Mold in CLEAN 2023 Gladiator - PNW

[protons]

I’ve had my 23 Gladiator since I bought it new in November 2023. I drive it at least 4 days a week to work. In Jan 2026 I dropped it off at the Jeep Dealership for repairs and it took them a few weeks, mostly sitting on the lot for ordered parts, and when I got it back, it had a bad smell. I thought it might have been due to my gym bag I had left in the back seat and that with some deoderizers and cleaning, the smell would come out. It didn’t really hit me until later that my gym bag was clean with fresh clothes and itself doesn’t stink.

I clean the interior often and it’s very clean, but I’ve been stumped what’s going on and was going to paid for detailing. A buddy who owns a wrangler said he has heard something about gladiators having a bad cabin seal or moisture intrusion and that I should look harder for mold, especially since we live in Washington.

Well… found this today. What the hell do I do?! This is the back speaker - even if I managed to somehow clean this thoroughly, I can’t imagine there isn’t mold behind the fabric or spores throughout the whole cabin. Are my speakers ruined? Also, if this is par for the course because I live in the PNW… I might have to turn it in. I’ve never taken the back panel off yet… not once. I don’t have a clue how this could have happened

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[Gvsukids]

don’t have a clue how this could have happened

Could have been a rear window leak. Your detailer friend might know how to remove mold.
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/rear-window-leak.75396/

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/gladiator-back-window-leak.39526/

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...e-their-top-scratched-seats-ripped-etc.66403/

 

[JerseyMark]

Did it smell prior to being at the dealership and just get worse when you picked it up? or is the smell completely new?

If new, maybe something happened at the dealership - for example windows left open in the rain, etc… and then water sitting in the floor pans.

I would check the carpets and under the carpets for moisture/mold.
Clean up as much as you can.
Air it out in a garage or on a nice sunny day.
If still having issues - get the interior detailed professionally.

 

[smlobx]

Is that a white interior?
I’ve never seen one if it is…

 

[Gvsukids]

Is that a white interior?
I’ve never seen one if it is…

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/saddle-interior-on-a-rubicon.31618/

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...grey-off-white-interior-option-go-away.95840/

 

[Dilly’S Willy]

I had this in my rally car after it sat CLEAN for 7 years without being moved/opened, only 20x worse and everywhere. The following is how I got rid of it:

1) Take a CLEAN/NEW/UNUSED spray bottle, fill it 90% with WARM water and 10% white vinegar. Clean the windows then roll them all the way down. Then lightly spray all fabric with the bottle we made. Let it sit for 10 minutes and spray again, then let sit for 30.
2) After go back with a roll of quality papertowels and spray them with the bottle we made and wipe all interior trim/plastic/etc, the first round is to clean the visible mold/mildew. After that, do it again with clean PTs. Then one last time with clean microfiber towels. We used PTs first to remove the grime vs spread it, and the MFs to remove residue.
3) Vacuum all fabrics with a quality/powerful vacuum. Doesn't have to be perfect this round, we're just trying to pull most of the mold/mildew we killed earlier.
4) Spray the fabric again, this time a bit more thoroughly and a bit heavier with the spray. Let soak for about 30 minutes. This should kill any remaining mold/mildew we missed before. Follow up with the vacuum again, this time get all the nook/crevices missed before.
5) Air out the truck for at LEAST one hour. Tossing a fan or two inside to help circulate the air is helpful but not required. If you can let it sit for a whole day with fresh air, even better.


I have yet to see mold/mildew come back and it's been about 6 months since I treated the vehicle and it hasn't been moved since. Project car life.


Hope this helps!

 

[Walldo]

This stuff works good for getting rid of odor's after you get the interior clean. Had a bad funk in my JKU and this stuff took care of it.
https://biobombs.com/collections/auto/products/air-quality-reset-starter-kit

 

[Labswine]

I had that issue in my '95 XJ Sport. Bought it used in late '96. Drove all that winter (Boston area). That April, it got hot out and I came out from work one day, got in, and was assaulted by a very moldy smell. Turned on the AC and, once the humidity inside dropped, the smell abated.

I cleaned that car's interior from stem to stern, top to bottom, even pulled all the carpeting and replaced all the padding underneath (scrapped the factory padding from the underside of the carpets). Then I found the cause when I pulled a cargo area side panel off to clean behind it.

One of the wheel welds between the inner fender and the body was not done properly (factory defect). All winter long, water, sand, salt, gravel, got trapped in the well as well as soaked the carpet in the cargo area, in that area. It grew mold. I believe even the spores got into the headliner as after all that cleaning, it still smelled moldy, and even several cans of Lysol sprayed all over the headliner, soaking it in, didn't kill the smell. At least with the AC on, the smell wasn't present.

