Smell your Car
In today’s blog we are going to talk about the smells that your car can give off. And we’re not talking about the rotting french fries under the passenger seat (actually french fries probably won’t go bad). We are talking about the smell that the fluids give off in your car if you have a leak. Although your car uses a number of fluids, today we are going focus on 3 that could save you a lot of money, and a lot of headaches if caught early. They are fuel, oil and coolant.
Let’s start with the easy one, fuel. If you smell gas consistently in your car, you likely have a fuel leak somewhere. If you smell it only in the morning when you start your car on a cold day, then it might just be rich exhaust fumes. But if you can smell gas while driving or when at a red light, or when you turn your fan on then it’s a sign that somewhere your car is losing fuel. Although prices on gas are pretty cheap these days, it doesn’t mean that you should be ignoring the smell. Begin by checking the ground and inspecting for any traces of leaks. If you don’t see one and you still regularly smell gas, then you should probably bring the car and let us the experts have a look.
Second, let’s talk about coolant. What does coolant smell like you may be wondering. Coolant has a burning sweet smell, kind of like a melting candy. Since coolant is sweet (it actually is, and that’s why you need to be very careful around pets, as they might drink it) it gives off a slightly pleasant burning smell. If you get a whiff of something like this, don’t assume it must be a new local candy maker, it might be a coolant leak. A coolant leak could be far worse for your car than a fuel leak. The reason is that if you lose too much coolant, your engine will no longer have enough coolant to cool itself down, and it will overheat. If this happens it could be devastating. Look for other signs of coolant (it’s green usually) leaks on the ground or under the hood. Check your coolant level and if it’s low, you likely have a leak. Come into Top Gear and get this looked at ASAP. In the meantime, get some premixed coolant at a car store and add it. You don’t ever want to be driving around with low coolant. Some other signs to look for are sounds that sound like bubbles of water while you are driving, and you may also find it’s taking longer for your hot air to come on. All of these symptoms indicate low coolant, in other words a leak. A word of caution! NEVER add coolant while your engine is hot, or warm or running. The pressure will cause hot steam to burn you.
Last but not least, oil. An oil leak will smell just like you think it will. It’s car oil so it won’t smell like burning olive oil, but it will smell smoky and oily when it’s leaking and touching a hot engine. It can sometimes also create smoke. If you suspect an oil leak, look for and smell for these symptoms and also check your oil level. If it’s low, then you are likely leaking oil. Check the ground too. Sometimes an engine will burn oil internally, and you may not find a leak anywhere. But in either case come into see us at Top Gear and we can let you know.
Hope you learned a thing or two about smells. If you smell any of these, don’t think covering it up with an air freshener will do you any good. Come see us at Top Gear, your best alternative to the dealer and we will get you all sorted out. If it’s not any of the above and your car just stinks, well here are some some cleaning tips. We are London’s favourite mechanics and we know our stuff! Doesn’t matter if you drive a BMW, VW, Audi or a Ford, we do it all. As always, drive safe!
