Thread: Smell in car - any ideas?

Just as an update, changed the cabin pollen filter and no real difference (having said that, the smell levels were on the decrease anyway over the last week or two). So that wasn't to blame. Need to try something else.

Could be mould/damp in the aircon/heating ducts. Open the passenger side windows and try driving round for 5 minutes with all vents open and the aircon on full cold, then five minutes with the temp set to full high. It's a good idea to do this every so often with aircon anyway. Could also be a leak in one of the aircon seals. SSE

If water is getting into the carpets, it's not always easy to tell because there is about an inch of padding/underlay under the carpet. My car had a leaking windscreen, the carpet was only damp and I thought it was draining from our shoes. We had to take the door trims etc. off and lift carpet, which is not easy because they are fitted. The underlay was dripping wet. As "Pisces" says, the chamber below the wipers can get...

I reckon its the water getting in your windows. You may need to replace the seals. I had a car where the seals has obviously gone in the boot. Water got in and the stink was terrible. Was always worse when I hadn't used the car for a while and it was cold.

My VW had the same problem. Changed cabin filter and had aircon cleaned, but smell kept returning. Eventually found that it was caused by bacteria in the window washer bottle. Drained the bottle, added some hot water and a little Milton baby bottle sterilising fluid. Left in bottle for a few hours, then drained and refilled with fresh water. No more bad smell since.

I had a problem similar to yours a couple of years back - here's the thread - but I never did find exactly what was causing it. The smell gradually disappeared thank goodness, it wasn't pleasant driving in rain with the windows open

I've recently had the same problem with a very damp-smelling car - although I did find the cause. Basically, leaves became blocked in something under the car and rain water leaked up into the passenger-side carpet. I can't remember what it was exactly, and my husband sorted it, but it was some pipe or something that blocked. A mechanic told husband that sometimes the water can get into the air vents/heaters instead and that this...

i rekon it is you aircon / heater

I think the cat. convertor smells more like rotten eggs/sulphur - not certain though. You should maybe have the air con and pollen filter (if you have one) checked. Mats maybe?

I had a similar problem with a VW Polo many moons ago. Bad smell, heavier than usual condensation on the inside of the windows Finally discovered there was water getting in underneath the rear seat TooK a long time for VW to find and fix the leak. Something to think about maybe.