# Smell in car - any ideas?



## RMCF (5 Nov 2009)

Folks

Could anyone offer any ideas what might be causing a smell in my car?

There has never been anything spilt in it and I have searched it high and low and found nothing.

Its a smell that used to come out of nowhere and last for a day or two then vanish again. Its been happening for maybe 2yrs or so. But it came about a fortnight ago and is still there - it looks like its here for the longterm this time

Its hard to describe the smell. At its worst it smells like sour milk or damp football gear/boots !! Not pleasant. Now as I say I have searched the car many times and can find nothing. Nothings been spilt. The seats all appear clean and dry, no dampness. Boot smells fine, and no sign of any dead animals in the engine bay. Pulled up all the seats and nowt.

I'm at my wits end, as everytime you get out and then back in after a break its bad. Tried all the Febreze thingees but nothing has worked. If you don't use the car for a day or two and get back in its terrible.

Is there anything car wise that could causing this - like catalytic converter or similar? Thing is, I'm thinking this shouldn't affect a car sitting in the driveway for a couple of days and not being used. On the vege of getting the entire interior shampoo'd and valeted as a last resort.


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## Caveat (5 Nov 2009)

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?


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## kceire (5 Nov 2009)

if you have air con then replace the pollen/micro filter.
if you dont have A/C then it could be damp getting in somewhere! you could buy a portable dehumidifier and leave it in it for a few hours, i seen one in lidl/aldi recently.


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## sse (5 Nov 2009)

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


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## RMCF (5 Nov 2009)

Thanks for all your replies.

1st off - the car has no air con, so nothing related to that (although might be something in the air/heating vents).

Mats have been checked and ok. No dampness on them or spills.

Only thing I noticed tonight is that the cars windows inside are gathering an awful lot of water on them. I mopped most of it off tonight, and have put 2 of those cheap crystal dehumidifiers you get in the pound shops in the car to see if it can control the damp a little. This may be a potential issue?

Perhaps there is a seal gone and the inside of the cabin is getting damp? But I didn't think it would smell so bad so quickly.


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## mercman (5 Nov 2009)

Could somebody (a kid have spilt the smallest amount of orange juice in the car between the seats or somewhere. Happened to us and for months we coukd not find smell until we found it and by hell was it rotten.


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## RMCF (6 Nov 2009)

mercman said:


> Could somebody (a kid have spilt the smallest amount of orange juice in the car between the seats or somewhere. Happened to us and for months we coukd not find smell until we found it and by hell was it rotten.



Admittedly it does point to a spill, but the car is used by 2 adults 99% of the time. Only very very rarely would a couple of nephews/nieces be in it.

The thing I mentioned at the start, and which I thought might rule out a spill, was the fact that when it 1st started approx 2 yrs ago, it would just come out of nowhere, last perhaps a day or two, and then vanish as quick as it arrived, with no after effects. This would happen every couple of months in the same way.

Its only this last time that it has hung around and is only marghinally improving. Thats about 3 wks its been here now, and I do have to say I think its improving, but very gradually. 

Thats why I ruled out a spill. If it was juice or milk or whatever, surely it would stink all the time, and would not have gone away quickly.

I searched the net for the location of the cabin filter tonight, so might check that out tomorrow to see if the filter has anything smelly caught in it.


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## Bluebells (6 Nov 2009)

Where do you drive the car. There is a possibility that you are driving over a dirty puddle somewhere, splashing foul smelling stuff on the underside of your car.

I hope you get it sorted - we once had a car which was known as the Red Stinker due to spilt milk - never got the smell out.


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## RMCF (6 Nov 2009)

Bluebells said:


> Where do you drive the car. There is a possibility that you are driving over a dirty puddle somewhere, splashing foul smelling stuff on the underside of your car.
> 
> I hope you get it sorted - we once had a car which was known as the Red Stinker due to spilt milk - never got the smell out.



Its generally driven daily around fairly major roads, so can't see that being the problem.

It tends to be at its worst when its been lying idle for a while, for example it damn awful when you get into it 1st thing in the morning !!! But then it seems to get easier on the nose as you drive. I'm nor sure if this is due to fresh air moving thru the car/vents or whether its just that your nose gets used to it, a la heading out into the countryside when the farmers are muck spreading


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## bren1916 (6 Nov 2009)

Check your seatbelts - pull them out fully and clean them.
If something was spilled or someone sick on them while they were in use and they weren't cleaned properly the smell will linger in the seatbelt cover/holder so try cleaning them too...speaking from experience here!


