Just bought a used 2010 4x4 Ranger from a local Ford dealer. After they cleaned/detailed it and I picked it up it had an awful strong musty, moldy smell. Had to drive with the windows down. The floor in the cab is the rubber style (not carpet). It has rained a few times since I got the truck and I haven't noticed any moisture on top of the floor liner. The dealer has said they will do whatever it takes to get rid of the smell but I'm thinking it will be at my direction.

My questions are:
- where should I start to look for the source of this musty moldy odor?
- I've seen a few posts on this forum that Rangers are prone to leaking. Is this true?
- I want to ask the dealer to remove the seats, flooring and under padding, and then put the seats back in so I can drive it for a few days and see if the smell disappears. Can that be done?

Thanks

 

I had a very similar sounding smell when I got my 2002. It turned out the cab was getting a lot of water but the smell was from the padding under the floor mat soaking up all the water like a sponge and staying there. If you can remove some stuff some you can peel back the flooring and see how wet it is.

 

Thanks for the reply. I think I will have the dealer remove the seats/flooring so that they remain part of the process of discovering the issue. Will update once I get this resolved.

 

So the dealer sent me to a 3rd party detailer that they deal with and I told him what the issue was. He came out to the truck in the parking lot, pulled up the plastic, bottom door trim that held the vinyl flooring down and pulled the floor back. "There's the source of your odor" he said and let me feel the underpadding - damp and moldy smelling. So there's likely a leak problem, which the detailer said he would find. Called the dealer and said I want the leak fixed and the padding replaced - they're looking into sourcing the padding.

Stay tuned....

 

These trucks will usually leak in a few places; rear window, third brake light, heater core, etc. But a 2010 should not have that many leaks. Something tells me this truck saw some offroad usage and was never thoroughly cleaned afterwards. There are spots in the floor where water can easily enter the cab if the truck is driven into standing water. Or, if the previous owner had a bad habit of tracking snow in and just letting it melt, that could be the source as well.