• Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC on the Cheap

Evelyn Kanter ecoXplorer

smarter traveling, driving and spending

  • Green Hotels
  • Green Cars
    • Best Cars under $20,000
    • Test Drives
    • Diesel Cars
    • Electric Cars
    • Hybrid Cars
    • Hydrogen Fuel Cell
    • Luxury Drives
  • Travel Deals
    • Free
    • Budget Travel
    • Discount Tickets
  • Xplore More
    • Safety and Health
    • How To
    • Five Best
    • Travel Pioneers
    • Motorcycles
    • Vintage Cars
  • Scam Alert
  • Where to Go Next
    • Historic Travel
    • Epic Adventures
    • National Parks
You are here: Home / Green Travel / How to Diagnose Car Trouble with Your Nose

How to Diagnose Car Trouble with Your Nose

Leave a Comment

car smell and what they meanUse your nose to avoid big car repair costs. Your sense of smell can help you avoid car trouble. Simply, paying attention now to strange smells from under the hood or from under the car can be the difference between a quick and inexpensive fix now or a costly repair later, or even mechanical failure – and an accident.

car smellsYou may be following the story of Ford Explorer SUVs being investigated for carbon monoxide, from the exhaust, leaking into the cabin and making drivers and passengers sick. Model years affected are 2011 to 2017.  The situation is serious enough that police departments in several cities have taken their Interceptor models out of service, and Ford reportedly is considering a recall.

Here’s a checklist of car smells and what they mean:

car smells and what they meanExhaust fumes – If you are getting nauseous from what’s spewing out of the truck in front of you, add some distance, to keep the fumes from entering your own air intake, and switch climate control to re-circulate to further minimize air intake. If that doesn’t fix the bad smell, it could be that your own exhaust system is leaking. Drive to a mechanic – with the windows open all the way.

car smells and what they meanBurning plastic – This usually means insulation around an electrical wire has melted, which could cause a short-circuit. Or, it could be as simple as a plastic shopping bag from the highway, driveway or shopping mall parking area which melted itself around the muffler. Easy fix.

car smells and what they meanBurning rubber – If you haven’t “left rubber on the road” from a bank robbery getaway or a similarly screeching stop, this smell is definitely serious enough to pull over immediately. Tires can get hot enough to ignite inside, and a tire fire can spread quickly to a hot engine. Touch the tires with your palms outstretched. If there is heat radiating on any tire, call your roadside service. If the tires are cool, it means your brake linings are worn and the smell is from your tires sliding on the pavement. In that case, call your mechanic for a check-up.

car smells and what they meanBurning oil – This smell has several possibilities. It could mean low oil or transmission fluid. That’s easy – check the dipstick and top it off. But if that’s not the problem, it could signal a leak, and the oil is spraying onto a hot engine and burning. That could start a major engine fire. Get the car to a mechanic.

car smells and what they meanRotten eggs – There are lots of possibilities for the smell of sulphur, or rotten eggs. It could be an engine or computer problem, orthe battery. Get the car to a mechanic.

 

car smells and what they meanChemical or resin-like odor – Check your emergency brake. Oops. We all do it. And if you haven’t done it yet, you will.

Pay attention to car smells, and let your nose help you avoid big repair bills.

Thanks for visiting ecoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars, smart spending and frugal living by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.
Welcome back to exoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars and smart spending by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Green Travel, How To, Safety and Health

What do you think? We value your comments and love hearing from you. Cancel reply

Most Popular Recent Posts

  • Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
    Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
  • 2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
    2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
  • Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
    Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
  • Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
    Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
  • Best Used Car Buys: 2005-2010 models
    Best Used Car Buys: 2005-2010 models
  • 9/11 Tales From the Road: Where We Were on Sept. 11, 2001
    9/11 Tales From the Road: Where We Were on Sept. 11, 2001
  • Free Hotel Rooms for Cancer Patients
    Free Hotel Rooms for Cancer Patients
  • Best 2020 Green Cars & SUVs
    Best 2020 Green Cars & SUVs
  • Advantages of Buying a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle
    Advantages of Buying a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle
  • Great European Cars Not Available in USA
    Great European Cars Not Available in USA

ecoXplorer is your guide to smart spending and eco-friendly living

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

Also follow my NYC website, www.nyconthecheap.com.

Search ecoXplorer by category

Translate ecoXplorer

© 2010-2020 EcoXplorer by Evelyn Kanter. All the stories and photos on our site are protected by US Copyright laws. Any unauthorized copying is strictly prohibited. Plus, it’s just not nice.

  • Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC on the Cheap

ecoXplorer.com is an independent information service which is compensated by advertisers and sponsors. This site includes some links to other websites which are compensated for by our sponsors when you click them.

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.