Car interior smells like fish...

mrweather wrote: ↑ What car is it and how old is it.

A fishy smell could be a coolant leak.

Swerny wrote: ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0697778/

mrweather wrote: ↑What car is it and how old is it.

A fishy smell could be a coolant leak.

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ Yup. If the leak is at the heater core, especially so.

hightech wrote: ↑ Sounds like a coolant leak. What year/make/model is your vehicle and how many KM?

A few things you can check:

- open the hood and look at the coolant reserve take to see if you see any pink crusty fluid around. Also check the hose and radiator area with a flashlight

- monitor the temp gauge to see if the temp gets to operating temp (middle) or stays low or too high.

- does the car give you hot air from the heater after a few minutes? If not, it could be a leak or thermostat problem

- check the foot area of both the driver and passenger to see if there is any wetness around as some cars (like a camry) have a heater core near the driver side footwell near the centre console and if it leaks, you could find some moisture there.

Another thing to consider is if you had any moisture get into the vehicle from a carwash. Sometimes those pressure washers get water near the base of the windshield and the chemicals have some funky smells.

GreyingJay wrote: ↑ Mold/mildew in the cabin air filter maybe?

aomous wrote: ↑ Thanks for the replies, sorry I forgot to mention but it's a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder with over 100k KMs. Also temps have been normal and heater also works perfectly normal as well, haven't really noticed any difference. It is possible for me to check or know whether the leak is by the heater core?

aomous wrote: ↑ Thanks for the replies, sorry I forgot to mention but it's a 2017 Nissan Pathfinder with over 100k KMs. Also temps have been normal and heater also works perfectly normal as well, haven't really noticed any difference. It is possible for me to check or know whether the leak is by the heater core?

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ Basically, just check for leaks - if it's just seeping for the present, it might be difficult to find. Dry cardboard under the engine bay (assuming there are no plastic underbody shields), turn on the car, and hold it at around 1500 to 2000 revs for at least five minutes. Also check cold levels in the coolant reservoir every few days.

sickcars wrote: ↑ Also keep an eye on the coolant level. Check it maybe take a photo and check again in a few days and see if it has dropped. if it keeps dropping then you have a leak and it very well could be in the heater core as others have said, which will likely be a big expensive job since the whole dash usually needs to be removed.

hightech wrote: ↑ Another thing you can look at is if your AC condenser needs cleaning. When you turn the defroster on, it will trigger the AC and if there is moisture built in the system, you will get a dirty sweat sock or fish like odor as well. The true way of cleaning this is to remove the cabin air filter, and perform an AC Refresh service which is a combo of spraying the air intake area below the windshield cowl and applying a foaming agent to the condenser. This video talks about the process for a Toyota but most cars is similar:



Some people use Lysol but it is not that effective. This product by Armour All works well and can help clean it if the condenser cleaning is not needed or the AC drain hose is not clogged: https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/armo ... 2593p.html

I would remove the cabin air filter and follow the suggestions as listed on the package. I would drive for a day without the cabin air filter and then replace it with a new one so that the new filter does not have any moisture built up. I find this product works as a yearly maintenance after having a proper AC Refresh Service. If you have not done one in over 5 years, chances are that you will need to do one to thoroughly clean the system.