When I traded it in for a '93 Grand Cherokee, my girlfriend at the time (later wife, then ex...) was sitting in the car with the AC on talking to her sister on the cell. The guy evaluated the XJ for trade and came back in and said that car looked show room ready, it was so clean. Gave me top dollar in trade. Little did they know...

Mold can be an asshole to get rid of, especially if it gets into cushions, carpets, other soft areas. Try all the suggestions here to see if it can be removed. Also ask a few mold remediation companies for advice, like Serv-pro or, other local companies what they might suggest for mold remediation products.

 

[FOX JT]

I’ve had my 23 Gladiator since I bought it new in November 2023. I drive it at least 4 days a week to work. In Jan 2026 I dropped it off at the Jeep Dealership for repairs and it took them a few weeks, mostly sitting on the lot for ordered parts, and when I got it back, it had a bad smell. I thought it might have been due to my gym bag I had left in the back seat and that with some deoderizers and cleaning, the smell would come out. It didn’t really hit me until later that my gym bag was clean with fresh clothes and itself doesn’t stink.

I clean the interior often and it’s very clean, but I’ve been stumped what’s going on and was going to paid for detailing. A buddy who owns a wrangler said he has heard something about gladiators having a bad cabin seal or moisture intrusion and that I should look harder for mold, especially since we live in Washington.

Well… found this today. What the hell do I do?! This is the back speaker - even if I managed to somehow clean this thoroughly, I can’t imagine there isn’t mold behind the fabric or spores throughout the whole cabin. Are my speakers ruined? Also, if this is par for the course because I live in the PNW… I might have to turn it in. I’ve never taken the back panel off yet… not once. I don’t have a clue how this could have happened

That's not a speaker. It is a piece of fabric attached with velcro. Take it out and throw it away unless you want to clean it and reattach it.

You obviohsly have never removed the hard top. Here is mine.

 

[Cwelroy]

I’ve had my 23 Gladiator since I bought it new in November 2023. I drive it at least 4 days a week to work. In Jan 2026 I dropped it off at the Jeep Dealership for repairs and it took them a few weeks, mostly sitting on the lot for ordered parts, and when I got it back, it had a bad smell. I thought it might have been due to my gym bag I had left in the back seat and that with some deoderizers and cleaning, the smell would come out. It didn’t really hit me until later that my gym bag was clean with fresh clothes and itself doesn’t stink.

I clean the interior often and it’s very clean, but I’ve been stumped what’s going on and was going to paid for detailing. A buddy who owns a wrangler said he has heard something about gladiators having a bad cabin seal or moisture intrusion and that I should look harder for mold, especially since we live in Washington.

Well… found this today. What the hell do I do?! This is the back speaker - even if I managed to somehow clean this thoroughly, I can’t imagine there isn’t mold behind the fabric or spores throughout the whole cabin. Are my speakers ruined? Also, if this is par for the course because I live in the PNW… I might have to turn it in. I’ve never taken the back panel off yet… not once. I don’t have a clue how this could have happened

It’s the rear window seal. I had a 2020 Gladiator in Oregon and had to have the rear window replaced under warranty. I would imagine the carpets under your seats have mold as well. All of mine had to be replaced.

I don’t have the truck anymore, but I always felt like it still leaked even after the replacement, but I parked it in the garage and didn’t notice it as much after that was done.

 

[protons]

Well I found the problem as suspected - leak in the window seal. At multiple spots. It is lightly raining today and I clocked a drip rate of one water droplet per 30 seconds. You can see at one specific spot where the water drop constantly drips because no mold forms there (from the activity) but mold surrounds that area.

. I

 

[Gvsukids]

Well I found the problem as suspected - leak in the window seal. At multiple spots. It is lightly raining today and I clocked a drip rate of one water droplet per 30 seconds. You can see at one specific spot where the water drop constantly drips because no mold forms there (from the activity) but mold surrounds that area.

. I

I had mine replaced using my auto glass warranty.

 

[NotSo Bright White]

I bought an umbrella for mine to stop the leak!

 

[Cwg33]

Well I found the problem as suspected - leak in the window seal. At multiple spots. It is lightly raining today and I clocked a drip rate of one water droplet per 30 seconds. You can see at one specific spot where the water drop constantly drips because no mold forms there (from the activity) but mold surrounds that area.

. I

Sorry Protons,

I’ve had the Northwest drizzle leak cause the rear window to get mold in my Gladdy as well. Luckily my drip was so bad and fast, it molded the carpet thus cleanup was only ArmorLite & bleach mixture on the metal to resolve the smell.
The window, I had fixed at the dealership once, but the leak came back worse. I tried the 7mm hose fixes prevalent on the forum, but the fixed rear window was so poorly done the gap was too big. My only solution was an amazon gasket. Not a drip since.

Tintvent Windshield Gasket, Glass... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09B26XXFS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[Heath]

Chlorine dioxide will kill the spores and get rid of the smell.
Search Chlorine Dioxide for automobiles.

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