Passat (B6) :: Strange Chemical Smell In The Interior Of Car With Windows Closed?
Apr 23, 2007
I've had my B6 with leatherette for just over two weeks now and I'm having trouble with a strong interior smell. It is a chemical/fishy smell that builds up when the car sits with the windows closed. I don't think it's coming from the vents because the smell goes away partially when the A/C is on. It is not related to outside temperature or direct sun. I didn't smell it during the test drive but I did right after I picked it up. I suspect the smell might be from the scotchguard treatment the dealer did during prep but I'm not sure. I've washed down the interior with Woolite a couple times and had the interior detailed professionally but the smell comes right back. Otherwise I love this car. I have an appointment at the dealer on Friday to see what they say.
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This is my first car with leatherette, wondering if that is causing the smell? Its not the monster mats. I have had several new cars and this is different than the average new car smell. Looking to getting rid of it?
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We just picked up our brand new Prius v and there is this distinct chemical smell. It's not like the typical, rather sweet "new car smell" - this one smells more chemical. Our previous car was a 2011 Prius and I think there was almost no smell, so it surprises me even more that the new Prius v would smell that much.
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The only disappointment with the 2010 prius is the terrible chem smell inside the car,, after six months it hasn't changed... in fact it is B.S. and doesn't seem healthy even running with outside air.
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When I first start the car recently there is a strong chemical smell, not gas, not antifreeze, and not the musty a/c smell. I just got the 30K service, and it seems stronger now. Maybe related???? 2008 V8 ....
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My 2003 V6 has an odd smell coming from under the hood. Doesn't smell like gas or oil. It kinda smells like burning plastic and it may be coming from the area around the coolant reservoir.
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I have a 2009 model Toyota Prius. There is a smell of chemical or gas inside my vehicle when I first get in. By "gas" I mean "gas" and not "petrol". So if it is a chemical from the battery for example, it smells like natural gas. I have been delivering phone books from my car in acreage which caused me to start and stop the car every 200 meters for about an hour. I only noticed the smell after I delivered the phone books. I searched the Prius Chat forum last night and read that stopping and starting for a lengthy period is bad for the battery. Should I ignore the smell and wait for the battery warning light to show. And if the battery warning light does flash, which battery would it relate to and is there a different warning light for both batteries? I have booked my car into the Toyota service center tomorrow but think I might cancel. They will probably run a diagnostic and see nothing as they will just interpret a number from a computer. They will predictably sniff and smell nothing ... and then I will pay them the service fee for nothing.
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I have a 2011 BMW 328i and I get this sort of burnt chemical smell through the vents when the heat is on. It doesn't happen until I have been driving for 10-15 minutes. After that you get the smell on some low level all the time, but it seems to be briefly exacerbated by making a hard turn (i.e. a U-turn). You get a stronger whiff coming out of the turn and then it returns to baseline. I also smell it stronger when setting off in low gear (1st or 2nd) like from a stop sign. It happens whether the car has the air re-circulation on or not. It has been in for service twice and they can't find the problem. The car is a RWD manual transmission and only has 20k miles on it. I checked the fluid levels and as far as I can tell they don't seem low. I looked in the service history and a coolant leak was fixed at one point, near the thermostat - yet the car still exhibits the smell. In addition to the smell, it kind of irritates the back of my throat after a while.
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Something really strange is happening as I opened the hood after stopping the car the other day and it seems like something is burning ( doesn't smell like oil ) and smoky is coming out from the left side of engine compartment?!? What can it be as I can't see any oil leaks or anything? can something be melting
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Recently I was driving down the road in my 99 B5 1.8T AUTO and my power windows stopped working from all the interior switches. First thing I did was get out of the car and use the key to roll them down, which worked fine. Here is what I have tried/looked into so far:
- All fuses are fine except #14 which i replaced
- Swapped the master control switch in the drivers door
- Checked the wire harness under driver carpet and the ground wire for frays or breaks
- Checked the CCM connectors and board for anything burnt or damaged
I will also add that the locks work from the door switches and the power mirrors don't work as well.
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Last week as I was returning home I had a strange event in my Prius. I was coasting at about 30 mph when I heard a very faint pop sound a bit like a balloon breaking. It sounded like it came from the right rear area of the car. Afterwards I thought I detected a very faint chemical smell. Could this have been something involving the HV battery?
