Odd interior smell

I have weird smell syndrome, but it doesn't bother me. Baffles, but not bothers. I don't know what my hybrid battery smells like, I've never sat with my nose in the vent, BUT....I have had the battery vent (dealer repair mistake) to the passenger cabin, which might explain some of the funny smell in my Prius. Cleaning and replacing the cabin air filter has not made any difference for Eu de Prius. She's had a few thorough carpet steam cleans, and once the fresh clean smell disappears, the baffling odor returns.

The only reason why it baffles me is because of the type of odor. Sometimes it smells like two separate odors, and lets just say one of those odors that would normally produce that particular odor has never been in my car. The other odor is poopy cheerios, and I know there are no diapers in my car. As for the baffling odor, maybe the Prius is off doing things I don't know about when I'm not around.

I've also had oxygen generating equipment in the car, and she didn't explode like the home medical delivery guy said she would. But then again, lots of people I meet are convinced that Prii are prone to exploding.

 

The smell is not coming from your car, so don't worry, it's just you.

 

Go to the passenger side of the car. Open the back door. See the black vent thing? Put your nose there... If the smell is comming from there, it is from the battery... Kinda a cow pasture smell after a good rain... My dealer kept saying they couldn't small anything until I took them to the vent... Then suddenly they said that all priuses smell like that... Nothing like a straight answer to get out of a warrantee fix?

 

I have noticed this smell in the first generation prius (2005) and now in the 2010 3rd generation prius. It is like a mild electrical chemical smell, the type you might get when a small battery (AA size) heats up and you smell it. People have commented it may be the sulphur from lead acid battery, but the batteries used here are Nickel Metal Hydride right? Do they even have any acid in them?

And if it is acid, that means we are inhaling acidic fumes? Surely that's terrible firstly to ones teeth?