Lately an odour has occurred inside the vehicle, and for the life of me can’t find the source. The
car itself is a 13 plate Titanium, with only 13k on the clock. Purchased 6 months ago from a private seller, at the time it only had 8k on the clock. At first I thought it must be that “new car smell” but yesterday when I got in the car… the odours were pretty bad - odour eliminating spray works for a while, but then so begins to wear off.

I’ve checked all the carpets, all are dry. There are also no staining to suggest if something had been spilt. Also the seats are all leather, again with not visible staining. Yesterday evening I even removed the cabin filter, had a good whiff of it – but no bad odours.

I’m clueless to where else to look/investigate - as to look at the car itself, it's absolutely spotless and is cleaned on a very regular basis!!

Bacteria in the a / c ?

stop eating baked beans :D lol

Bacteria in the a / c ?

+1, mine does and will be going in soon as I reckon it is A/C

Sent via the 'Clacks'

GNU STP

If it were bacteria in the a/c, best way to tackle it? As there is no smell coming from the vents while the blowers are on?

The odour is literally noticeable as soon as you open the doors, to get into the car.

There are a/c sanitising products available from Halfrauds & similar that can be used.

You sure there isn't an old pair of socks anywhere in the car ? :)

No-one playing a prank with a decaying Kipper under the seat ? :)

AC for sure , bacteria on the evaporator , you can buy a spray for it from Halfords i guess , turn on ac put recirc on and spray into the footwell area where the airflow pipe is. The root cause is probably a blocked drainage pipe

If the blocked drainage pipe is the root cause, then that issue needs permanently rectifying or the odour will return, so do this before spending £ on aerosols

A/C sanitiser is £5 in Asda.

You sure there isn't an old pair of socks anywhere in the car ? :)

No-one playing a prank with a decaying Kipper under the seat ? :)

LOL, my car is spotless, nothing under the seats - plus it doesn't smell like fish, but just a bad odour.

spray into the footwell area where the airflow pipe is

Which footwell is the airflow pipe situated? I know that access to the panel filter is via the drivers footwell...

I can't believe no one has answered your question correctly, it's definitely the AC filter, mine did the same about a year ago, just replace the filter and the smell will be gone. Ford did it for me but if you would like to do it yourself there are many YouTube clips.

Just search for Aircon bomb on eBay, about £6. Just remember to have the re-circulation on when using it otherwise you'll blow it straight out the car.

I can't believe no one has answered your question correctly, it's definitely the AC filter, mine did the same about a year ago, just replace the filter and the smell will be gone. Ford did it for me but if you would like to do it yourself there are many YouTube clips.

I presume A/C filter / Cabin filter same thing?

As mentioned I removed the cabin filter yesterday, and it does not smell. I shoved my nose right into it just to be certain. There were little bit of debris in it, so I gently removed them with a car-vac.

I think i'm going to grab a AirCon cleaner from Asda, and let that run it's course inside the vehicle.

Just search for Aircon bomb on eBay, about £6. Just remember to have the re-circulation on when using it otherwise you'll blow it straight out the car.

This?? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007XIT0ZS/ref=s9_simh_gw_p263_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0MDFNNHF8TST6K85B28Y&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=577048407&pf_rd_i=desktop

So it's not '' definitely the a/c filter '' then ?

I usually get my Pollen/Cabin Filters (and air filters) from here:

http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/

I usually get my Pollen/Cabin Filters (and air filters) from here:

http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/

Yes, I've used them too in the past. Basically it's EuroCarparts, just trading under a different name, with cheaper prices.

When I bought my car I discovered about a week later that the previous owner was a smoker!

So to tackle it I used an air-con cleaner as previous members have mentioned on this thread, scrubbed every fabric surface and then sprayed all over with Febreeze - and it now isn't too noticeable..

Top tip, have a whiff of the headliner, easily forgotten but as with smoke smell that's where most of the smell was!

I had megane years ago that smelt really bad and it was bacteria in the A/C as said..

But I thought (which it did in mine) that it would only really smell bad when the A/C had been on or if it was on and then turned off?

If I didn't use the A/C my car didn't smell until I got it sorted..

Morning all,

On the way to work this morning, I popped into Asda and purchased some Holt Air Con Cleaner. As pointed out by a fellow member, it cost £5 - I will disperse later.

Also as mentioned I have already removed the cabin filter and took a wiff, it still smells new (as the Fiesta was serviced in March this year!!). Would you recommend removing the pollen filter, prior to running the Holt cleaner, then replace the filter once the "cleansing" cycle has finished. Or would you just leave the cabin filter I situ, while the Holt "cleansing" cycle is active? Instructions on the can suggests I leave it run it's course in the footwell behind the drivers seat? I was thinking about letting it run while in the drivers front footwell?

Tips?

Sorry didn't read the full post that you had already removed the filter, then you must have some leaves or dead ...... stuck in your vents, can't think of anything else

Sorry didn't read the full post that you had already removed the filter, then you must have some leaves or dead ...... stuck in your vents, can't think of anything else

Believe me, I have checked the vent, even under the bonnet. Must be bacteria in the a/c system.

'' Must be bacteria in the a/c system ''

That was my initial thought in post # 2 :)

Run the AC cleaner in the back seat as instructed, it fills the car so it'll be fine. Needs space to circulate the air!

The Holt Air Con cleaner has seemed to have done the trick. Can't smell any bad odour(s) at all now, hopefully that should have sorted it!