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## Boros (6 Nov 2009)

i rekon it is you aircon / heater


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## TreeTiger (6 Nov 2009)

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


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## Pisces (6 Nov 2009)

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 causes problems and apparently it's quite common. I'm not sure if this happens with Opels or all cars.

The smell sounds very similiar and there's still a trace of it in my car - YUCK!  I hope you find out what it is.


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## Scotsgirl (6 Nov 2009)

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.


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## roker (6 Nov 2009)

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 blocked, particularly if you have trees around.
Aa a matter of interest what make car is it?


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## Importer (6 Nov 2009)

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.


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## Frank (6 Nov 2009)

If the spare wheel is in a well in the boot take it out and look for water there.

If there is moister inside the windows it is coming from somewhere,

I had an issie with my passat this year.

Googled passat plenum drains blocked. Basicaly a drain under the bonnet blocked when it rained heavy the chamber where the battery sits filled up with water which got in through the heater system.

Not a major job. Sorted it myself.


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## Cat101 (7 Nov 2009)

Sounds like it's your car cabin filter. A blocked air filter is full of allergens, dust particles, pollen spores and possibly mold and mildew if wet or damp. It can cause *very bad odors* as well as give you headaches. 
They're suppose to be changed once a year.
Run a search on car cabin filters.


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## RMCF (7 Nov 2009)

Thanks one and all for your input, many things to go after there.

For reference, its a VW Golf.

I will probably start with the cabin filter in the next few days to see if thats filthy.

Then on to trying to see if theres a leak on any of the seals that might explain the condensation in the cabin.

Then check for leaves etc that might be blocking something.

Thanks again.


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## gareth1214 (7 Nov 2009)

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.


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## RMCF (7 Nov 2009)

Although I fail to see how water in the washer bottle would affect your cabin, I will look into that too.

Thanks again to all for your suggestions. When I created this thread I thought it would be one of those 150views with no replies. Cheers


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## Caveat (7 Nov 2009)

Could the smell simply be you?


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## scrivere (7 Nov 2009)

My last car had a leak around the aerial in the roof, it was so small it was there for a long time before it was located. The top part of the roof cloth was full of mould and yuck it smelt.


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## in_bad_debt (7 Nov 2009)

Dude thats so silly! take your car to a garage...now seriouslly, any mechanic can fix that with the eyes closed! Your problem is with the heating ...  that happened to me before! I know exacly what it is but dont remember wha tis it called...i will be back shortly..as soon as i remember the name


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## RMCF (8 Nov 2009)

Caveat said:


> Could the smell simply be you?



Ya cheeky monkey


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## OnTheMove (8 Nov 2009)

Having similiar l problems with smells in a 2001 Mark IV Golf 1.9 TDI  90BHp model. Is the pollen/cabin filter located underneath the glove compartment  or under the bonnet on steering column side?


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## RMCF (9 Nov 2009)

on my 01 Golf I think (haven't checked yet) its located under the bonnet on the RHS as you stand looking at it i.e. in front of the passenger seat.

You lift the rubber strip and there is a few Philips head screws there. In behind that if the video on YouTube I watched is correct.

I am going to the autopart store now to pick up a replacement filter, and will hopefully get a chance over the next couple of days to change it (wife uses it during day and too dark at night to do it).

Will keep you updated.


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## sse (9 Nov 2009)

If it is the VW plenum chamber drain problem you may not find it easily, you have to push down on the carpets quite hard as there's a lot of foam under there. Push down and it'll feel damp.

You need to make sure the drains are clear too, changing the filter on its own won't be enough.

Don't leave this too long as the alarm/convenience unit is down on that side of the car too, at least it is on Passats/A4s/Octavias, I think Golfs are the same. You don't want that rusting, although it's supposed to be in a waterproof box on new ones.

Incidentally I bought a bottle of Tesco screenwash recently and it absolutely stank in use, truly revolting!

SSE


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## RMCF (15 Nov 2009)

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.


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## michaelm (19 Nov 2009)

RMCF said:


> Tried all the Febreze thingees but nothing has worked. If you don't use the car for a day or two and get back in its terrible.


I would try bread soda rather than Febreze.  If, by chance, there is some acidic spill then bread soda should nullify it.


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## clonboy (19 Nov 2009)

there is a lot of rain lately, is the car parked outside at night/ also is it parked level. mu a6 was parked on an upward slop and all the water was gathering by the battery in front of the windscreen, eventually it came into the floor till i unblocked the drain holes,,


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