2000 Silverado wax crayon like smell. I cannot get rid of it.

grant31781 · December 13, 2021

My truck did not have this smell for many years. I got it new in 2000 and it used to have that nice new car smell. I am not sure when the foul odor started but it is bad and sticks. The smell gets on my clothes and everything that has been in the truck. 10 minutes in there and I can smell it on me. Its not antifreeze and its not a crayon a kid stuck in the vents. I am sure of all that.

So I have tried everything I can think of to get this smell to go away. New cabin air filters, cleaned carpets and seats with a carpet shampoo machine and ran an ozone generator for hours a few times. The ozone did get the odor out of the seats however it just keeps coming back especially if the truck gets hot sitting in the sun. The odor seems to be coming from the vents. I am wondering if it is the adhesives that were used that are breaking down. I know VW used an adhesive that gives off a crayon smell when it degrades.

Have any of you had this issue and were you able to fix it?

Thanks,

Grant

shakenfake · December 13, 2021

It is the stuff underneath the carpet. Pull the carpet out and put new carpet in. I know of a few cars that this has happened to and it all was the carpet, some sort of foam or padding just degrades.

Supreme Pizza · December 13, 2021

For odors, sometimes they are really hard to get out. What I do is: Fog the entire interior of the vehicle with Fabreeze. Interior of the windows, the head liner, under the seats, etc. Then I turn the blower on max, with the air setting on "recycle". Then I start the car and run the blower motor, while spraying a fog of Fabreeze into the HVAC air intake that is by the floor. I do this on heat, and on A/C. Then I turn off the "recycle" option and spray the fog into the air intake by the hood. Then I leave the doors shut, with the blower on hi and recycle on and let it go for 20 minutes so that the Fabreeze is being recycled through the HVAC the whole time.

This gets rid of smells, but it only works if you like smell of Fabreeze.

Another thing that can help, is window rain gutters (air deflectors). You leave all 4 windows open about an inch, every day. It really airs things out pretty well.

Edited December 23, 2021 by Supreme Pizza

grant31781 · December 22, 2021

I found the source of the stench! It looks like a yellow urethane foam. It is only under the carpet on the firewall. Not sure why it smells so bad as it breaks down. Never smelled foam that looks like this kind have this terrible odor. Hell I cant even wash the smell off of my hands.

Unfortunately I cant get it all out. It goes up behind the dash where I cant reach. It looks like I need to be able to get to the firewall behind the ac box to get the rest of it out. Are there any videos showing how to get this out?

Supreme Pizza · December 22, 2021

I would not mess around in the HVAC area too much. If you flex something and crack a solder joint on the heater core, its a big job to replace it.

shakenfake · December 23, 2021

Ha! I told ya it was that foam ******!

Supreme Pizza · December 23, 2021

You might be able to fish the foam out with a bent up coat hanger. A mirror, flashlight, and a beer might b e helpful.

Robertgeorge · June 11, 2022

Please tell me that I don’t have to take things apart to get rid of the smell!! I just bought a 2001 Suburban two days ago and thought it would air out. It is bad though. I feel like it gives me a headache. Is it toxic? I don’t want to have to turn around and try to sell it. Help!!

Smitty454 · July 1, 2023

Bringing this back from the dead.

Did removing the foam actually work to get rid of the smell?

Removing the foam is one thing but I wouldn't think you would want to remove the heavy rubber because of sound deadening and heat.

MrBakerTN · July 4, 2023

Continuing on what Smitty454 wrote, did that help? As a small time used car dealer I've owned a number of these trucks but, this is a 1st. I will add, I remember a very similar smell coming from cars of the 80s and 90s. Especially if it was something that sat in the bright sun most of its life, closed up for extended periods of time. Usually the headliners were sagging significantly and i usually attributed it to that.

Did the firewall insulation removal resolve the smell?

I was thinking it might be the foam in the headliner and was about to venture into doing a new headliner. This is my personal driver, hate to get rid if it just because I can't stand the smell.

Mechanix84 · June 11, 2024

Gonna drag this one out of retirement again lol. I got my fathers 01 after he passed and the truck had an odd smell I wouldn’t say crayon but deff strong in the heat and always there. Anyway I pulled a chunk of that foam out and it smelled just like what I’ve been smelling. Nothing else I’ve shoved my nose too has so far.
so I’m also here to ask if this has helped? I’m planning to rip up the carpet once the new seat leather comes in and at that point I’m pulling the foam. If no one else updates I plan to update a few days after I’m done as I assume there will be a noticeable shift in the stench once it’s gone.

customboss · January 19, 2025

On 6/10/2024 at 7:08 PM, Mechanix84 said:

Gonna drag this one out of retirement again lol. I got my fathers 01 after he passed and the truck had an odd smell I wouldn’t say crayon but deff strong in the heat and always there. Anyway I pulled a chunk of that foam out and it smelled just like what I’ve been smelling. Nothing else I’ve shoved my nose too has so far.
so I’m also here to ask if this has helped? I’m planning to rip up the carpet once the new seat leather comes in and at that point I’m pulling the foam. If no one else updates I plan to update a few days after I’m done as I assume there will be a noticeable shift in the stench once it’s gone.

Never NEVER allow a USMC Jarhead ride in your truck. They sometimes cannot eat all their crayons and stick them in the oddest of areas.

USN and Army vet who had to fly marines in and out of very nerve wracking areas and they always have extra crayons on hand for snacks when they are nervous, so its habit forming!

True story. Promise. Honest Injun

grant31781 · June 18, 2025

Sorry Guys. I didn't see the last replies for years! Removing all of that foam did help a lot with that smell getting in your clothes however it is still there especially when it is hot outside. It still seems to be coming form under the dash. I am not 100% sure I got all of the foam out from under the dash. It doesn't take much of this foam to emit a lot of odor. My life jackets reek of this odor. They have been in there for a year. I added a bag of ground coffee to the inside of the truck. It does fair at masking the odor. I really want to get rid of the smell.

I did save a chuck of the foam in a ziplock bag. It still stinks just as bad as it did in 2021. I can smell it through the ziplock.