scomer1

I purchased a 2014 IS250 about 6 months ago. There was a very nice mens cologne scent in the car when we test drove it. The salesman didn't have any idea where it was coming from. I love the scent but it's starting to fade away now. We have looked everywhere for where it might be coming from..but no luck. Any ideas where this scent would be coming from or what was used to last this long? Typical air freshners have never lasted more than 2 weeks for me.

Zmon

iTrader: (2)

Assuming it was used, previous owner may have spilled some cologne somewhere. Wouldn't hurt to get down and sniff around... May also be one of those canned air fresheners, could have dropped one of the things out of it, those typically last longer.

tecman

I sprayed my cabin filter with Febreze once and it stuck around for awhile. Cologne would last longer.

Lil4X

Typically, odors from the vents can be traced to mold growing in the A/C condensate pan. Check the drains are clear and the pan is dry and mold-free.

I've had to repair a company fleet car formerly assigned to a cigar smoker. As soon as we got the stale smell of cheap cigars out of the cabin by disassembly and thorough scrubbing, turning on the fan brought it all back. We had to remove the evaporator coil and scrub it down with a degreaser and soap.

I suspect that the former owner of your car poured the cologne around to mask the stench. Trust me; it doesn't work. You need to remove the source of the smell.

mmarshall

An old trick, dating back many years, is to spray Lysol or other disinfectant into the A/C air intakes underhood while the system is running (NOT in the A/C outlets on the dash, where it would just blow right back on you LOL).

Welcome to CL, BTW, scomer1.

Lil4X

Thanks Mike, that Lysol spray is a good idea for treating mold in the evaporator tray or on the coil itself. It's a whole lot easier than pulling out the coil. If for some reason it doesn't work, you still have the "nuclear option" of getting out your wrenches and getting dirty.

There have been horror stories, mostly urban legends about cars with untreatable stink from one source or another, usually dead bodies. Most of these are simply that, legends, with no support in real life. One I have personal knowledge of was that of a little Olds Ciera Brougham purchased by a ladyfriend whose new Cadillac Brougham D'elegance was eating her out of house and home. The pretty little Olds was heavily optioned and seemed to be a half-scale Caddy . . . . but worse was on the way.

It had been owned briefly by a group of foreign gentlemen who were evidently not acquainted with soap. A few days after she made the trade, the car's interior was exuding the powerful, eye-watering odor of an old locker room, which the dealer tried multiple times to clean up. Each time, within days my friend was having to drive with the windows open to keep from gagging. Back at the dealership, after stripping out the interior, steam cleaning everything within reach, and reassembly with freshly-scrubbed carpets, seats, and door panels, it seemed fine . . . until it was left in the sun with the windows up for a few hours. The smell nearly knocked you out when you opened the door. It was back, full strength.

After several tries, the Cadillac dealer was very accommodating and took back the car, replacing it with a similar one that was even nicer that he was able to find on another dealer's lot. The first Ciera went straight to the crusher with only about 6K miles on it. They never found a particular source of the odor, but nothing could be done to make it marketable.

Edit:

With all of this spring's flooding, if cleaning and disinfecting the coil doesn't help, pull one of the interior door panels off and look for a waterline on the back of the panel. There are a LOT of cars coming on the market that have been flooded - some even while sitting on dealer's lots that should not have been sold. I nearly ended up in one of those many years ago - when my mechanic showed me the little trick of pulling off the door card and looking for a watermark. Mold, they claim, is the closest any life form gets to immortality. It's hard to kill if it's not confined to something as small as the AC evaporator.

scomer1

Thanks to all for the responses.

Coleroad

This thread makes me think about the Seinfeld episode where the valet stinks up jerry's car. So funny even the car thief didn't want it.

PAPI007

I have an air freshener in my car called Squash that has a mens cologne type scent and it normally last about 5 months. You can order is online. Try it!

Kevin350

I have the same air freshener. The blue squash and it last no where near 5 months... 1 month is max once it's all dried up. Unless I place it right in front of the air vent.

Noeh

iTrader: (3)

There's an AC evaporator cleaning service you can get at the dealer for ~$100. They will clean the evaporator core with a special foam cleaner.