Sourcing for odor from your car can get tricky. And there are numerous sources of smell. We will address almost all of them, ranging from spills to mechanical issues and you will also learn how to get rid of any car odor. The problem is often finding where the odor comes from.

Car odors that come from within the cabin

If you have small children, then basically anything can be a problem. A stuck piece of food that has been rotting out of sight for a while, various liquids (milk being one of the worst) and much more that small children can cause.

If the source is one if these and it is in plain sight, or traceable by eye (nose), it shouldn’t be much of a problem. But if you can’t find it, here are some hidden places where the source of your car odor might lie.

Floor and floor mats

If you find anything on the floor and under the seats, check if that is the source of the smell. Also, make sure you check if the floor or the segment under the floor mats are wet. For example, if the floor under the seats is wet, it is very likely that you will not notice it. This is why you should touch all those parts with a paper towel and thus see if they are wet. Moreover, the source of the liquid might not be just a spill, but a water ingress from the outside which should be addressed immediately.

Seats

There are several areas around the seats where a source of odor could be. Aside from the spills, bad odor can come from sections that are not visible, such as the space between the split rear seats, or under the seat cushions.

Moreover, if a seat is dirty, even a clean water spill can cause bad smell.

Storage

Who knows what you can find is the numerous storage spaces, such as door compartments and central consoles. Every now and then, empty all of them out and clean them.

Boot

The biggest of the storage spaces can hide loads of issues. If the smell does come from there, but you can’t locate it, it might be from the spare tyre well.

Car odor caused by mechanical problems with your car

If you smell fuel, there’s a leak that you should deal with immediately. Aside from the bad smell and the fact that you are pouring expensive fuel around, this might also be dangerous.

Sulfur smell, such as rotten eggs, usually indicates a problem with the catalytic converter.

Sweetish smell similar to maple syrup indicates a coolant leak and can mean that there is a problem within the cooling system.

Stale smell from the vents can mean that your aircon system needs cleaning. There are several things you can do to fix this and every service that deals with air conditioning systems can clean it very quickly and inexpensively. You should definitely do this, since bad smell from air conditioning system can indicate that it is backed with bacteria which can be detrimental to your health.