[rustynutz]

Been meaning to warn members of the hazards of car air fresheners such as the one pictured.

My friend in Townsville had a new Mazda 6 Hatchback a few years back and she had an Ambi Pur air
freshener attached to the central airvent. On a trip down to Melbourne we discovered that the bottle
of scent had been leaking, slowly dribbling the fluid down the dash and into the 6 stack CD player.
This stuff is potent, it actually ate into the dash and by the time we arrived back in Townsville, the dash
had split. All the CD's in the stacker were ruined and the whole stereo had to be replaced.
The Mazda dealership said this wasn't an isolated incident.

So, use these things at your own risk....

[Dazzler]

What can I say (that stinks )

On a serious note.. thanks for the heads up Rusty

[2i30s]

excellent info Russ,i use the old fashioned cardboard tree shaped air fresheners. they cant leak.

[Dazzler]

excellent info Russ,i use the old fashioned cardboard tree shaped air fresheners. they cant leak.

But they might lose their leaves in Autumn 

[2i30s]

easier to vacuum up, than have a cracked dash. 

[bumpkin]

Interesting.......

I have been using the W5 version of these on central airvents for the last 5 years and never had a leakage or any issue with those.  Long live the cheapness of Lidl

[eye30]

  Long live the cheapness of Lidl

Probable nothing in it................... that's why you've had no problem     

[TrishCW]

Thanks for the warning Rusty,    I dont use it , but good to have the info.

[rustynutz]

How ridiculous for a company to use chemicals that eat into plastic when these "air fresheners" are designed to be fitted on the dash?

I know chances are you probably won't have a problem but, do you really wanna risk it just so your car can smell like a toilet?

It ended up an expensive lesson for my friend, from memory the replacement section of the dash was something like 700 or 800 dollars and I think 1200 dollars for the stereo, and on top of that was the replacement of the 6 CD's.....

[mantaray]

this is the stuff I have used for years- "Auto Kologne" it comes in a smaller 100ml spay bottle, but the 250 ml bottle is only a couple of bucks more;
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Auto-Kolone-Deodoriser-Original-Formula-250ml.aspx?pid=1163#Description
Hmmm it says on the bottle "Do not spray on plastics"- what is in this stuff???     CRC come clean.

It does smell good though

[jabber]

thanks for the warning rusty! 

[Ugly Mongrel]

excellent info Russ,i use the old fashioned cardboard tree shaped air fresheners. they cant leak.

2eyes smelly car . That's not a tree, it's a bloody forest

[2i30s]

excellent info Russ,i use the old fashioned cardboard tree shaped air fresheners. they cant leak.

2eyes smelly car . That's not a tree, it's a bloody forest

  i only have one of those trees,it hangs off the side of the console. 

[Sunder]

I hate to state the obvious, but maybe just take a shower!! 

[2i30s]

    or maybe i should stop smoking in my car.   

[rustynutz]

Now that sounds like a plan...

[meehalych]

Have just discovered this topic, in fact I haven't had any problems with air fresheners so far, but, having read the first message, I would choose them from now on with especial concern.
The one I have got now in the car is a small material bag with coffee beans inside, there is also a small bottle of coffee smelled fluid, which has to be sprayed on the bag to extract a coffee aroma.

[Phil №❶]

I like the smell of new car, it costs a lot to get so why cover it up

[meehalych]

847563
The smell of a new car won't live long, so you'll have to seek the air fresheners anyway.
In fact, having bought two new cars so far I can't tell I could distinguish the smells between them and the other cars.

[Surferdude]

Have just discovered this topic, in fact I haven't had any problems with air fresheners so far, but, having read the first message, I would choose them from now on with especial concern.
The one I have got now in the car is a small material bag with coffee beans inside, there is also a small bottle of coffee smelled fluid, which has to be sprayed on the bag to extract a coffee aroma.

I guess you mean the aroma of coffee brewing.
I find I dislike the lingering smell of coffee in a car which comes from the empty cup after I finish drinking it.

[meehalych]

surferdude
but I like the smell of coffee, no matter where it comes from 

[Surferdude]

surferdude
but I like the smell of coffee, no matter where it comes from 

Yeah I do too, except for the smell of stale coffeelike you get from an empty cup.

I know - I'm weird.

[accim]

A friend of mine had it in Audi A3. Luckily she noticed it's leaking relatively soon, so not much damage was done, but there was some damage. She had it upside down. Kind of funny 

[meehalych]

A friend of mine had it in Audi A3. Luckily she noticed it's leaking relatively soon, so not much damage was done, but there was some damage. She had it upside down. Kind of funny 

I can't help asking: is she a blonde?   

[accim]

A friend of mine had it in Audi A3. Luckily she noticed it's leaking relatively soon, so not much damage was done, but there was some damage. She had it upside down. Kind of funny 

I can't help asking: is she a blonde?   

No, actually she's a brunette. I was making fun of her for few hours, after she told me (and few times after too). She didn't know if she should laugh, cry or be angry at me. At first she was "pushing" me, then started laughing/crying. It sure was funny.. And she really loves that car. That's why it was so hard for her.

[Pikapolonica]

I've always used this type of air freshener (new car smell is long gone).  Never had an issue. Bottle must've been cracked already.

[lostn]

excellent info Russ,i use the old fashioned cardboard tree shaped air fresheners. they cant leak.

I bought one of those, but there's no place to hang it... You can't hook it to your mirror because there's no hook (plus it's illegal), and the back of the package for these says not to let it be in contact with any surface. So where do you hang it?

[Phil №❶]

We have one (much to my annoyance), on the rear door hand rail above the window. 

[Doggie 1]

Or if you buy two, they make nice ear rings.

[Dazzler]

Or if you buy two, they make nice ear rings.

and they help hide garlic breath