My car has a distinct smell, it's almost like a new smell but it stick to your clothes and everything in the car. It kinda smell's rubbery a bit. And I think it might be coming from the trunk. I have smelled a few Priuses like this. Is this normal?

Is it the seats or the battery causing this smell? Would putting leather in eliminate it or not? It reminds me of horses a bit as well.

 

I can't answer your question exactly as I have leather. I can say that the "new car" smell lasted quite awhile. The out gassing (which generally causes an odd odder) was rather quick and lasted during the first summer only.

The following thread might have an answer for you but I am not sure:
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...animals-10852/

 

Hey, don't feel bad, there's a guy over on ToyotaNation desperately seeking help because he has a decomposing headless mouse in his ventilation system. He found the head, but fears that the thing was decapitated by the blower, and can smell the rest of him festering away somewhere out of sight! Count your blessings!!

See for yourself if you care (and can stomach the story): http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...ighlight=mouse

I love his suggested cure -- I can just see the rotting, headless critter being forcefully blasted from a vent, like a stinking furry cannon ball.

 

we have a couple threads in here where a mouse died in someones car and he had to take alot of the dash out to get to it. try the search and he has pictures.

glad we don't have to many mice around here.

 

If I suspect there may be a mouse in the car somewhere, is there an easy way or obvious place to check. I've been getting a burning smell, and I do see rat droppings on the plastic cover above the engine.

 

I have a similar problem with my Lexus RX400h. I bought the car used and did not notice the odor until it was too late. It is more of a "chemical" odor one might associate with outgassing and is certainly not the odor of a decomposing animal. Some say it smells like peppers, e.g., the spicy kind in Thai food. After drive for a minute or less, the odor is not noticeable (to me anyway). Recently, I attempted to track down the location of the odor by sniffing around in the car. On that day it seemed to be coming from the vents to the battery compartment (in the RX400h, there are vents from the battery compartment into the cabin for cooling the battery). I sometimes detect the odor when I step outside the car. One suspicion is that the odor is caused by outgassing from the battery, perhaps due to a breach in the casing, but I have nothing to back that up at present. Yours is the first post I have come across of any similar issue. Have you come to any resolution of your problem or seen posts at other sites with a similar problem? What make is your car? Thanks.

 

I've commented on this before, but it is worth repeating due to the start of this thread that said their car smelled like horses.


My '07 TCH has two bad smells:

1) it constantly smells like farm animals &
2) a musty smell from the ventilation system; sometimes really bad


I have not identified the source of the farm animal smell. I began to notice it a couple of months after I got the car and it has remained since. The smell permeates everything; for example a box of facial tissues left in the car will soon get to smell like the farm animals. I am sure it is not a dead mouse as some suggest because the car is over 2 1/2 years old and this problem has been strongly noted for most of that time. And if it is outgassing, you'd expect some film on the windshields that I do not get. This problem is so annoying to me and my passengers when you first open a door or get in the car, that I will be trading it in the spring or early summer. Another TCH - a 2009/10? Maybe, but with leather seats so at least it will have a good smell to counteract anything like this again.

The musty smell is from the leftover moisture in the A/C system I am sure since the car's default setting is to always have A/C on. It is noticeable even in summer, but it is certainly at it's very worst in winter when the front defroster kicks in at car start up and it trys to rid the old moisture sitting in the A/C system. Sometimes it is so intense that the windows need to be put down almost fully while the defroster cranks on high setting for several minutes - this creates a really cold driving experience here in winter! I find the problem is at it's worst in the evenings in winter just a few hours past sunset as the temp drops & when moisture levels are at their highest outside say following a 35 degree day with melting snow. Trying to dry out the system before shutting off the car doesn't help, and neither do cabin filter changes and dealer installed deodorants/cleaners in the ventilation system.

Other than these smells and a few other annoying rattles and (former) center console crickets the car has been great. The hybrid drive system is flawless.

 

My 2013 Lexus RX 450h has a funny smell coming from the AC. Smells like urine and vinegar. it goes away partially after driving for a few minutes, but it always comes back.
I've read tons of posts and so far we all have the same issues.
I took my car last week for the 10,000 miles check up and mentioned the smell to the manager, I was told that ... Several people complain about the same issue with the hybrid and it's a bacteria that builds up in the AC .... I was also told to ... Once a month run the AC at the highest temperature for 10 minutes that would kill the bacteria.
I'm very upset because I paid over $50,000 for a car that blows bacteria on my face.
Can't complain about the excellent gas mileage, but driving the car became impossible because it makes my stomach hurt, not to mention my kids saying that there is a dead lizard that peed inside the engine
Does anyone have the same issues ?
I'm already looking to trade my brand new car in ....

 

A mold or bacteria build up in the ventilation system is common on a lot of newer cars. It depends on your climate and usage as to how severe it becomes. You can also flush the condenser to clean it (dealer should be able to do that for you) but the main cause of the problem is usually a stopped up drain hole on the condenser housing that allows moisture to escape.

 

Have you looked at the cabin air filter? If it is like the Camry it is located at the back of the glove compartment. You can buy replacement filters that have baking soda and activated carbon in them to reduce odours. Probably cheaper than a new car.

I had the odour issue a couple of times. I switched it from recirculation mode which it seems to default to, to outside air. It went away and so far has not come back, even in recirculation mode.

As George indicated most new cars have this issue reported from time to time.