Woman claims car air freshener caused $400 in damage

A Georgia woman said she trusted a household name in household products, but now has doubts after a $4 air freshener left her with a $400 repair bill.

"You're a little upset," Debbie Wood told consumer investigator Jim Strickland.

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Wood had used a Glade brand car vent freshener. After being clipped to her air vent for roughly six weeks, it began to leak and damage her instrument panel.

"The lettering and everything was coming off. It was corroded," Wood said.

Wood later learned the damage extended into the wiring, making it difficult to drive her Ford truck.

"There are micro switches in here that work with the computer system, and when these fumes get in here it messes with the computer system," said mechanic Jan Tinglef.

"I'm sure it's not the only car," Wood said.

On Glade's own website, Strickland found the three latest product reviews all complain about leaky oil-based fresheners doing damage to car interiors.

Wood's freshener and others were licensed by SC Johnson of Racine, Wisconsin, to a Los Angeles company called Kraco Enterprises. 

Emails indicate Kraco had told Wood to expect a reimbursement for her repair bill within eight weeks.  It's been five months.

Strickland got a Kraco representative on the phone, but no one returned his call with answers to his questions.

Strickland learned solvents are often used to dissolve a freshener's fragrance so you can smell it. 

A spokesman for SC Johnson said he did not know what Kraco was using in its licensed Glade air fresheners.