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Unpleasant 2007 Prius New Car Smell

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by pn2543, Mar 7, 2007.

  1. andreaswin

    andreaswin New Member

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    different people , different taste...


    I just looooooooooooooooove the smell inside of a new car.. fresh ,unused , unspoiled, not abused..my virgin-car .my precoius ... uhh an its my new car aiaia...... :wub:

    hmm maybe that smell contains drugs because that was how i felt the first week with my prius. :D


    if You have those rubber floormats You fill get again each autum/winter .....


    cheers :)
     
  2. tnymntna

    tnymntna New Member

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    I personally LOVE the smell of my new 07 Prius. Sorry not all agree!
     
  3. Stepho84

    Stepho84 New Member

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    Ha! I'm young, and this is my first brand new car EVER. I inhaled the aroma of the new car smell because it's something I never got to experience on my own. My big brother just received his new Corvette from his months of ordering. It's smell is far more chemical than the Prius smell.

    I just added a sweet air freshener to the vent (with a clip), and it's all gravy.
     
  4. priusmaybe

    priusmaybe New Member

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    It is not about "liking" new car smell.

    It is about the chemicals killing you and making you very sick.

    I would think a "green" car that has been around for a while, would have addressed this issue. Could they not outgas the parts, before the car is put together?

    I have heard of "carpet" being unrolled outdoors or in a warehouse to outgas for a week or so.

    I would pay extra for an "natural" or outgassed version.
     
  5. tranders

    tranders Junior Member

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    The Prius smell is not new car smell. New car smell does not cause naseau and vomiting. As well, the smell I am familiar with is NOTHING like new car smell, which I generally don't mind at all.

    I also say this because...I have what I would describe as the same smell in my '05 that I purchased used a few weeks ago. Haven't found a thread on the used car smell but will keep looking. Also haven't gone through the ventilation system yet, so will do that. This smell gets in my clothes and I carry it with me all day. Quite disturbing. I would think this '05 would have been outgassed a long time ago, if that is truly the problem. I park in the sun all day here in AZ, so I will crack my windows next time as that was suggested earlier. However, the smell radiates from the car when parked in the garage too...or maybe that's just my shirt.

    My dealer sent his 'used car odor guy' over to set off a bomb in my car. My car now smells slightly better than a fairly clean gas station rest room...mixed with the old chemical smell...as do my clothes. The 'odor guy', who services various dealerships throughout the valley, said that all Prius's he comes across have a distinct odor. And that he could only cover it for a few weeks and that I would be used to it in a few weeks. Does one ever get used to acquiring cancer? (shouldn't make assumptions, but it is difficult not to think about it in those terms)
     
  6. IsrAmeriPrius

    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tranders @ Jun 30 2007, 12:04 PM) [snapback]470674[/snapback]</div>
    My 05 smells just like any car I previously owned. Do you have any idea what the previous owner did to it? Have you checked the cabin air filter?
     
  7. Pegasus_

    Pegasus_ New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pn2543 @ Mar 7 2007, 01:14 PM) [snapback]401770[/snapback]</div>
    I also had this problem with my new '07 with tan fabric interior. Before finding this thread, I left the windows open about 1" for a day in the hot Texas sun, which seems to have lessened the problem. (I generally leave the windows open this much any time I park and I know it isn't going to rain, to avoid heat buildup in the car.)
    I sprayed Scotch-Gard all over my interior today and noticed that as it dried, it smelled similar to the original toxic stink, so maybe they apply that to vehicles at the factory?

    And for the record, I usually like new car smell. That's usually made up of new leather and carpet. New plastic of almost any type stinks.
     
  8. txrover

    txrover New Member

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    I’ve smelled the batteries when going down a mountain pass and they are getting a big charge, and at other times when I think the reason is a fast drain due to climbing etc.

    I recognize the battery smell from working with UPS units (uninterruptible power supplies) it is definitely different from the new car smell and may be what some are smelling, the "chemical" smell.

    Didn’t the older Prius models have the battery intake vents outside the car? The 2007 (and probably some earlier models) have the intake inside the cabin next to the back seat which doesn’t seem like a good way to do it. It seems if you use re-circulate on your AC or heat there will not be a flow through so the battery fumes can come into the cabin, I’ve even smelled them with the windows open when coming down a mountain pass.
     
  9. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(txrover @ Jul 1 2007, 10:30 AM) [snapback]471009[/snapback]</div>
    Starting with the '04 the battery system cooling air *intake* is next to the rear seat. This is to ensure that the battery system gets cooler air than may exist outside the car (so remember to run your A/C in hot weather so that the battery system will not get warmer than it wants to be). It always *exhausts* the used cooling air outside, regardless of the A/C recirc setting, so most of the electronics outgassing goes outside. There's enough air leakage and deliberate recirc bypass to allow the battery system to always pull enough fresh air from the outside through the cabin.

    Of course if there is too much stink in the cabin one can always manually set the A/C on fresh and set the fan to run faster.
     
  10. arizona mom

    arizona mom New Member

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    Just got a new Prius 7 days ago, but hardly drive it because of the smell. My lungs are pretty sensitive to things, so this is not going well. It's been sitting in the garage with the windows down and getting better, but in this weather I can't drive around with the windows down. When I do drive it, I drive about 20 miles at a stretch, but I feel it when I get home. I really hope I'm not doing damage. Any one out there with sensitivities like me find that the problem went totally away?
     
  11. sorka

    sorka Active Member

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    Makes me wonder if the skyrocketing cases of pancreatic cancer in the last 4 years is from the Prius? I know that sounds paranoid, but pancreatic cancer is rising so fast that the medical community is stumped and has no idea why. I'll bet that it's eventually traced to an environmental toxin in a specific consumer product.
     
  12. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    So not only did the Prius "cause" the "moonscape" around Sudbury, Ontario, it now causes pancreatic cancer?? Any links you care to share??

    I was under the impression that heavy smoking, heavy drinking, and genetic are all normal risk factors. I was also under the impression that exposure to volatile hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, turpentines, gasoline compounds BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, ethylbenzene, and Xylene), certain fertilizers, and certain pesticides

    For example, consider a pulp and paper town located on a lake or river, as almost all are. Historically, the logs were floated down the lake/river to the mill, resulting in perhaps upwards of 10% of logs becoming "deadheads" and sinking.

    In the fresh water lake, under pressure, the logs will decomp to produce turpentine. In some pulp and paper towns, there are pancreatic disease/cancer "hotspots" due to lifetime minute quantity of turpentine ingestion

    BREDL Clean Air Campaign

    Every modern vehicle has many VOC's. Do they contribute to cancer? Perhaps
     
  13. thepolarcrew

    thepolarcrew Senior Member

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    The wife is sensitive to certain chems and noticed an odor to-day other than the new car smell. Let's see, kids haven't eaten in it yet, not that. Will have to check it out when she gets home. We do keep it indoors though. might have to crack the windows and leave it outside!

    Formaldehyde! Nice to know about the turpentine.
     
  14. kahlerjr

    kahlerjr Junior Member

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    I have the same smell from my 08 Prius with 46k on it. We leave it parked in the garage with the windows up for a week at a time. We use the vehicle as a second vehicle. The aroma comes from the battery vent on the back seat. I took the vehicle to the dealer and they said it is becasue it was setting closed up for extended periods and that the gas smell is not bad for you. This does not sound rigt to me anyone have the same problem or a fix for this?
     
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Leave one window slightly open while it is parked, or drive it more often.