Being a safe driver, and keeping your car in the best condition possible means using all of your senses, including your nose. If you have noticed a bad smell coming from your car whenever you are driving it, it may be a problem that should be fixed immediately. The smell of burning, gasoline, and even rotten eggs, can all mean that different things may be happening in different spots of your car.
I found a list from ehow.com for what to look for if you start smelling any odors or fumes that occur while you are driving.
Check that you haven’t left your gas cap off. This can cause the faint smell of gas in the air. If the cap is securely on, it might point to a larger problem.
- Check your tailpipe for holes, cracks or broken pieces. This can filter exhaust in to you car from various crevasses. Because carbon monoxide is dangerous to inhale, you should get you car checked by a mechanic.
- Sniff around for the smell of rotten eggs, and we don’t mean your fridge. The rotten-egg smell comes from a clogged or plugged catalytic converter or a very rich fuel mixture. It can also cause poor gas mileage.
- Turn the engine off and inspect all rubber hoses and belts under hood if you smell burning rubber. The smell might be coming from a melting rubber hose resting on a hot exhaust manifold or a belt shredded by a jammed pulley.
- Check your oil frequently. An oil leak at the top of the engine (typically from the valve-cover gasket) can spill onto the exhaust manifold and burn, causing a foul smell and occasionally light smoke.
- Take your car into your mechanic. If a smell persists, and you can’t locate it, take your car into and auto-repair shop. While not all foul smells mean danger, they’re certainly not good news for your car.
Be sure that the odors you smell are coming from your vehicle while driving and not the bad exhaust from other cars exhaust fumes. If it is a consistent odor, be sure to bring it in to a mechanic as soon as possible. If you have any questions feel free to contact me and I’ll be glad to help.
thanks a lot for providing this information. thanks
Good advice! What happened to me is that the water in the engine was causing a bad smell. The smell came through the air vents and seeped into all the upholstery. My mechanic obviously took care of the bad water problem, but this still left me with a bad smell inside the car. I tried Febreeze and other similar products, but the smell was back in a few days. I told my friend about it and she mailed me a product called Auto Shocker. I was totally skeptical, but it totally works. The smell was gone and never came back. I just wanted everyone to know about this stuff in case you end up in the same situation as me.