What’s that smell? What burning, sweet, gas and rotten egg smells mean

Pull over now

• Gasoline: a fuel leak. Don’t keep driving, don’t smoke, and keep away from the car if the smell is strong.
• Burning plastic or electrical smell, especially with smoke or flickering lights: possible electrical short. Turn the engine off.
• Smoke from under the hood or around a wheel.
• Headache, dizziness or nausea while driving with an exhaust smell. Get fresh air and stop the car.

What each smell usually means

• Sweet, like syrup: coolant leaking, often from a hose, the radiator or the heater core. If the windows fog with a greasy film or the temperature gauge climbs, it is more urgent. Coolant is toxic to pets and children.
• Burning oil: oil leaking onto the hot exhaust, often from a valve cover gasket, or oil spilled during an oil change. Check the oil level.
• Rotten eggs or sulfur: usually the catalytic converter, often because the engine is running rich or misfiring. Check for a check engine light.
• Burning rubber: a slipping belt, or a hose or plastic touching something hot.
• Hot, acrid smell near a wheel: a brake dragging or the parking brake left on. Feel for heat from a safe distance, never touch the wheel.
• Burnt toast or sharp chemical smell after a hard drive: brakes or clutch overheated. Let them cool and get them checked if it keeps happening.
• Musty or moldy when the fan comes on: moisture in the ventilation system or an old cabin air filter.
• Exhaust smell inside the car: a leak in the exhaust, a gap in the body or door seals, or a problem with the exhaust system.

Exhaust and carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless, and the CDC lists headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach and confusion among the most common symptoms. Smelling exhaust means exhaust is getting in, but you will not smell the carbon monoxide itself. Never run the engine in a closed garage, and if snow blocks the tailpipe, clear it before you sit in the car with the engine running.

Things you can check

• Look under the car for fresh drips and note the color: green, orange or pink is coolant, brown or black is oil.
• Check the oil and coolant levels with the engine cold.
• Make sure the parking brake is fully released.
• Note when the smell happens: at start-up, after a long drive, with the heater on, or when braking. It helps find the cause faster.

How we handle it here

• We find the source of the smell: we look for leaks, check the exhaust, brakes, belts and cooling system, and read any trouble codes.
• We tell you what is urgent and what can wait, and give you the price before any work starts.
• Nothing is done without your approval, and you can ask for a written estimate.
• We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we speak English and Spanish.