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.