Old Car Smell
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,596
Likes: 37
From: Orange County CA
Old Car Smell
My 2008 C6 has a bad case of "old car smell". I know the smell is from the plastics breaking down, but does anyone know the key contributors to OCS? I am guessing that the seat foam is the major contributor, but I don't know for sure. Has anyone been able to eliminate OCS?
Thanks,
Charley
Thanks,
Charley
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,596
Likes: 37
From: Orange County CA
Interesting.... I keep mine in a garage all of the time also. Maybe it has something to do with the added sun exposure because mine is a convertible??
Last edited by Charley Hoyt; Jun 9, 2015 at 01:41 AM.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,596
Likes: 37
From: Orange County CA
Racer
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 285
Likes: 6
Know what a roach bomb is? Go to auto parts and get a mold bomb. You set it on the floor, hit the button and close the doors with the windows up and the A/C on. Leave for the recommended time. kills all mold in carpets and hvac. The difference is amazing.
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Race Director
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 16,557
Likes: 2,108
From: Peoria/Phoenix AZ
C6 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
What you need is some new car smell and some Fabreze. Spray the Fabreze on the driver's seat cushion to cancel all the farts that have permeated the fabric through the perforations. Do the same for the passenger seat if it gets used often. I'd suggest if your wife is the passenger, that you don't mention why you're spraying her seat, since women claim they don't fart. 
Then get some leather and fabric scraps from an upholsterer and liberally spread adhesive on them and glue them on a plastic placemat and put it behind the seat. What you smell in a new car is the adhesive outgassing through leather, fabric, and the plastic.
Then get some leather and fabric scraps from an upholsterer and liberally spread adhesive on them and glue them on a plastic placemat and put it behind the seat. What you smell in a new car is the adhesive outgassing through leather, fabric, and the plastic.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 315
Likes: 20
From: Orlando Florida
I have an 08 as well and if wasn't for the fact that I drive with my windows down all the time - it would probably still have the new car smell. Yours shouldn't smell like anything "old" - unless your AC system is molding up on you. There's products out there to help get rid of the mold in the system. Also, as stated previously - swap out that cabin filter if you haven't already.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,001
Likes: 243
From: Surprise, Az
Thanks for bringing this subject up, I have a Toyota pickup that had a small windshield leak. It was tough to find and not noticeable until I lifted the passenger side floor mat and saw the condensation. I ended up replacing the windshield to take car of the problem but there seems to be a lingering OCS when it sits for a few days. Autogeek has a direct spray to get product into the AC condensers.
My wife had a service done to her car that cleaned the AC vent system, we did this 6 months ago and it still smells fresh and clean, though it was an 80 dollar service.
My wife had a service done to her car that cleaned the AC vent system, we did this 6 months ago and it still smells fresh and clean, though it was an 80 dollar service.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 7,001
Likes: 988
From: lake havasu city arizona
My old Tundra (2000) which I bought new doesn't have that old car smell at all. Has your carpet ever been wet???? I spray the incoming air vents from the outside with Lysol and put those little clip-ons from Febreeze on the a/c vents , pretty strong and the inside smells great. I also spray the heck out of all carpets surfaces with Febreeze
NSF
NSF
Advanced
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 50
Likes: 1
From: Cali
like other have said....maybe clean your carpets.(clean the whole inside) My C6 vert is a 2005 and has no smell. Also have a 2002 Acura with no smell. Hell for that matter, my 94 GMC pick up and my 86 C4 have no "OCS"