Odd interior smell

I've been exposed to nitrogen, oxygen and water regularly for over 73 years and now you tell me that

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(acumi @ Jul 28 2007, 12:25 AM) [snapback]486596[/snapback]</div>

How can I avoid exposure to chemicals?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RedRockPrius @ Jul 28 2007, 11:13 AM) [snapback]486684[/snapback]</div>

I guess I'm also doomed. I always knew that N, O and H2O would catch up to me.

Are there a lot of Prius owners in St G? I'm flying down in September to look at building lots in the Entrada development at Snow Canyon

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Jul 30 2007, 08:18 AM) [snapback]487405[/snapback]</div>

Three that I know personally but it's not uncommon to see others in parking lots, especially at the college. There is a Toyota dealer in town with a couple knowledgeable salesmen and a decent service department.

Enjoy your visit here and good luck on your search for property. As you probably know, population growth here has been explosive the past several years. BTW, other posters might appreciate conducting personal discussion by e-mail rather than posting here. My e-mail address is shown.

 

I just purchased my 05 the other day. The interior smells like poop... I had the car detailed (interior) and bought 2 car fresheners and smell still lingers... It's like driving with a totten dead person inside... yuck !!!

 

Check your shoes.

 

I have this same problem with the smell. I almost do not like driving the car anymore because everywhere I go, even if a short ride, my hair and clothes smell like I have been in some sort of factory. I cannot describe the smell but I think it might be chemical,battery, plastic, something. Even when I drive with the windows down, this does not help. I have febreezed the bejesus out of my car to no avail. I have also changed air filters, washed the engine, sprayed the engine and battery with febreeze. It is a 2007 and has smelled for 2 years. What can I do to get rid of the smell?

 

My 2008 Prius smells!!! Nothing has been spilled in it and I can't stand to be in it. I love everything about the Prius... but the smell. It absorbs into your clothes/hair/skin within seconds. I ask people what it smells like because I can't pin-point it. They've said "burnt rubber" or "burning wires". After I changed the AC filter and put the stuff in the AC vents to kill bacteria and mold, it smelled like a cover-up for 2 days and then the smell was back. I brought it to the dealership and they did the same thing. I called Toyota corporate and they said they haven't had any complaints... but if you google "prius smell" you get tons of posts. We need to get to the bottom of this. I am scared for my 6mo-old to breathe this in. Any suggestions.

 

I'm curious. Do you ride around primarily with the windows down and no ac on?

 

If the odor has been there since the beginning it's probably the odor of warm circuit boards. Nothing but time will get rid of it.

If it started recently then it's fungus growing somewhere. If it's in the air conditioner evaporator it's the very devil to get it out. Have the dealer clear the AC condensate drain tube and then run the AC all the time, with the temperature set as high as you can stand it. The idea is to dry the thing out completely.

 

I have a putrid, chemically smell that actually makes me dizzy if I ride in the car too long with the windows up. I have hunted for the source for the last 3 months and notice the very distinct odor coming from the climate control vents. Pump up the fan, the smell becomes almost unbearable at times. The interesting thing is that it does not appear to be constant. There are times it is not nearly as strong as others. I have switched between outside air and recirculating air, but the smell remains. I actually though for a while that I might have a battery leak (the smell is not that of foam or seat coverings or plastic, its like nothing I have smelled before).
I am taking it in to Toyota for service and I am going to ask them to hunt it down (fingers crossed). I'll post the result if they find out what the cause is.

 

Have you removed the cabin air filter, to see if there's anything nasty on it?

In case you have not, it is located behind the glove box. Do a search if you need help on how to remove that filter.

 

AC needs regular maintenance and cleaning, the DIY AC cleaner kit could helps temporary.

 

Yes we have 5 prius in the fleet, and it's the package 6 model...
It may be the leather...
The lights like to burn out on occasion...

 

:grouphug: I'm SO HAPPY to have found you people with sensitive olfactory systems (noses,) like mine! I was told by the dealer that my '09 would "air out" in a few days by leaving the windows open, but it's been a year and that chemical smell is still there! It does smell like new foam, (I used to have a new foam mattress for my bed and it took about a year to off-gas.) I've not stuck my face down by the battery vent, but I don't doubt that could be contributing to the problem.

This really is an issue for me -- will be selling my Prius because of it. :hurt: I'm going to Toyota.com and write an email about it... it's just not right that the "most environmentally-friendly" car in the world isn't user-friendly! Please consider contacting them, too. Seems like they're in the problem-solving mode with all these recalls going on... maybe if enough of us write, they'll listen! :ear:

:hippie: Peace, Prius Peeps! eace:

 

I, too, have the stinky upholstery problem. Toyota corporate knows about it, but they "don't warranty smell". I am contemplating selling it. An engineer I spoke with at Toyota corporate said that it was probably a flame retardant chemical. I heard somewhere along the way that they have different companies make their seats, which would explain why some people's upholstery stinks while others' don't. They said it is worse in wet climates and that people in hot dry areas don't seem to have this problem. Curiously, I haven't yet heard of a 2010 model with this problem. I guess it magically went away

I have owned my car for three years. The other day after riding in my car for about a half hour I discovered that the skin on my hand smells like my car. I just don't think that's good. I have put plastic trash bags on the seats, and they really help prevent my clothes from stinking when I take small drives. I describe the smell as some sort of cross between band-aids and cow manure: A sweet, chemical stink. I don't leave anything in my car (e.g. a box of tissues, clothing) because it will wind up smelling terrible-- even if it is in a box, not touching the seats. The smell washes out of clothes, but doesn't seem to wash out of the seats.
I am very frustrated and, as much as I adore this car, I swear I will never buy a Toyota again.

 

Yes I have a 2009 Prius and have been dealing with Toyota to try to resolve the problem. It started about a year after I got the car. They tell me it is the leather seats, but it is a rubbery plastic, stale smell and it gets in my clothes and on me. So far I have had the air fiter replaced several times and have run fresh air as well, but the smell continues to get worse. I am patiently trying to get it resolved.

 

I have an '05. For the past two years, my wife, who has a much more sensitive sense of smell than me, has commented nearly every time I get home that I smell like a cow pasture. I didn't really notice the smell until recently, and it is stronger in the back of the car than in the front. Our friends have an '07 and they have the same smell. Neither car has leather.

Another friend was afraid to buy a Prius because he had heard about this problem and he is praying that the '10 model he just bought does not develop this smell later.

An earlier post associated the smell with climate, but I live in the desert and it's clearly a problem here. I will be asking the dealer to help with this at my next maintenance appointment.

BTW, we have not noticed this smell in our Lexus hybrid.

 

Everyone, please see replies #8 and #9 in the following thread.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...car-has-new-car-smell-again-after-2years.html

Make sure you look at the link posted in reply #8 to Hobbits work.

PS. Sorry for shouting but this problem has been solved for a while now but very few people seem to know about it.

 

Or go here:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...oubleshooting/81094-battery-smell-solved.html
Good luck!

 

I wonder if the battery odor is causing any sort of long term medial issues for anyone... guess we wont know for awhile right?