the truck out the back of the cab. some trucks are known to leak through that port (big hole) into the truck under the rear seat.

 

[LED206]

So to follow up on my issue. The dealer said that the drain for the moonroof wasnt connected properly which caused water to come from the rear C-post into the front. I havent had any damp carpet since they said they fixed it.

 

[Jack Peggs]

I have the same issue. One day randomly the truck had a horrible mold odor in it. I took the sills off, lifted the carpet and found some water on the passenger side floorboard as well as on the rubber grommet in the floor. Brought it to the dealer back in early June. They said it was the drain for the AC through the firewall. After 2 days they called said its fixed but needed to order new carpets as the odor was unable to be removed. Since we had a very heavy and long downpour in my area last night (and the past few days) I decided to check the carpet as the smell seemed a little worse... I lifted the floor mat and the passenger carpet was soaked. Removed the passenger door sill and foot kick and found water in the trough. Im dropping at the dealer tomorrow as the new carpet arrived. Was told they would be bringing in their windshield guy to replace it. Will post when they figure it out.

Was the carpet replacement/mold removal covered under warranty?

 

[whizkidder]

Was the carpet replacement/mold removal covered under warranty?

My 2018 had a wet carpet issue from the A/C evaporator drain weeping back through the firewall. The dealer installed an elbow on the end of the drain tube in the engine compartment to address the leak, and they replaced the entire carpet under warranty.

 

[Jack Peggs]

My 2018 had a wet carpet issue from the A/C evaporator drain weeping back through the firewall. The dealer installed an elbow on the end of the drain tube in the engine compartment to address the leak, and they replaced the entire carpet under warranty.

How long did they have your truck for? Was a loaner given to you? I have an appointment tomorrow morning for it, just trying to gauge what I am walking into. Thanks

 

[Porpoise Hork]

It depends on the dealership and if they can replicate the leak and what caused it. If they find it to be due to the cowl drain being clogged they might deny the warranty claiming it's due to lack of maintenance. This is of course despite there being absolutely ZERO documentation on the drains needing to be cleaned.

If they do find it because of a defect then it could be a couple 2 -3 weeks or longer for the repair depending on parts availability. Some dealers will provide a loaner, others wont but will push to Ford for rental reimbursement.

If ford denies the warranty claim you can solve the mildew smell issues once the leak is corrected. All you need to do is take it to a professional detail shop and have them steam clean the carpet. Once you get it home pull the carpet up to expose the underside perform an ozone treatment, lastly treat both sides of the carpet with a mold/mildew inhibitor and reassemble. I had to do this when my cowl drain backed up and flooded the passenger side. Pulling the carpet up only takes a few min.

The Ozone generator was about 45 bucks on Amazon and only ran it for about 30 min. Since then no issues with musty odors.

 

[Ricksc]

I seem to recall reading someone had a leak on the back wall of cab making a moldy smell. Between the bed and back wall

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