# Smell of ammonia

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/smell-of-ammonia/53232>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** exhaustsystems, smells, kia, sorento\
**Created:** [August 9, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smell-of-ammonia/53232 "2010-08-09T13:48:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jmcromer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jmcromer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jmcromer)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smell-of-ammonia/53232/1 "2010-08-09T13:48:29Z")

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I drive a new Kia Sorento 2011. I notice a strong ammonia smell toward the rear of the car after driving. I particularly notice it when I park in the garage (closed space). Not as noticeable other times. Should I be concerned? Any ideas about what or why this is?

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**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smell-of-ammonia/53232/2 "2010-08-09T14:36:54Z")

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Amonia or sulfur? Catalytic converters sometimes produce a sulfur odor, but I’m not aware of anything on the vehicle that would produce an amonia odor.

Exactly how new is the car? Days, weeks, or months?

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**Author:** ![jmcromer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jmcromer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jmcromer)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smell-of-ammonia/53232/3 "2010-08-09T14:50:49Z")

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One month old. Positive on smell… its not sulfur.

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**Author:** ![missileman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/missileman/32/1366_2.png) [@missileman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/missileman)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smell-of-ammonia/53232/4 "2010-08-09T15:31:41Z")

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Since it’s a new car it may be “outgassing” or “offgassing” of the interior. You may need to drive around a couple of days with the windows down to help clear the smell. Some people are very sensitive to the smell and others not so much. The smell usually reminds me of ammonia or acetone (nail polish remover).

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smell-of-ammonia/53232/5 "2010-08-09T15:33:28Z")

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Interesting. Sometimes you can get an ammonia smell from the AC is the drain is clogged. I doubt if that is it, but you could try buying a can of Lysol, turn the AC fan on high and don’t have it set to recirculate. Spray the Lysol in the vents in front of the windscreen. You might also take a look under that vent area and see if you see some leaves etc in there. If so clean it out.

Good Luck

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**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smell-of-ammonia/53232/6 "2010-08-09T18:13:27Z")

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Could the neighbors cat be pee’ing on your rear tires?