Power Wagon Registry

HI, anybody else experiencing a strong antifreeze like smell coming thru the hvac system? , mainly when just on heater/vent setting. Had the dealer look at it and like normal they say they cannot smell anything. I have seen many posts on the other ram sights about similar bad smells and was trying to see if anyone has had this problem and what they tried to get rid of it. Mine is a 2016 .

Open the hood and look at where your coolant reservoir is located. It could be picking up a smell from it.

Best way to check would have them do an overnight pressure/leak down test on the coolant system to see if the heater core is leaking.

You could have a leak from your heater core, which is basically a radiator inside the cab under the dash. The engine coolant runs through there. Hope it's an easy fix man, good luck!

Hi Damage Wagon, taking it in today and expect to hear the we can't find nothing answer as FCA has been instructing dealers to tell people when this occurs. I am sure that the core is ok. It doesn't seem to be losing any antifreeze , but the interesting point is if you get close enough to the top hose when the engine is hot you can smell the stink. I am pretty sure it is like Waldo stated picking up the smell and pulling it through the air ducts.

rammit11 wrote:Hi Damage Wagon, taking it in today and expect to hear the we can't find nothing answer as FCA has been instructing dealers to tell people when this occurs. I am sure that the core is ok. It doesn't seem to be losing any antifreeze , but the interesting point is if you get close enough to the top hose when the engine is hot you can smell the stink. I am pretty sure it is like Waldo stated picking up the smell and pulling it through the air ducts.

While I haven't noticed the smell inside of my 16, I think it's possible it's picking up the coolant smell from the tank since it's vented to the atmosphere. Bad location for it. Try running your HVAC on the recirculate setting where it only uses cabin air and see if you still smell it.

Like I said earlier, make them do an overnight pressure test on the cooling system. That will usually find even smaller leaks.

My 2015 Ram smelled like coolant/antifreeze. We had the coolant system serviced and the freon in the A/C replace and nothing worked. They claimed that there were no leaks in the system. Like Waldo said, its probably coming from the the tank when the gasses vent into the atmosphere.

Luckily, my 2017 doesn't have that same smell and hopefully, it never will.

And make sure that cap is on correctly. It has some kind of goofy interrupted thread. Make sure it clicks and seats (the witness marks should line up). That IS your radiator cap.