I've noticed that if the fresh/recirc is set to fresh so that outside air is being drawn in, even without the fan or AC on, there's a mildew like smell in the car. I picked the car up about 10 days ago, but it's a 2013 with 13K miles. Is this a matter of cleaning or replacing the cabin air filter? DIY?
View 14 RepliesEvery morning, just as I get into my car and right before I press start engine, I have to hold my breath for a few seconds because there is odor coming from my vents. It lasts for a few seconds. 2013 RX ...
View 13 RepliesMy GX460 (2000 miles) has an odor after driving it from the rear. Smells like burnt rubber. Normal? I notice it mostly when I pull into the garage.
View 5 RepliesI have a 2015 Prius. when I operate the ventilation system without using the AC, and the air on by-pass I get a rear bad smell. With 6500 mile I should not be needing to spray disinfectants etc into the ac system.
View 19 RepliesI have leased a new Hyundai Elantra Limited 2012. We have noticed a very strong odor in the trunk. We have removed all the trunk mats and spare tire insulation trying to air them out and the smell still persists. It smells like something is burning or has burnt near the wheel wells or the back fold down seats. How to get rid of it?
View 5 RepliesDecided to take my 2013 GS to work today since I haven't been driving it as much after getting another commuter car. It was sitting in the garage for about 4 days. Didn't quite go wide open throttle, but did push it a little this morning on the freeway and noticed a stank rotten egg/sulfur smell after I did that. Spoke with a former Lexus tech and he told me it's normal. Performance did not seem to be impacted.
View 8 RepliesIn the last week or so I have noticed a faint gasoline smell when I pull my 2010 Prius (with 70,000 miles) into the garage and shut it down. I've looked under the hood and not seen anything obvious and there aren't any leaks onto the floor.
View 19 RepliesFirst of all this is my first Lexus so I don't know if this is normal or not. There is this empty road where I like to go fast just before I get to my house. However when I do decide to have some fun, when I get home and put the car in the garage, there is this unpleasant odor coming from the car but I don't know where. Also I am just at 9,000 miles right now and its a 2014 is250 F sport. Any inputs?
View 2 RepliesI treated the AC vents with Lysol sprays as many youtube videos have suggested. The odor went away for the short time then came backs. How to eliminate it permanently beside using air freshener?
View 6 RepliesOK, I've been reading a lot about this problem occurring in the pre 2010 prius where there is a crack around the hatch that fills the 12V battery well with water. About a month ago, I started getting a whiff of something rotting. A mix of the dead smell and rotting fruit. I was certain one of my kids left some food in the car or something got in the HVAC vent. As time has gone by, the odor has changed to more of a rotting leaves kind of smell.
I got out my shopvac and a snake camera. I went through the HVAC system and found that the filter was pulled back a bit. I replaced it on the spot. I found a few leaves and dust and that was it. The air coming from the vents from the outside smells clean. There were lots of wet leaves in the engine bay, but it wasn't the problem.
I started tearing apart the trunk because sometimes stuff spills into the tire well. I found the spare tire had turned brown on the tread.
I opened the battery compartment and found about an inch of standing milky white water. The kicker here is that the water didn't seem to smell that bad! I dried it all up and bleached the metal to kill any mold that might be in the residue...but the odor remains. The car smells awful!
I have torn apart the back of the car but I cannot find the source of the leak. I actually think it was from the car wash or going through a puddle and water got in the rear vent. The battery fender vent vanes were flapping with gusts of wind today, but even after a heavy rainstorm no new water has gotten in.
The car was hit in the parking lot and the rear fender moved about an 1/8th of an inch from the bumper, but there are no obvious signs of water entry anywhere... in fact, I was even suspicious that it might have come from the battery itself, but I didn't touch it (used paper towels on a snake to dry it up under there). I didn't think to try baking soda to see if it was an acid, which makes bleach pretty stupid to use...but I didn't see any foaming.
TL;DR Found water in my 12V battery compartment. My car smells bad. Cleaning out water did not improve smell. Nothing in HVAC system, it is only clean air source in car. No signs of water ingress above 12v battery well. After rainstorm, no additional water found in battery well. Fender vent flaps in gusty wind, but still no new water.
I have a 2010 Prius and it has developed a very strong mold smell/odor. It is strongest when the car has been sitting with the windows up. I have tried many of the tips in the forum regarding not using the recirc mode. I've clean the car inside and out, mats, carpeting, every compartment.
I have talked to the dealer parts counter and replaced the cabin air filter with the carbon filter and used the 2 can treatment that Toyota sells (one in the a/c drain x2 and the other in the air intake.). No joy.
I took it to the service department they did the same thing - again, no joy.
They have asked me to bring it back for, and I quote, "exploratory surgery." I asked if this the covered under the Toyota Certified Warranty. He could not confirm that it would be covered.
