If you run your A/C at the maximum, recirculate is ALWAYS selected. This can lead to really smelly conditions in the a/c /heater box.
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This is the most frustrating thing Iāve ever come across. I have changed filters religiously and nothing changes the smell after driving the vehicle. I am at a total loss of what this could be. Sometimes when Iām driving, Iāll park the car and roll down the drivers side window and get a strong similar smell coming from the outside. After changing filters, cleaning fabric and being on top of all maintenance, including tire maintenance, I canāt figure out what this is and why all owners of this particular model Honda are not experiencing this issue. The really scary part is that we donāt know how harmful to our health this smell could actually be. Just to let anyone know about the smell in the car. This does not occur just when the car is running and being driven. I thought that was the issue as well, so I did a smell test; I took a regular bedsheet and put it in my car over night and into the mid morningā¦ by the afternoon, I went outside and removed the sheet. It stunk like our clothes do after driving. The smell is so intense, that it has now clung to the entire interior of the vehicle and no amount of fabric refreshers will eliminate it
I forgot about the recirculation thing. I guess we should ensure recirc is off when spraying the cleaner through the outside vent. Maybe even removing the cabin vent and spraying directly into the housing while the fan is running would work too. Do you know where the air is drawn from during recirculation?
Thanks for the input.
Iām not sure if anywhere above in the thread you already told if you purchased the car new or pre-owned.
If pre-owned, are you sure it was not in the flood or similar āmajorā event?
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Did you try having it detailed? Call detailers in the area and see if they have encountered this problem. The rent might be too high in EC, but Columbia, Catonsville, Laurel, Beltsville, Baltimore, there should be plenty of shops to choose from. They may have websites and you can trade emails with them. From your previous posts, itās seems like you havenāt tried this route before.
Having the car completely detailed was like the FIRST thing I did, along with changing the filters. I purchased the car brand new and no sooner was it purchased, about 2-3000 miles in, the smell started getting more intense. The weird part about all of this is, when you actually step inside the vehicle, it still has a new car smell! Hard to believe but true; even 30,000 miles later. But as soon as you run the car and sit in there and drive - good luck. Your clothes will smell and so does anything you keep inside the car while itās not running
I have had a 2011 and 2019 CRV. Both had leather seats.
Neither had this odor problem.
I have been following along with great interest in this situation. However, the above statement seems to contradict what you said earlier:
Can you explain this further? Might help to understand the true source of the smell and how best to minimize or eliminate it.
Does it smell like burning rubber as was mentioned previously or what is your perception of it?
Sorry about thatā¦ when the car is still and not running, you can get in and detect a newer car smell. because in reality, the car is still ānewā with not many miles. For a 2015, it only has 30k miles.
Honestly though, even if you sit in the car with it not running, your clothes will still have a burning rubber/fuel like smell to them after you get out despite the car having that new car smell when you get it for that minute or two. Itās hard to describe, I apologize. I know it kinda contradicts what Iām saying but thatās just what happens. I guess you can say the new car smell is still somewhat there and somewhat āmaskingā the other smell, but ultimately that other funk overpowers it. Like I said, this rubber/fuel smell that is left on your clothes after driving or even sitting in your car with the engine off has been happening really since the car was purchased. My other crv didnāt have this issue until the summer time. I originally purchased it in the late fall. The newer crv (2015) was purchased in May
Does it get worse after sitting in the sun on a hot day? I wonder if you are especially sensitive to outgassing from the plastic parts that get hot in the sun.
Absolutely. Itās the worst during hot months. I think thatās the reason I didnāt notice it back in 06 when I purchased my 07 Honda CRV. I got it in late October and it was nice outside and the smell didnāt start until April/May. The 2015 crv was purchased in May so the smell was almost right away
You might try stuffing a couple clean pillow cases under the seats overnight and see if they smell the next morning. I still wonder if the foam rubber under the upholstery is deteriorating. Seat covers wonāt help.this situation.
I really donāt see the cabin filter doing much but they should be changed anyway. After all this though, seems like one of the first things would be trying to find out where the smell is really coming from. Nose to the seats, and uncover maybe the back seat to actually smell the foam and the cover separately. Should be fairly obvious. Identification of the problem is 90% of the solution and all.
As far as Febreeze goes, forget it. Spraying that stuff around isnāt going to do anything. When my wife broke her leg I bought a used wheel chair from a guy. Only problem was it had been in his basement and had a musty smell. Febreeze was worthless. Nothing I did though got rid of the smell that was embedded in the foam.
We bought it new and the the smell started a few months ago. Itās a 2017. The good news is that the new filter, duct cleaner, and Fabreeze seem to have helped. Iāll give it a few more days before I declare a verdict.
Check your PCV valve and connections.
It_s_Me,
What and where are the PCV and connections located.
Kelly
You could try something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Car-Air-Purifier-Ionizer-Anti-Microbial/dp/B082XL43LJ/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=12v+uv+light+sanitizer+for+car&qid=1596690859&sr=8-3
Iām not sure how powerful this device is, but I would want to be nowhere close to where ozone is getting actively generated.
I had an experience working in a room where āionizerā type of air āpurifierā was working and by the end of the day my eyes would be burning and I would have headaches (which is extremely rare for me). Switching to the āclassicā (paper filter) type of purification system immediately made a difference. Now Iām using that ionizer āpurifierā to burn the smell out from the cars, which is rare as Iām not buying them every day, but works 100% effective.
I canāt find the article now, something about a bad hose or seal was letting vapors/fumes escape and being pulled in through the HVAC system.
Call a car detailer and see if they have a process to reduce the smell. Call several and see if you get different responses. If you want to try it yourself, clean all hard surfaces well and thoroughly vacuum the soft surfaces (seats, carpets). Put coffee grounds or charcoal in a small bucket (uncovered) and see if the smell dissipates over a week. You may need to shampoo the seats and carpets. Itās a lot of work and thatās why I suggested a car detailer. They probably get this request a lot.
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