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2016 Gen2 Premiere Automatic RS Black Leather Interior Odor

3352 Views 13 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Premier17
It is my wife's car and she has a pretty good sense of smell. I told my wife the interior just has a new car smell, but she said she has never smelled such an offensive odor in any of our new cars. We purchased our Kinetic Blue Premiere Automatic with the black leather interior, navigation, Bose, sun roof, driver confidence package 1 & 2, enhanced convenience package, and interior trim kit 3 months ago. I've been in the automotive industry for over 30 years and cannot identify the odor. I suppose that because I've been in thousands of new cars during my career, I did not consider the odor unusual. I suggested to my wife that the smell could be the BIT wax undercoating or adhesives used for the interior trim. She insists that because her Cruze was purchased in early April, the offensive odor should be worn off by now. My wife installed one of those hanging odor eliminators, which helped but did not cure the oder problem.

My wife would like to know if her Cruze's interior odor is normal for a new Gen2 Cruze or if it is something that the dealer should attempt to remedy. As a sanity check, she would also like to know if others have had the same odor issue with their new Cruze.

I check the Internet for odor remedy products and found quite a few so I know the odor issue is common. But my Wife feels that her car is brand new with less than 1,000 miles on it and it should not be smelly.
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I'm up to 2500 miles on my 2nd gen and I have no odor. Sadly the new car smell is already wearing away. I have heard stories from my father in law who worked at gm dealers for 45 years that people having the interior replaced due to odor, very few times but it's happened. I would swing it by the dealer and see what they say and if they smell it.
Nothing on mine and i bought it early in May

Mario
I purchased a 2006 GTO new......nice car, fast, 6m, arrest me red with red guts......everyone who saw it or rode in it had nothing but complements.

I however, could not come to terms with the odor that I think was the leather seats.
Maybe the Aussies use a different process, but after about three weeks I was close to a hurl every time I got in.

Anyways, that neat car represents my shortest car ownership stint......I traded it in 12 weeks after bringing it home.......I know when to bail and seriously, we all know the dealer couldn't do much about it with any degree of success.
No one who rode in the car found anything objectionable, so, the real problem was my internal response to the odor.......so the dealer would have to fix me for any success.

A aquaintance bought the car the day after I traded.....has it to this day.....loves the car and has no complaints, so, no doubt, the problem was me.

OP....? I think your wife may be sensitive to the natural odor of the plastics or leather used in this new car.....you may have to take the same path I did......a bit of cash down the tubes but why pay for a car you can't stand being in?

Sucks, but all a dealer can do is replace the whole interior, bugger up the car, all for the same results.

Rob
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No odor issues with my new second gen Cruze. I have the Kalahari brown leather and love the smell of the inside of the car. Bought the car in May and have maybe 500 miles on it now. The "new car smell" is definitely starting to fade but is still noticeable when the car sits overnight with the windows up
Welcome to the forums, the new car smells especially leather are a for or against argument. My 2005 subaru still has the leather seat smell dominating the cabin. That's one of the reasons I wish I had 2LT/LTZ leather besides not turning gray over the years like jet black premium cloth seems to do.

Before I get too far OT, new car small is a symphony of new components offgassing.

New car smell is toxic, study says: Which cars are worst? - CBS News
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She's not crazy, mine smells funny too! I wiped down the leather and the whole interior of the car and it seems to be better. I have a premier RS with black leather.

I locked myself out of my original cruze talk account but long story short had a brand new 2015 cruze with leather for a rental for 2 weeks and same funny smell. I felt like i could almost taste the smell, like plastic and chemicals.
I notice it too. I have cloth in my gen 2, have put 1500 miles on it, about 2 months old now. It's not offensive, and nobody else picks up on it except me. You have your standard new car smell, and then an "undertone" of a sweet smell you could almost taste. I've noticed Buick cars have something of a similar smell. It's gotten less and less, as the weeks go on. I wouldn't consider it offensive though.
Me, too. Black cloth interior, Ziebart treatment. I've assumed it was the treatment itself making the odor, since it is definitely not the classic new car smell. Mines almost 2 months old, and I still get a little twinge of it on very hot days. Mebbe try to spend some time driving windows down, that has seemed to help mine...
I have a 2016 cruze premier with the black leather interior and my wife and i have not noticed any bad smell. We have almost 5k miles on it and we've only cleaned the leather once

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I'd like to thank everybody for their input regarding the interior odor in my wife's 2016 gen 2 Cruze. Evidently some folks have experienced interior odors similar to our's and some have not.

It has been 6 months now and the odor has dissipated only about 60%.

Yesterday, we finally drove the car to our dealer for evaluation and resolution.

The dealer said they did not detect an odor issue. However, they asked us if we would like to have the HVAC ducts and filter sprayed with an odor eliminator for which we approved.

After the dealer's service, my wife confirmed the odor issue has been solved and even the trunk area is devoid of the plastic/adhesive odor which was responsible for my wife's headaches while driving.
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Glad they were able to help w/o tearing the whole car apart. Some of the 2011-12's had a lube in the vents that smelled like the coolant was leaking from the heater core. Wonder if that was a repeat situation but of a different chemical smell?
2
I'd like to thank everybody for their input regarding the interior odor in my wife's 2016 gen 2 Cruze. Evidently some folks have experienced interior odors similar to our's and some have not.

It has been 6 months now and the odor has dissipated only about 60%.

Yesterday, we finally drove the car to our dealer for evaluation and resolution.

The dealer said they did not detect an odor issue. However, they asked us if we would like to have the HVAC ducts and filter sprayed with an odor eliminator for which we approved.

After the dealer's service, my wife confirmed the odor issue has been solved and even the trunk area is devoid of the plastic/adhesive odor which was responsible for my wife's headaches while driving.
I agree, it's a weird odor.
We have the same blue, hatch, with graphite leather and it is BY FAR the strangest "new car smell" we've ever had.

We bought the Cruze in December, and also bought a Silverado LTZ with cocoa/dune leather back in July. The Silverado still has that nice new car smell (4300 miles) but the Cruze is funky to say the least. Just did a 3000 mile oil change on it btw.

Here's a shot of Mama's Lil blue


This one was before I was able to buy the LPO Chrome Body Trim.


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We have two 17 Cruzes. One is an LT and the other a Premier. The LT Cruze has your typical new-car smell and it smells great, especially when it's been sitting in the sun. Mmmm. My Premier on the other hand, even with 5 miles on it STUNK inside. I noticed the same thing. It doesn't have that pleasant and desirable new car smell. It has an odd chemical smell instead. You're definitely not alone... I have the medium atmosphere leather interior on mine. The LT that smells like a typical "new car smell" is black cloth.
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