I've just purchased a 2010 F-150 scab 4x4 with the 4.6 3v. When I have the air conditioning on drawing air from outside I get a strong gas odor in the cab. Originally I thought it was natural gas, but then my wife mentioned she too smelled gas, gasoline. If I use the recirculated air the smell goes away, almost instantly. Additionally, there is a faint odor of gasoline outside of the truck as well, but not nearly as strong as in the cab. There also is a ticking sound coming from the top of the engine, I believe the egr solenoid. Could these two issues be related? Either way, what are the possible causes of this smell? What are the fixes to these possible causes?
View 2 RepliesI'm trying to fix bad AC odor in the car. Instruction says spray into recirculation vent as well as fresh air intake. Fresh air intake was easy but I can't locate recirculation vent. I put recirculate mode on and put the fan to max to feel where air gets moved but was unable to find the vent. Where it is located?
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Diagram there indicates there's one on passenger side and driver's side. I took the cabin filter out and inspected the blower motor housing. There really isn't any recirculate duct or vent. There is a big flap on top of the filter and blower motor housing that opens and closes according to the mode. So when the car is in recirculate mode, it just sucks the air behind glove box compartment.
For the past month or so, I've noticed a rather unpleasant odor in the cabin of my '11 GS450h, which was brand new in April (it was a demo vehicle, never sold or titled). I've never had food in it, never spilled anything, and prior to a month ago, it still had the new car smell.
I can't tell where it's coming from. It isn't a moldy smell at all, but rather something like a dead mouse. Simply put, it smells like hot garbage that's been sitting in the garage for a few weeks.
I put my nose to every surface, to the rugs, leather, dash... can't find the source. I took out the cabin air filter in hopes of finding the source, but the filter was very clean and i didn't see any debris in there. I tried to stick my nose in, but i couldn't smell anything.
I "think" it's coming from the A/C/Heater vents, as when running if i put my nose up to the vent, i can really smell it.
I really need to find the source of this smell... Are there any schematics for the duct-work for the A/C inlet? Maybe there's something trapped.
I've always run it on "recirculate" mode, preferring to cycle inside air rather than take in outside air. So my "thinking" as that if there was a dead animal in the duct-work for the outside air, i wouldn't be smelling it, no?
Bought this 2010 ES 350 before last winter, never use the air-con until last week. After the air-con was turned off, here comes the odor! The fumes were so bad that I had to open up all the windows. Did take out the air filter to clearn, but odor still come back after air-con was turned off.
View 7 RepliesI am having this serious issue with my 2007 gs350 awd, whenever I'm on the highway or any were, the air is contaminated with any odor for example (skunk, garbage, smoke from old car) the smell comes in through the vents, I've changed the cabin air filter and still same problem, how to get it resolved?
View 4 RepliesI have an '05 Lexus SC430 with 53,000 miles on it. For the past couple of years, I have noticed an intermittent antifreeze smell (sweet odor) when driving. It never lasts for long and is apparently coming out of the vents. I can not figure out any common denominator to cause this, other than the radiator was replaced in Nov. 2014. My long-time mechanic has ridden with me a few times and I am unable to recreate for him to diagnose.
View 9 RepliesI went for a hour drive tonight after i brought car back to garage i could smell a distinct odor of anti freeze or fumes that would exit the radiator. I checked under the car no leak i looked in the engine compartment looking for perhaps a spill of antifreeze that might be resting on top of the front engine pan. I could not find any liquid.
The temp gauge when i was driving was a bit below mid way it usually as I remember is there or a bit lower. Where the smell is coming from I had the heat on for a bit in the car while top was down and i have no leaks in the interior of the car . The car is a 2005 I have 5940 miles on it . I bought it new in 2005 and I only drive it in good weather and on weekends .
I have not had any major service since the mileage is so low other then state inspections oil and filter regular changes done once a year Mobil 1 . Should I consider flushing the radiator and changing the anti freeze. As I said I don't drive it on long runs but I do use it a bit around town. When I lift the hood i can smell the anti freeze but cant find any.
What to look for. The coolant overflow reservoir cover was in place and all hoses looked good and there was some residual coolant in the tank as there should be and i could not see any steam or vapor coming off these parts.
Brand new 2012 LS460 with one Dealer oil change:
This one started with stronger smell on passenger side but is now strong hot antifreeze smell when you open either front door. Not a drop on floor, no gauge movement from normal on hot 2-3hr trips - Only had one service six months ago at dealer just because it was to sit all year. I pulled all top engine covers off to inspect and found not one thing wet or suspect.
Ready to put on rack to look underneath (below firewall I suppose) just not sure at what, heater core connections? But a head gasket would be 1st guess? What could this be?
SAME as previous post (but no ID) from a 2008L owner: "I only have about 3,500 miles on my car, every now and then I get a faint smell of possibly antifreeze when I open either of the front doors after a good drive. It's very strange because if I try to locate the source, the smell goes away. Once I exit the car and sniff around, there is no smell in the wheel wells, in the front grill, or under the hood. I then try to sniff under the car just under the front doors, and there is no smell!"
Had a bad smell coming from the a/c vents when you first turn it on. Goes away after a couple minutes but it stinks... My passat still under warranty, wanna be able to tell them what's wrong when I take it in.
View 11 RepliesWhen I start the car, there is a very strong smell of gas in the cabin. What is causing it? Is it expensive to fix?
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