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Garmin HRM Pro Plus strong offensive odor emanating from the chest strap

3828955
over 1 year ago

Hello fellow Garminians,

I have an issue with the Garmin HRM Pro Plus chest strap. After about 3 months of regular use (running), it starts to smell bad, like really bad to the point where its nauseating. I follow the care instructions to the T, rise after every use, hand wash weekly with mild detergent, rinse, hang to dry. The odor is unique in that it smells like something of a burnt electronic? Not sure exactly how to describe the smell but very pungent and fills the room and sticks to my clothes and skin. At first, I thought it was leaking something internally, Garmin kindly replaced the original unit, however the exact same issue has developed again with a new unit after 3 months of use.

I am wondering if anyone else experiences this. Is there a better way to clean it? Do all chest straps smell like this? Is it me?

I do enjoy using the unit for HR accuracy, but the smell is too much and I don't want to replace it again for a 3rd time only to have the same thing happen.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to Dr Phil

    I contacted the french Garmin customer service by email with link to this forum. They asked me to return the belt to replace it with another one. So don't waste your time trying to wash it. it's not normal that such an expensive product has this problem. In addition, we don't know if there can be a health risk with this plastic in contact with the skin.

    I therefore invite you all to contact Garmin to return your belt.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to Adrian s

    Hi, I tried this product even on other clothes with no problem, apparently. Anyway, it's quite concentrated, so don't shoot too much ;) otherwise it'll stay there even after rinsing.

    I keep investigating about the possible skin reaction, anyway.

    Cheers.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to 1402055

    Thank you for being a test subject :-) 

    Anyway, it's good news that we finally found a potential solution. The main issue with everything I've found to be working so far is that the smell reappears after the first run. 

  • 0 28 days ago

    Thought I was going crazy.  Same issue, this is a defective product and probably dangerous.

  • 0 27 days ago in reply to JustinMayfield

    I've thought of this as well, the chemicals being released might trigger potential health issues in the long term, which I presume can't ever be traced back. 

  • 0 10 hours ago in reply to 9186962

    I had the same experience talking with Garmin support in North America. The representative told me that they wouldn't expect this issue to persist, and that any odor should be minor and dissipate over time. Their explanation was actually that it would be the rubber gasket given off some odor, but that's definitely not the case for me. It smells strongly like cat urine, and it's only getting worse even when diligently following the care instructions. They also suggested a replacement.

    Given that this is my second Garmin heart rate strap with this issue, I'm not confident that it's going to be different with the third strap but I guess we shall see. The two straps I had the issue with were the HRM Pro and now the HRM Pro Plus.

  • 0 8 hours ago in reply to 9186962

    I received a replacement belt from support service. After a month it slowly happens again, it smells the same chemicals odor ;(