NB Smell

[punkpie]

I love the smell of my car upon first getting inside. However, on their first trip in Buglet my mom and sister said "why does it smell like CRAYONS in here?" I said I wasn't sure but I laughed- that's totally the smell!

I just saw in someone's signature that Amanda is quoted "I wish my car smelled like Crayons." So I'm wondering, is this a common thing? If so, did you leave your crayon smell or did you/do you use anything to mask it? And has anyone ever mentioned the smell to you?

I think it's just one more reason NBs are so dang cute

[GatorBeetle]

There are MANY threads on the old forum which talk about this. It seems they used a wax based product for sound deadening in the front floor and up the firewall. My wife's '01 had the eu' du Crayola for about 8 months after we got it, but when she spent alot of time in the car in the summer her clothes would begin to smell like it. I used a citrus based cleaning product on the area, and after about 3 months it died down quite a bit...but it is still there just a bit, especially on hot days.

[punkpie]

VERY interesting! LOL

I personally like the smell. It makes me get a warm fuzzy.

[GatorBeetle]

I liked it too...we both did...but my wife stopped thinking it cute when people started asking her at work why she smelled like crayons...

[Woodstock]

I thought it was just my son's beetle that smelled like crayons! He says every single person who gets in his car mentions it! His is a 2001, with the leather seats. My 2003 Beetle, cloth seats, has NO crayon smell though.

[dnyed]

I would have said "No crayon smell" too, but Whitacre drove it last week, and said, "Yes, you do have the crayon smell". I don't notice it, and I know what a crayon smells like.

[AmyJane]

[GatorBeetle]

Not all years have it. I believe I read it had something to do with the formulation of the sound deadening stuff late in the 2000 model year, thru 2001, and into early 2002. My wife's interior is cloth. I have heard people use Simple Green to get rid of it, I used something similar, but an orange based one. When I say "get rid of" it really isn't gone, just toned down.

I sprayed under the floor mats and up the back fire wall once a week for several months before you could notice a reduction in the intensity.

The crayon smell pulls worse when the recirc is on in the car, I noticed, because the intake is in the foot well on the passenger side...where this stuff is sprayed under the carpet.

[AmyJane]

i have an early 2002 and i haven't noticed the smell. Im assuming it's quite noticeable and if it was there I would recognize the smell right away?

[GatorBeetle]

Yes, very noticible...I could be wrong on my timeline...

[elltotheoh]

OMG...I thought mine was the only one!!

I have a 2001 and I've been through like three air-fresheners trying to get rid of it, but I just got used to it, I guess.

[Oyveychris]

I love the smell! It reminds me of the way an old british car smells...But also, we have a frien that has an older Saab 9-5 that smells the same way, so maybe it's not just a beetle thing.

[callisto9]

i spent a few weeks when i got my used 2001 in 2005 trying to figure out what that smell was. initially, i thought it had something to do with the previous owner or her pets or something. i don't notice it much anymore (i am used to it) except on really hot days. my BF tells me from time to time that i smell like crayons.

i don't mind the smell.

[Herbie3Rivers]

I know the smell well. Though Elwood doesn't have it. I've come to the conclusion that it has something to do with the materials used in the leatherette and leather interiors. Mostly because they're the only cars I've smelt it in.

[GatorBeetle]

Originally Posted by Herbie3Rivers

I know the smell well. Though Elwood doesn't have it. I've come to the conclusion that it has something to do with the materials used in the leatherette and leather interiors. Mostly because they're the only cars I've smelt it in.

My wife's car has it with a cloth interior...it is not the leather/leatherette.

http://forums.newbeetle.org/showthre...x&pagenumber=2


http://forums.newbeetle.org/showthre...hlight=crayola

I wish I could find the post on the old forum from the guy who had the dealership redo his car...was a 12 hour job, if I remember correctly..I'd rather live with the smell.

[punkpie]

Originally Posted by GatorBeetle

Not all years have it. I believe I read it had something to do with the formulation of the sound deadening stuff late in the 2000 model year, thru 2001, and into early 2002. My wife's interior is cloth.

That would make sense in my case... I have a 2000 with the "Primus" cloth interior.

[beetlejuice]

Our 2001 GLX has that smell. I knew it was VERY familiar but couldn't figure out what it was until now. It is very noticeable to me but the wife is olfactory challenged. Keep the fresh air comin'.
juice

[boriquais]

yeah i have a 99 and i can smell it. since i drive it everyday i cant even smell it anymore, but when people get in they pick up on the smell. i love it

[itsabugslife!]

i have the smell too!! i bought my 01' nb last may and thought it was just some wierd air freshener thing that the dealership had hidden somewhere.....then i read this post and died bc im not crazy now i guess!! it defintely is worse in teh summer time, and i can smell it on me after i get out of the car when its hot out too!!!

[marisagi]

so that is what that smell is... yes! now that you mention it, i think it does smell like melted crayons! i have tried to put in many different air freshners but that car smell is still there! The smell doesn't get to me... but good to know i am not the only one out there that has that odor