It looks like some sort of black dust slowly and constantly builds up all over my cabin, mainly around the rear deck behind the back seats. It has been doing this for years. If I wipe down the back seat (which hardly gets used), my cloth is covered in this stuff.


Any ideas as to what it could be? I looks like brake dust.

 

sounds nasty...you should drive with a carbon monoxide detector and see if it goes off before you pass out...

 

Could be just general "stuff" in the air. Are you around any coal-fired power plants?

Or ... dried mold spores from the air conditioning evaporator.

 

you could try to stop carrying chimney sweepers, they leave black dust everywhere.no seriously sounds like some micro bugs growing in there .
a good valet,and chem wash down could kill anything growing there.

 

Nope I don't live near any power plants. I'm thinking maybe the foam in the vents is flying apart in small pieces? Is there a lot of foam in the air blower system? It also doesn't appear to be anything organic.

I do have a slow valve gasket drip that does not create visible smoke. Could this be it?

Has anyone installed a cabin filter? Is it difficult?

 

If you remove the center console insert (the one between the two front seats) you'll gain access to the rear vent; the vent has some kind of foam seal where it connects to the air duct and the seal gets old, dry and starts disintegrating. Take the vent out, clean the residue and replace with some foam from the hardware store. I know it will solve your problem. Good luck!

 

I searched all around my car and it looks like I have a small amount of mold growing on the rubber that lines the interior bottom of the window glass on one of my doors. I sprayed that and my air vents with lysol. Hopefully that solves the problem.