That new car smell lasted approximately 45 seconds in my 2017 Nissan Murano. It’s not the car’s fault, I have 2 small children who, despite my best efforts are always sticky from unknown substances, and are saturated in smells I can never really identify. For this reason, I am very familiar with a wide variety of smells in my car. In addition, because they are small children they leave their things EVERYWHERE. Leftover yogurt, rancid sports gear, dirty socks, half a sandwich… all of these can be located on the floor of my car. I don’t know what it is about the noses of children but they seem completely unaffected by ghastly stank that seems to have enveloped my car. My nose, on the other hand, works perfectly fine… or it did before I got in the car this morning. I’m fairly certain that my nose hairs immediately disintegrated when I get in the car today. No amount of bleach and Febreeze was going to make this car smell ok.

In addition to the noxious odor, there was an unfamiliar smell coming from my car this morning. Something that didn’t quite fit in with the usual child-induced smells. It smelt almost sweet, like maple syrup. Just in case, I stopped by Younger Nissan of Frederick to have my car checked out, just in case. As it turns out there was a coolant leak which was causing the sweet smell. It’s good that I got this checked out when I did.

This led me to look into some other smells that might alert you to car troubles. As it turns out, there are several such smells that you should be aware of as a car owner. Always remember that if you do notice an odor, it is something that needs to be taken care of immediately; rolling the windows down is not the solution.

It smells like syrup:
This could mean several things. Most likely the engine is overheating due to a coolant leak. Coolant is one of the most important fluids you can put in your car. It contains ethylene glycol which can give off a sickly sweet scent. Other causes include a leaky radiator hose or a problem with the heater core. If this is the case, then it’s important to get your vehicle looked at as soon as possible, especially if it’s during winter time. If your heater core goes, you have no heat for your car which also means your defrosters won’t work.

It smells like rotten eggs:
This is caused by hydrogen sulfide in your exhaust that has not converted to sulfur dioxide in your catalytic converter (cat). This gas is TOXIC, even more toxic than my kids’ soccer gear, so it’s not safe for you to breathe and it likely means you need to replace your “cat”. This is not a cheap fix. Fortunately, in newer cars, they are usually covered under warranty so check with your dealer!

It smells like hot oil:
This is a complicated smell to describe, as I can’t really find something that smells quite like it…it’s just hot oil. This means oil is leaking onto your hot exhaust manifold, which collects the exhaust gases from multiple cylinders into one pipe. It doesn’t smell bad, per se, but it definitely doesn’t smell good. This could be because of a leaking crankshaft or a leaky valve cover. Either way, this is something you will want to get checked out!

It smells like burning carpet:
This is more than likely an issue with your brake pads. The smell is relatively normal if you just came down a long hill, but if this smell occurs under normal driving circumstances then you may have a dragging brake. This smell could also happen if you left your emergency brake (handbrake) on by mistake. If you check the brakes by hand you’ll notice the hottest one is the one giving off the smell. If there is a problem get that brake pad changed asap.

It smells like burnt rubber:
This could be an easy fix. Open your hood and make sure all hoses and belts are tight and not resting on the hot engine. But, this could also mean a belt has become loose or is about to break. If this is the case you should get it replaced as soon as you can.

Remember, if you find that your vehicle smells like any of these things, you can stop by Younger Nissan of Frederick and we will be happy to check out your vehicle. Let your nose be your guide, friends.