QuestionQUESTION: I am having an odor problem with a 2004 Infiniti G35 coupe. When I test drove the car I noticed a faint odor which I assumed would be passing as I'd never purchased a stink vehicle. It wasn't strong or offensive so I didn't give it much thought. Upon taking the car home and parking it in the garage, the odor has gotten stronger. It smells like vitamin b-12. The smell seemed to be coming from the carpet especially on the passenger side. So I shampooed the mats, sprayed Lysol and even left charcoal to absorb the odor-nothing worked. Finally, I took the car to a detail shop and the guy said that the odor was actually coming from the vents.
I've taken the car back to the dealership several times and they've sprayed 6-7 cans of something to remove mold and mildew which they said could grow if you ran the air on re-circulate. The smell would leave after the treatment and then return and yes it is indeed coming from the vent. It's especially strong even when I'm just running the fan. The last treatment was some protein treatment which did not even pretend to work and now they're going to try an ozone treatment. My concern is that no-one seems to be able to identify the source. Can you help me please? The odor is so strong that it saturates my hair and clothes. Thank-you so much for any advice available.
ANSWER: I don't know what vitamin B-12 smells like, so it's hard to know exactly what's wrong here. But it does appear that the dealer is only attempting "band-aid" fixes, when no one is trying to find out just what is causing the odor. My best guess is that either something is caught in the ventilation system, or that the A/C condenser is somehow plugged and the condensation it creates is not properly draining from the car. Spray cans/ protein and ozone treatments are only appropriate to remove an odor once the problem causing the odor has been removed. These treatments should come last, not first. If I were you, I'd have someone disassemble the ventilation system and find out if it's one of the two problems I suggest. If there's organic matter trapped in the ductwork, or water is building up and causing mold, then the problem will continue and the odor will remain until the real problem is fixed, and all the sprays and ozone treatments in the world won't make a difference.
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QUESTION: Hi Jeff,
This is an update. The dealer stubbornly went ahead with the ozone treatment and as we both suspected the odor remained. Finally, they removed the passenger seat of the car and found that vitamin gel-caps had spilled underneath the seat-still not exactly sure where under the seat they found the "glob"(their exact words) but that was the source of the odor.
They still have the car and were using dryer sheets in an attempt to further absorb any residual odor (trying to avoid having to pay for another ozone treatment).I went to check on the car this morning and the smell is barely there even when I turned on the fan and AC.
It's still strange to me though,that an odor originating from under the seat could be smelt so strongly through the vents.Is there something else that I should question them on before I pick up the car?
Thanks Jeff
AnswerRemember, you told me that the guy at the detail shop first said the odor was coming from the vents. Two things could explain this: if the odor were strong enough, it could SEEM as if it were coming from the vents, just because of the air movement. Second, most cars now have heat vents beneath the front seats, to heat the rear area. It's possible that, depending on the heat/vent/AC setting, that these vents could actually pull some air (and thus the odor) into the system and re-distribute it through the vents. Check to see if there are vents beneath the seats (look from the back, as they'd be "aimed" toward the rear of the car, on the floor) and if there are any vitamin capsules caught inside. Other than that, I'd say they found the problem and you should be fine from here on out.