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I get more or less constant wine-like odor in the salon, as well as intermittent burning match (sulphur?) one. These seem to be seeping from the outside, through the ventilation system. The car has a new radiator, and the heater core, there are no apparent coolant leaks.
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98 Accord AC died and left burnt chemical smell in it's wake...
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I have an '08 Grand Cherokee Laredo, 3.7L V6 with 74,000 miles on it. Recently the exhaust/muffler have been getting loud, and during my state inspection the guy said it would probably need a new muffler/pipe in the next few months. That was about a month ago. Since then there has been an on-and-off horrible plastic/chemical smell in the cabin some of the time. My wife drives it about an hour to work each way, and she says sometimes it gets so bad she has to open the windows (in 20 degree temps....) or she gets a headache. She describes it as a "formaldehyde smell" and says it tastes kind of sweet. To me it's more like a burnt plastic/chemical type odor. I checked all underneath but saw no plastic bags or anything else odd. Nothing unusual under the hood. No visible smoke. I have an appointment in two days to have the exhaust fixed. My question is - is there any way this weird smell could be exhaust related? I am hoping so, because otherwise it's a total mystery. It's definitely not an "exhaust" smell as I know it.
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2005 F350 Lariat crew cab a few weeks back.
My question.... I noticed a strong ammonia/super glue like smell floating around in the cab about the 3rd time i drove the pickup. Since then, it seems to do it intermittently. My first assumption was it was coming through the vents. I have done a couple experiments, and I don't believe this is the case. My wife and I were driving yesterday and she thought she noticed the smell again. while I was driving she started checking all the vents, and nothing. But when she leaned clear down near the speaker hole in the door, she said she could really smell it.
What could be causing this? I'm assuming if it was the AC it would be coming though the vents. And at this time, I don't think it is.
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My windows seem to fog up a lot and there is a hint of an antifreeze smell. It happens almost every time I switch off recycled air. Also, the AC when it first comes on has the same antifreeze like smell. I can run the AC or defrost and the windows clear up and the smell goes away but this doesn't seem normal.
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My son's 1995 Pontiac Am windows are stuck closed. My understanding is that behind each of the doors is a regulator for the window. I was wondering how likely it was for all 4 regulators to go bad, or if the problem was possibly in the center console controls. Either way is there an easy way to diagnose the problem, before I start randomly replacing window motors
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A little history first. 1998 F-150XL ... We bought this truck in 2001 and other than some random electrical issues we love this truck. The first thing to go bad was the was the interior light staying on even with the door closed, no big deal I just removed the bulb, the next thing to go bad was the instrument cluster except the speedometer, not too big of a deal just keep track of the mileage so you don't run out of gas. The next problem was randomly not starting like it lost its ground, the lights on the dash would be bright until you hit the starter then the lights on the dash would go dim and the starter would tap like it had no ground. Wait a few minutes and it would start again and it would be a year before it would do it again, until now!
Drove to town came back out did it again except this time would not start again. We pulled the starter switch it was good, replaced the clutch engagement switch on the clutch pedal, no good. Decided to pull it home, tried to pop start it, no dice. While pulling home all the sudden everything lit up on the dash and it started like a champ, drove it the rest of the way home and it wouldn't start back up. Since then I have put in a new battery, new battery wire ends, took lose the ground on the firewall and starter and cleaned them with no luck. I can get the lights to come up bright on the dash again, but as soon as I hit the starter all goes dead again. I am at a complete loss where to go next?
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Interior lights are sometimes staying on for 30 minutes after all doors have been closed. Thought it was the back hatch, but now seems to be random. I've cleaned the latches and lubricated with no luck. What else could be causing this?? A relay, computer.
2004 6.0 diesel Limited Excursion 4x4
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I have found the source of the problem....although it was not like this before....when the windows are fully closed and up....the noise happens ...when they are down...the noise is totally gone...what is up ?
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I'm not just reposting it though. I went ahead and sprayed all of the door switches with WD-40 multiple times, and the interior cab lights still come on. So, I'm assuming one of the switches in the doors is bad. Only thing is, I don't know how to figure out which door has a bad switch. Any way I could check this? Or it may be something other than a bad switch. It's annoying not having any interior lights (I took them all out to keep the battery from running down).
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