We are the Car Repair Experts!
Repair Topics / Smells-1 / Smells-2
Car Smells, Fumes and Odors Questions This
category contains featured questions as
examples. They relate to most vehicles. 
Question: 2000
Chevrolet Impala, mileage: 76,273. Dear Bob & Ken: There
is a rotten egg/sulfur gas smell every time I start up
my Impala. You can actually see a haze in the air after
the car is started and it takes about 20 minutes to get
the smell out of the garage with the door open. It is a
very potent odor. If the re-circulation vent is on
outside air, you can actually smell this gas odor inside
the car for about 10 minutes after running it. Can you
tell me what the problem might be and what to look for?
I have had new plugs installed in November, and the gas
mileage is still excellent. Could it be the catalytic
converter, exhaust or what? Any help and information on
this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Answer:
A faulty fuel pressure regulator may be your problem.
This regulator leaks fuel into the engine when it is off
which causes an over rich condition when the engine is
started. This is the cause of the rotten egg smell.
Question: 1995 Nissan Sentra, miles:
78,000 I have a very strong fuel odor inside and outside
my car. So overpowering, that I have to drive with my
windows open. I took the car to a garage and they
examined all the gas lines for leaks and didn't find
anything. I have checked the garage floor for wet spots,
and have found none. Any clue would be helpful.
Answer: Have the garage
recheck your car fuel hoses and vapor recovery system
with the engine running. Have them pay close attention
to the fuel injectors, you may have injectors that are
leaking.
Question: 2000 Toyota Camry mileage:
88,000. Whenever I use the air conditioner unit there is
a mildew smell for the first 5 to 10 minutes of use. The
smell dissipates after that. Local car dealerships don't
know of any specific problems but have been spraying to
alleviate the smell. The spray wears off very quickly
usually within 30 minutes. What do you think is causing
this and how can I get it fixed?
Answer: You can help the
situation by turning off your air-conditioner but
leaving the fan on for about two minutes before you turn
the car off. This will dry out the moisture in the
evaporator that causes the smell. Also you can try a
mixture of water and bleach, spray it into the inlet of
the air conditioning system to eliminate the mildew.
Question: 1998 Plymouth Voyager
mileage: 75,000. I have an intermittent gas smell when I
have the heat on. It seems to be worse when the
re-circulation button is off. The dealer has checked the
problem three times with no resolution. Any thoughts?
Answer: We have found leaky
heater cores that give off an odor similar to gasoline.
Check your car to see if yours is leaking.
Question: 2002 Mercury Villager
mileage: 85,000. My Villager has a very strong fuel odor
in the passenger compartment. I located a Technical
Service Bulletin (TSB 97-26-16) for this problem. I
called a dealership and they would not give me any
details of the TSB except that I should bring it in for
them to fix. I don't need them to do it; I just want the
details so I can do it myself. Where can I find this
info, and do you know the cause. Once I have this, I can
move forward! Outside the car the odor only seems to be
in the engine compartment, not anywhere near the gas
tank. I have checked all over the engine compartment for
wet or oil spots, and have found none.
Answer: The bulletin you refer to
explains that there may be a missing sealer between the
fuel filler opening upper flange and the fuel filler
base assembly. The recommend fix is to reseal the gaps
in the fuel filler opening.
Question: 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71
mileage: 82,600. I have had the Tahoe for about 4 months
now. Everything has been fine up until a trip to the
lake towing our trailer. About an hour into the drive, a
smell came into the cab of the truck. (A mix of propane
and rotten eggs) It was actually quite strong and
persisted for the rest of the drive (1 hour) Since that
day the smell comes and goes. Sometimes when the truck
is cold and sometime after it has warmed up. I just had
it to the service guys to check it out. They said it may
be the catalytic converter but everything checked out
OK. They said that they smelled a "faint" odor and it
didn't last.
Answer: The smell is probably from
the catalytic converter. When you were towing the
trailer, you required more power out of your engine,
consequently more fuel through the converter. The
catalytic converter may have been overheated with the
extra weight of the trailer causing it to work at less
than 100 percent efficiency causing the odor.
Question:
2001 Jaguar S Type Sedan
mileage: 90,000. Lately I am smelling a strong
gasoline odor in and out of the car, I have checked for
leaks, I found none. Thank you
Answer: A gasoline odor in the rear of
the car by the gas tanks would indicate checking the
rubber fuel lines that are inside the spare tire wheel
well. They are located behind the cover.
Question:
1996 Plymouth Voyager mileage: 46,976. To
Whom it may concern, my car air-condition has a foul
smell. What could cause the car air conditioner to
smell? Please list the possible causes.
Thank you.
Answer:
The nature of an air-conditioner is that it generates
condensation “water” as it cools the air passing through
it. The dust in the air sticks to the water and
then when the car is shut off, the water and dust
stagnates. Consequentially, when the car is
started the next day and the blower is turned on, you
get a musty air smell. The older the car,
the more dirt build up and the stronger the smell.
Question:
1988 nissan sentra e16 mileage: 131,000. algunas
veces el vehiculo produce un olor a metal caliente, le
cambie el aceite al motor, tambien el refrigerante, en
mi pais El Salvador la temperatura varia entre 19
y 35 grados celsiu (centigrados). El medidor de
temperatura no marca calentamiento. Que puede ser?
A stab at translation:
Sometimes the car
produces a scent of hot metal, changed the motor oil,
also the coolant, the temperature varies between
19 and 35 degrees celsius. The temperature gauge
does not work. What can it be?
Answer in English:
Check the valve cover gasket, it may be leaking oil onto
the exhaust manifold.
A stab at Answer in Spanish:
Controle la junta de
la cubierta de la v�lvula, �l puede escaparse el aceite
sobre el m�ltiple del extractor.
Repair Topics / Smells-1 / Smells-2
Look up your smell question in our
Car Repair forum section.
Got a Car Repair Question?
We will answer it for FREE!
Related Subjects
GET AN ONLINE
CAR REPAIR MANUAL .
Get instant access to your vehicles drive belt routing, wiring
diagrams, trouble code information, updates and factory bulletins.
| 
