Horrid smells in cars

[Easy_Targa]

A friend has a nearly new Passat which has suddenly begaun to smell absolutely foul. Not just when hot either, although worse as time goes on. Really is like something died somewhere, not oily or synthetic in any way.
Anyone had any similar experiences or got any ideas with quick fixes?

[The Wookie]

Any car I spend a significant amount of time in seems to end up smelling of fart.

[dave9]

yeah with a vag it will be his clutch that will stink for days. he will have been ragging it or have been stuck in snow so wheelspinning etc. fancy type of clutch apparently - really does stink.

[Defcon5]

Aircon system maybe? Replace the pollen filter and get one of those aircon cleaner spray things

[dave9]

its the clutch i'm 99% sure especially as it's quite new. trust me! will take a couple of weeks to go.

[Zip106]

I find removing the wife from the car cures any smells.

[Papa Hotel]

Is it the aircon?

Hot and cold cycles make bacteria and fungus grow, they cause a bad smell. You can get a can of some stuff from Halfords that'll kill the smell, actually works really well. Can't remember the name though.

Reference: had stinking aircon in a previous automobile.

[The Nur]

What have they done to resolve this so far?

My first thought is that there is something dead in the engine bay or some such nastiness and the smell is being drawn in through heater matrix maybe? Stranger things have happened...

[Steamer]

dog poo on the pedals... especially if they have deep treaded rubbers too - amplified by the heater

However it was rather funny when a friend unknowingly did the same thing recently:

"I know my car is due a service soon and the pollen filters need changing, but have you noticed it smells like poo every time I change gear?!"

[stuttgartmetal]

Spilt milk is by far the worst.
Lasts months.

[toasty]

Haddock behind the radiator?

[The Wookie]

dave9 said:

yeah with a vag it will be his clutch that will stink for days. he will have been ragging it or have been stuck in snow so wheelspinning etc. fancy type of clutch apparently - really does stink.

Nothing worse than a smelly vag... Moving swiftly on, in all seriousness has he checked under the mats, seats, etc thoroughly for any food that a previous owner has left?

I had a dodgy smell in my Focus for a while which I couldn't source until I braked sharply heading up to a roundabout and something rolled up to the back of my feet. I reached down and picked it up to find my fingers delving into an extremely second hand looking apple that had been under the seat for some time.

Thankfully the window was open, as my automatic reaction was to squeal like a girl and twitch my arm to throw it out

[Easy_Targa]

I think Dave9 may be on to something. I mentioned the clutch burning scenario and she recalled that the small did start soon after she was stuck slowly slipping and wheel spinning up a hill during the first lot of snow in December. Only strange that the VW garage spent time looking inside the exhaust for roast mouse, when they should have recognised it for what it was.

[bababa]

I had a Saab NG900 which got very damp inside and began to stink of a really unpleasant fishy smell. Turned out to be the glue used on the OEM floor mats was made from some kind of fish derivative and they literally began to rot with the damp.

Threw the mats away and the smell was 100% gone...!

[supranick]

An easy one to check is the washer bottle, mine got contaminated and had a horrible eggy smell, after flushing it out all was fine.

[J-Tuner]

An entire massive glass jar of pickled eggs and fluid smashing in the boot created an impressive blend of tangy and rotten egg funk..

Solution : gut the interior and get the karcher on it !! Was still wrong after so dumped febreeze on it - was ok after a couple of months

[exitwound]

Years ago one of my cats had a thing about peeing into machinery.

Not so unusual I'm reliably informed. She would sit on the bonnet of parked cars and pee into the vent below the windscreen including mine. You didn't notice it until you turn on the blower. How she remained alive I'll never know as there are quite a few armed residents hereabouts!

She even did this over my toaster.. Didn't notice until I popped the bread in and locked it down..

[J-Tuner]

exitwound said:

Years ago one of my cats had a thing about peeing into machinery.

Not so unusual I'm reliably informed. She would sit on the bonnet of parked cars and pee into the vent below the windscreen including mine. You didn't notice it until you turn on the blower. How she remained alive I'll never know as there are quite a few armed residents hereabouts!

She even did this over my toaster.. Didn't notice until I popped the bread in and locked it down..

Any kettles involved ?

[exitwound]

Meant to say.. If you want to get rid of a bad smell from that car, place a tray of charcoal (not bbq stuff) on the back seat and after a few days it will have absorbed the pong. Works also with bicarb to a lesser extent.

Juan Hu Nose

[exitwound]

J-Tuner said:

exitwound said:

Years ago one of my cats had a thing about peeing into machinery.

Not so unusual I'm reliably informed. She would sit on the bonnet of parked cars and pee into the vent below the windscreen including mine. You didn't notice it until you turn on the blower. How she remained alive I'll never know as there are quite a few armed residents hereabouts!

She even did this over my toaster.. Didn't notice until I popped the bread in and locked it down..

Any kettles involved ?

No. She would be out all night and would sit on cars awaiting me opening the door to get back in. Her back and tail would be filthy after spending the night agin some exhaust pipe for warmth!