My car smells when I get inside. I clean it on a regular basis so it isn't last weeks lunch. any suggestions on what it may be and how to fix it myself?
My car smells HELP!
LJax03 on 24/03/2021 - 20:52
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Same, the cabin smell was the result of really bad water in the windscreen washer fluid tank, replaced the water, smell gone.
Get a professional deep clean - some car washes offer upholstery shampoo/ sanitisation (especially since covid with uber drivers), then you can just douse it in Glen 20 every couple of weeks to keep it up
Are you in NSW? the heavy rain has meant that if water gets in your car while the doors are open, and then you sealed it up for a while and didn't go anywhere due to the rain, you could have ended up with mould in there. I would do an extreme clean if that's the case, soak any areas that were mouldy with vinegar (which will make the car smell differently for a while) and park in the sun to let it air out, then continue with stain removal if you can see it.
Otherwise sometimes in older cars leaking coolant from the internal cabin heater radiator might be causing a smell, that's another common one.
I think you have a dead rat in your ventilation system. you have two options:
1. live with it. The smell will go after some time.
2.Strip the whole ventilation system and find it. Start from the fresh air intake.change your air filter and cabin filter. my car used to stink too until i got new filters.
What do I do if my car doesn’t smell the best, interior is sparkling clean and such a thing as “cabin filters” didn’t even exist when they made my shitbox?
I always leave a window down a couple of cm when parking in the garage each night. That plus keeping the inside of the car spotless results in new car smell persisting for a good 5 or so years. Never used any sort of sprays or scent trees etc. Just pure ventilation and a lack of anything to make a smell in the first place. This has worked with several cars now.
did you fart in there? stop ripping ass in the car mate..
That might fix the damp smell eat bean & cabbage chicken omelette washed down with Fosters or KB beer
Charcoal
Laundy powder. Spread it around and vacuum it a few days later or better yet use a carpet cleaner from bunnings or woolies and do the whole house along with the car
Lots of sun
Air filter and cabin air filter
Check intakes for leaves muck and mouldsMalaysia BOLEH!!
Does it only smell when you are inside it?
Can others smell it?
Ozone air generators seem to kill odors.
DO NOT sit inside nor breath the air whilst the device produces ozone
Just close all windows and leave it overnight.Worth a try.
DO NOT sit inside nor breath the air whilst the device produces ozone
what will happen if do..? :o
Wondering if you've had your car valeted recently? As that might explain.
Change cabin filter.
I got some of these last year - took a few weeks but completely eliminated the smell in our car https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/223965438640
Curry ?
As mentioned above OP, a damaged/worn catalytic converter causes the rotten egg/sulfur smell. Take it to an exhaust shop / mechanic and have them check it out.
Try changing your cabin air filter mate
I have a 2010 Mazda 3 when my car started to stink too. Starts smelling like eggs when ever I turned the aC on or switch the air circulation option to outside air. It was found the cabin air filter was dirty. I had to get it replaced unfortunately I was told this during a service and I ended up paying for it. However after looking up a YouTube video I could have just done it myself.l and for much cheaper. So in saying this, I believe the Mitsubishi proton also has one! So maybe look up the model on google and source the part yourself and install it. Obviously there is a reason for a cabin air filter so make sure you follow the instructions if your game enough or take it to a mechanic.
I barely comment, but for this, I really have to comment. I used to fish a lot and my car smells. And I put a bag of coffee beans in my trunk. Leave the coffee bean bag open and ensure air can flow from front of car cabin to back.
Guaranteed, all smells gone after 3-4 days!
Check your spare tire wheel well for water. There’s a rubber drain plug for draining. You could have a puddle in there splashing around on to your boot carpet making that dirty smell.
I have a friend who bought a camry quite cheap. They must've used it for transporting food as 6 months on, the smell is still there.
It's very pungent and appears to be difficult to remove. I hope you can get yours sorted.
eat a bucket of KFC chicken and leave the box in there.
Lol, just watched Yes Day and saw this post.
Op, bring your car to automatic car wash, with windows down.
One tip not mentioned so far: Pre-mix wiper fluid
I once had a corolla with a smell. I bought 4L of budget over-fragranced blue pre mixed wiper fluid. Swapped water for premix and instant car deodoriser hit every time I used the washer button.
Carpet mess is mentioned, but I once had a coffee spilled and thought I'd cleaned it up. Turns out the underlay absorbed the coffee a lot and the milk content eventually went rancid. Had to rip out the underlay and wash carpet area with boiling soapy water then towel dry
Otherwise as commented, cabin filter, Glen 20 for AC and vent duct bacteria, or food in nooks.
You've seen that episode of Seinfeld, you know what to do…
Common denominator here is you - have you tried asking somone (thats willing to be direct) if they can test if it actually smells?
I've had luck with glen 20 in to the air intake vents (bottom of windscreen) and into the footwell when on recirc.
Youtube it. May or may not cause damage in some cases.
The cabin filter is a real dog to change in my car, so I left it in, should probably commit to doing it at some stage.
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Once I had an issue with the water in the wiper spray that smelt similar. Added some antibacterial to kill it off and smell went away.