Hey, I'm a newbie here. Seems like a great site. My questions concerns a horrible smoky/acrid smell that started a few months ago in my wife's '08 Sport with only 3,500 miles on the ody. It makes me sick. If I open the windows, or use the AC it goes away, but as soon as the car sits for a few hours the smell is back with a vengeance. This is not the usual AC moldy odor, or sweet heater core odor. Have scheduled an appointment for Monday at my Honda dealer, but I expect the usual, "Cannot duplicate problem" on the work order. I was wondering if any other member has had this problem and can pinpoint the source so I can give the service writer a heads up.

 

Can you pinpoint at least an area where the odor seems to originate or be the strongest? Seats? E-brake? Dash? It wouldn't seem to be wires burning or shorting if you say it gets stronger when the car isn't being driven. Any possibility something spilled inside the car? Have you tried removing the mats to see if they are the problem? If you were in my city I'd come over and sniff around - I've got a sensitive nose and can usually find the source of an odor. Good luck, but try to give the service writer more information. There's obviously something wrong, so they can't just blow you off, but they might say they can't find the source.

 

I doubt that this is the problem but there was a recall on a small wiring harness under the driver's floor mat. On an 08 that new I'd almost think the factory or dealership would have taken care of it. It might not hurt to ask the dealership if this (the only one I know of) recall service had been performed. It was reputed to potentially cause fires so an acrid odor isn't too much of a long shot. It's a shot in the dark but this problem is weird and very "unHondalike".

 

Thanks for the reply. We removed the mats and turned off the dome light. That did not work. Nothing spilled anywhere. I'm guessing the odor is coming from under the car and seeping in. My bet now would be melting insulation caused by the exhaust or converter. I hope they can find it, or I will raise a big stink (pun intended)!!!

 

Having the recall taken care of on Monday too. I don't think the odor is coming from that, but it could be. This is my wife's second Honda and I have had three Acura's with no problems whatsoever. This has to be something out of the ordinary.

 

maybe you caught a grocery bag on your exhaust. take a look under
the car.

if it's on there, you're going to have to scrape it off with a window
scraper (razor blade)

 

I once drove over some garbage truck "run off" and the car stunk for weeks, even after washing the wheels and such. I didn't go away until I drove in the rain.

 

Did this happen just after deicing? You either didn't shut down both engines during deicing, or the line guys shot the deicing fluid into your APU inlet. That fluid smells horrible when it gets into your bleed air. Next time show them where not to spray.

 

That, or it could have been a compressor wash without the post wash engine run to dry out the bleed air ducts. I've seen a couple of air turn-backs, and aborted takeoffs due to this.;)

 

We talking about planes or a Fit? This post totally baffles me!

 

I need clarification about the car/plane issue as well!

 

Yeah, he is joking, as was I.:p

The title of the thread reads like a logbook writeup, so he ran with it. Also being in the aviation industry, I added my two cents as well.

Sorry for the confusion.:o

 

I should have known but we get some wacky posts at FF sometimes.

 

haha i was wondering what he was talking about with the plane thing as well!

sorry about the smell, i have no idea what it could be, but i hope you get it worked out, and soon!

 

My VBP has that smell whenever it hasn't been opened in a while and that has been going on since the 2nd week of July. But if it is a recall I'm not taking it in till it is actually official otherwise I'll continue driving with the windows down all the time.

 

If it smells bad from start-up (engine and exhaust cold), then it probably isn't something stuck on the catalytic converter or muffler.

Sniff around under the driver's side dash. The fuze box is there so a lot of electrical wires run in that part of the vehicle - could be a short of some kind.

The next place I'd check is near the belts and rotating parts on the engine. If something is rubbing against one of the pulleys it might create a noxious odor.

It would definitely help to try to narrow the area of the smell. It isn't coming from the vents, any other areas you've ruled out?

 

Mine is a 2008 that has been daily driven since Dec. 5th of 2007. The smell started on July 8th and at first I thought it was a freshly resoddered CB radio I had, after removing it the smell stayed.

 

Took the car in this morning. The service manager told me it was probably "new car smell". Right. What was he smoking? When I got in the car it smelled like a funeral home. I immediately went to the service manager and he told me he sprayed some Honda approved anti-bacterial spray in the HVAC vents--no charge. They also did the recall. Well, after almost 9 hours now there is no horrible smoky smell anymore. Time will tell if the recall did the trick, or the spray.

 

Hmm do you know what the spray was they used? My wifes Pilot has an awful smell that seems likes it coming from the vents, but just dont have time to get it over to the dealer.

 

Was the car sitting around for a bit? It's not uncommon to get rodents who take up home in the engine bay, sometimes even in the car itself and it's very often that they can die while in there, especially if in the engine bay itself due to the heat. Poke around a little bit in there see if you can't find anything.