Strange odor coming from my car??

[panthermike]

Hello,

I was driving my car today for about 1 hr, this included a lot of traffic. Anyways, I made a stop at the bookstore, when I got back in the car, there was a faint odor. The only thing I can describe it as, is "hair spray." I started it up, drove to my next destination, the odor became stronger. I also noticed it more while in motion, as opposed to waiting at a light.

I'm totally confused on this one, I checked the brake fluid and oil in the trunk, they weren't leaking. The only other thing I can think of is freon? I was told I had a leaky A/C hose, and I was running the A/C the whole time. Does freon smell like hair spray?

This has me worried a little. Also, I didn't see any visible leaks.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SAJEFFC]

Were any of your stops at Taco Bell?

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: SAJEFFC
Were any of your stops at Taco Bell?

 

[dishdude]

Was it a musty smell? It could have been mold/mildew that developed on the evaporator after the car was shut off and moisture formed on it.

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Was it a musty smell? It could have been mold/mildew that developed on the evaporator after the car was shut off and moisture formed on it.


Possibly? The only thing I could think of was hair spray.

Would a musty smell be VERY STRONG, suddenly?

 

[duaneb9729]

"Freon" has no smell, unless its exposed to a flame. Once exposed to a flame it produces fozine gas, its an awful smell and is very hard on a person.

If your air conditioner leaked out in such a manner that you could smell something in your car, it would have been a very large leak and the smell (of the oil)would have passed quickly.
IMHO

 

[StevieC]

My dads old Chrysler New Yorker leaked the refrigerant into the car because of a bad evaporator. It smelled a bit like hairspray if I remember correctly.

Have it checked out.

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Was it a musty smell? It could have been mold/mildew that developed on the evaporator after the car was shut off and moisture formed on it.


Just got off the phone w/ a family mechanic, and he seems to agree with you dishdude. He mentioned a "spray" that Autozone sells, he told me to give it a try.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

It's your heater core leaking just a tad.....next Winter the fog will start. You might try a quality liquid stop leak!

The smell of antifreeze is what you smell.

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: LargeCarManX2
It's your heater core leaking just a tad.....next Winter the fog will start. You might try a quality liquid stop leak!

The smell of antifreeze is what you smell.


I've never smelled antifreeze that smelled like hair spray. Can that happen? Even if it is leaking, I'll block it off, the heater doesn't work anyways. The blend door is bad, which is a 900.00 repair.

 

[panthermike]

I bought some "ozium." I gave it a couple of good sprays. I won't be able to tell if it did anything until Tuesday. I hope it does though, otherwise I'll look into the heater core.

 

[TexasHonda]

The lubricant used in some AC systems Polyalkalene Glycol(PAG) smells something like hairspray, a sweet, aromatic odor, not unpleasant. It is persistent. This could mean an evaporator leak.

good luck

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: TexasHonda
The lubricant used in some AC systems Polyalkalene Glycol(PAG) smells something like hairspray, a sweet, aromatic odor, not unpleasant. It is persistent. This could mean an evaporator leak.

good luck


Thanks, I'll look into that. The smell you described seems consistent w/ what I smelled.