by Nathan Michael - Posted 2 years ago
March 15, 2022
by nathan_michael
Some
car smells are welcome, such as the scent of your leather seats or a clean new
car smell. Plenty of other odors can offend your nostrils and cause you to
worry about impending doom. Use those smells as clues to figure out what might
be wrong with your car.
·
A maple syrup odor is a sign that coolant
is leaking somewhere. This usually becomes apparent once the car has been
running for a bit and the engine is nice and warmed up. Your mechanic should be
able to locate the source. It could be your radiator cap or the radiator itself
leaking.
·
Smelling something akin to carpet burning
after you’ve been driving a while is never pleasant or a good sign. Think back
to your recent driving and you will probably recall frequent or heavy braking.
Chances are you have a brake pad that’s stuck or just overheating.
·
A strong gasoline odor is another unwelcome
one, especially when you’ve not been anywhere near a gas station in the last
day or so. You may experience this when the car has been parked for a bit in
warmer weather. Have your fuel injection system checked to see if there’s a
leak.
·
A rotten egg or sulfur odor is not only
unpleasant to the nose, it can be a sign of expensive things to come. Some
gasoline has tiny amounts of sulfur in it, but it shouldn’t be apparent to you if
your car is functioning properly. Let a mechanic in on the smell first hand and
he should be able to pinpoint the cause.
Bottom
line with any unusual smell coming from your car: get it to a mechanic to
figure out the source. Trust your nose to know when something is wrong.