Smell of fish in new car

htg engineer · Joined: 22 May 2007 Posts: 225

I have had a new car for 3 weeks now, every now again there's a strong smell of fish in the car.

Has anyone come across this before ?

is it a common smell, that is linked to a problem ?

I've checked all water and oil levels and all seem ok

htg engineer · Joined: 22 May 2007 Posts: 225

it's ok, problem sorted. Took car back to garage and they have cleaned out the air conditioning.

They said that any car left without operating the air conditioning now and again, will get this smell. Apparently condensation builds up and this is the smell it produces.

johnnyuhtar · Joined: 16 Oct 2007 Posts: 1

Hi Matey
Is your car brand new ?? Your FISHY smell might be the brakes binding on it can sometimes smell like fish (Its the asbostos in the brake pads/ shoes) or the clutch slipping ! If the cars brand new take it back to the dealers and let them sort it out if it doesent go away ask for a replacment car !
When I worked in the trade I had a customers car with the same problem I stripped it to a shell could not find a thing the smell came back in about 2 weeks so vauxhall allowed him a "GOOD" trade in on it to keep him quiet !!! (it was a corse by the way)
Hope its just your brakes and not the latter !!

htg engineer · Joined: 22 May 2007 Posts: 225

Yes it is a new car. They cleaned out air conditioning, they said that condensation builds up in the vent if it hasn't been used for a while this is the smell it produces, and if it was tested when fitted to the car and not allowed to run for a good period then this would be the problem.
Does this sound right to you ?

That was about 2 weeks ago and the smell has gone and hasn't re-appeared - not yet anyway.

thanks for reply

DONFRAMAC · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 127

I seem to recall that the antifreeze in the coolant can smell fishy. ---- the pressure in the sealed system may have caused a leak, possibly inside the car, at the heater core/hoses. Even an under-bonnet leak could be able to get into the car.

stevenc1603 · Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 1

If its now gone then it will most likely be the condensation that can sit in the AC evaporator and go musty.

If it was the brakes binding then they can produce a nasty smell, but I wouldn't personally say it was like fish. Also on a new car the brake pads won't have asbestos in them, same with clutch.

It could be a coolant leak, however again thats not usually a fish smell, its usually a horrid smell like cats pee if its old, or a sweetish smell if new.

Sounds like you have the problem sorted though.

DONFRAMAC · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 127

The condensation created in A/C units can indeed need servicing, or at least dispersal by regular use, as the puddle is an ideal breeding zone for Legionella Baccillus.
An ex-colleague of mine returned from a family trip to Disney-Land with this bug in his system, and spent 3 months recovering.
Even hot-water systems in UK hospitals, Hotels, and commercial/industrial premises have been hit by the bug.
Hot-water systems which get run at more than 65 degrees C periodically, get sterilised by this simply blast.