I've had my Prius v (lowercase v) for about 6 months now and just took it in for its 5000 mi service. There were no problems but shortly after I got it back I started noticing a really bad odor coming from somewhere in the car. Its not a moldy or mildew smell that's coming from the HVAC. I sniffed all the mats and it's not that either. From what I can tell, the smell seems to be coming from the plastics on the dashboard area, but it's really hard to tell for sure. I tried covering it up with febreeze, but the odor is too strong. It's not the smell of a rotting animal either. Again, not from the seats, floormats, or AC system. Seems to be coming from the dashboard and/or center console area where all the buttons are. I have a baby and a carseat, but I don't feed the baby in the car, and after sniffing the carseat and rear seat area, I can confirm the smell isn't coming from there. Anyone else have this problem? What were your solutions? I'm about to take a multi-day cross-country road trip in my Prius v and would love to fix the source of the smell before I go. It's not that noticeable with the windows rolled down, but when you sit in the car for the first time in the morning, the smell is definitely noticeable, and it's not good. Your help is appreciated!
Check the cabin filter under the bottom glove box. It might be animal intrusion, which is common with a large number of Prius models.
Mike is absolutely correct and even if you are the only Prius that mice have not yet visited, the filter can be a source of odor...get em cheap on Amazon PS: I have never liked to use Fabreeze but it has its uses I suppose. Arm and Hammer baking soda is one possibility...just have box in there to adsorb odors (not spread it around).
I think the odor is coming from the detailing junk that the dealership puts on your dash to make it look shiny. The person applying it used a wet old sour rag to apply the material. Had that happen to me a few times even though I specifically tell them to NOT detail the car. I had to use a clean wet towel and to wipe the junk off.
This is almost exactly the same experience we just had. Took the car in for 5000 service and since then we have a strong odor present. It is a strong "fishy" odor. I took everything out of the cars, checked under the seat, glove box, even checked the cabin filter nothing. But then I literally put my nose on the floor and finally determined it is coming from the carpet on the passenger front. It seems to be centralized in one spot. We just bought carpet cleaner and I plan to tackle this tomorrow. I'll post results.
I took a bag of trash to the dump. The bag contained apple peelings that had been sitting in the bag for about a week. The bag contained apple juice from the peelings which leaked out of the bag and into the rear storage compartments and spare tire well. Only a thorough cleaning of those areas and about a month of running the fans on high got rid of the smell. These smells can come from anywhere.
Yes I totally understand what you are saying but in this case there were no bags leaking into the car. The smell was under the floor mat. I tried carpet cleaner and it is somewhat better but not completely gone. I just cannot figure out what is causing the smell.
Some people have luck with an enzyme cleaner that you can get at a pet store. It's used to neutralize urine odors.
