Funny Smell in the car / AC

[TheChosenOne]

Hi Everyone ,

 

I have had my 350z for some time now but recently i noticed a strong musty / fumes kind of smell when im driving

 

The smell is stronger when your foot is to the floor and is a sort of musty burning fuel smell however just pottering around i get a wiff now and again and always get the sense the air isn't fresh.

 

Strangely i think it is stronger when the ac is on both in recirc and fresh air mode , Im sure i can feel it on my skin and hair after driving but asking others in the car only one said they could tell after an hours drive.

 

I had Nissan look at the exhaust for leaks when in for a service and they found none but im not sure they actually looked as i asking about it when i collected the car seemed to confuse them.

 

However i have also had a look myself from a friends pit and couldn't find anything , there was a bit of a smell / hot air coming from the engine bay so im worried there may be a leak at the manifold.

 

Can anyone offer advice on what you would do , what i could do , what it could be ect ? Im not sure what to do as i cannot afford Nissan prices to check the manifold and may not even be the cause , and could do with pinpointing the problem once and for all as some think i am imagining it and just as i start to believe them it gets bad again.

 

I would have said it was a definite exhaust leak but cant hear a leak and thought the thing with the air con seemed strange.

 

Thanks in advance

[rtbiscuit]

air con clean might fix your issues, there are a variety on ebay, but basicsally its a aerasol that you let off like a bomb in the car, with the windows shut and aircon on full. it sucks it all up. kills the bacteria, and gets rid of the smell.

[Pnthrblkzs]

I used one of those in my old car, i got it from a trader on the BMW forum i used to use, it was a Davidoff Cool Water scent. It worked a treat.

 

If i was to use one again, especially in the Zed with not much room, i would remove the passenger seat so the spray vent's into the atmosphere better, in my old car most of the bomb ended up spraying straight onto dashboard.

 

I've also heard running the aircon on full fan and heat for a while on re-circulation may help to kill some of the smelly bacteria in the system, i've never tried it though.

 

I probably need one for the scent, my A/C smells slightly.

[Madhatter]

I'm planning on doing this over the Xmas period....

 

I've got 2 of those polythene seat covers to cover over the seats and going to tape up the dash as best as I can before setting it off.

 

Apparently a few people have found these "sprays" to get on dash and leave white marks (which don't come off) and/or darken dash panels - so I'm nervous! lol

 

AutoGlym do one but it's quite expensive, though I'm planning on using the comma one - it's had good reviews across various site.

 

Quick link to help:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aircon-Cleaner-anti-bacteria-freshner-easy-Air-Con-Bomb-/170387207563?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Car_Care_Cleaning&hash=item27abde758b

Edited November 20, 2012 by Madhatter

[TheChosenOne]

Thanks all il order one of those and hopefully it is the air con causing it rather than the exhaust

[was8v]

Mine was a bit musty so I set the passenger seat forwards and set a carplan aircon aerosol in the foot well.

 

It went everywhere but the mustiness was gone!

 

Not noticed any stains or discolouration of of the seat, carpet or plastics.

[Pnthrblkzs]

Just found this deal with ATS Euromaster if you have one locally....

 

http://www.atseuromaster.co.uk/discount-vouchers.htm

 

£35 for an air con recharge and anti bac treatment.

 

Not that i'm a fan of ATS, Quik Fit and the like nor would i recommend them to carry out any work on my cars but you never know.

[ThriftyFifty]

My air con smells like weed ever since Abbey did my P2 service... no idea how/why.

 

Day of service pulled up to pick a friend up... and could smell it coming off my car from inside. Had to assure him I'd been doing nothing of the sort!

[Pnthrblkzs]

Thats a pretty common dodgy aircon smell tbh, the aircon in the carphone warehouse my sister works in smells like weed too.

[Dblock]

Sometimes just running the aircon for a bit gets rid of the smell or running it whilst on hot.

 

Someone told me spraying dettol at the footwell will do the trick but I doubt it

[RobPhoboS]

One of the cars I looked at had that weird smell as well. I noticed the chap put the aircon on at full blast initially, which I thought was to hide some noises but I realised it was just to try and clear the pong.

TBH I thought his dog has pee'd in the car

 

 

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=220255

Edited November 21, 2012 by RobPhoboS

[samsniss350z]

This might sound a bit daft but the problem might be coming from a failure in the heater core/matrix behind the dashboard, which would explain the fusty mildew smell, Check to see if the coolant level has dropped before you begin to take apart the dash though.

[4RE Leather]

Could it be the cat by any chance?