Test drove and the car smells really bad

We bought our Prius New in Oct. 2005. It only had 7 miles on it. I didn't notice any unusual smell. It had the New car smell. Nothing different. I could understand if there was a New glue smell or something like that. But I wouldn't think it would be that strong of a smell. Or that it would last that long. With 1000 miles, more or less I would think the New glue smell or any other unusual smells would dissipate after that amount of time. We currently have about 1800 miles on our Prius and we can still smell the New car smell and that is about it. I would be concerned if there are any unusual smells. I would do what you have suggested and try others out.

 

I posted about this a while ago, and nobody really responded:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=13156
You are most likely smelling the hybrid battery. My car wasn't
100% new when I got it but still had new-car smell [possibly some
from whatever the dealers did to clean up inside a little, but I
*insisted* that they go nowhere near it with that armor-all goop!]
and that smell gradually segued into a slightly sharper, more
plastic-y or chemical smell and finally I realized that yes, it
is indeed strongest back around the battery vent. I still smell it
and it's strongest just after cranking a lot of current in or out
of the battery. Consensus over in the techie group was that it's
possibly the plastic cell housings getting warm and outgassing a
little, as opposed to leaking electrolyte ... but I think one spring
project this year will be to open up the pack enough to look for
corrosion and clean things up if needed.
.
So if those noticing these smells could crawl around the car a bit
and sniff and try to localize it, that would lead to a good FAQ
entry if it all eventually points to [hopefully harmless] battery
odor [aka B.O., so whoever suggested that was, um, almost right]
.
_H*

 

Our 06 also has an order both inside and out. Our 04 RX330 that we bought new did not have the ouside order like what we're experiencing on our Prius. The outside order is definately NOT your typical new car odor, but still "plastic" smelling.

 

How about Bigtal has a more sensitive nose and cannot take it...so he/she should not buy it.

Other than the "new" car smell I would expect (and it is either gone or I have become used to it) the car is like any other new car.

Big, did you really expect us to know what you smelled. Smell is very subjective (as in my f*rts never stink)

 

Bigtal, takes hobbit's hint: sniff the traction battery vent on the right side of the passenger seat. If the smell is worst there then I would suspect an electrical problem, which the dealer ought to be able to find and fix. The odor of new electrical components should have largely dissipated before 1500 miles.

 

Wow. There is nobody more sensitive to objectionable smells than me, and I have noticed nothing in my 2004 Prius, even with the battery cooling fan running. I have yet to sit a 2006, though.

Nate

 

I picked up my 06 last weekend and the plastic/chemical smell is especially strong when the car has been sitting in the sun for a while. I think it's probably a combination of mysterious coatings, upholstery protectant, new plastic, etc.

My husband's xB is over a year old and still smells faintly of new car, but it never smelled as chemical as the Prius does.

 

Maybe this is a clue.

 

I'm thinking it's the "fabric protection package" or something the dealer is doing.

Nate