lardope
Veteran Member
So with the heat running in my car I'm smelling a sickly sweet smell from my vents, something akin to burnt maple syrup. A quick google search informs me this is the dreaded leaking heater core that requires a hellish amount of work dissembling the entire dash from the inside to reach it. Please send your condolences. I honestly would prefer almost any mechanical problem to this.
However, with the heat off and the temp dial all the way to cold (but no AC), I smell something different, a smell I can only describe as slightly vomit-ish. I know another common smell is mold or mildew, but my reference point for mildew is when I wash clothes in a front loading washer and forget about them for a day and then they smell rank. That is not this smell. Any thoughts?
The only time my vents DON'T smell is when I have the AC on and the dial is all the way to cold.
However, with the heat off and the temp dial all the way to cold (but no AC), I smell something different, a smell I can only describe as slightly vomit-ish. I know another common smell is mold or mildew, but my reference point for mildew is when I wash clothes in a front loading washer and forget about them for a day and then they smell rank. That is not this smell. Any thoughts?
The only time my vents DON'T smell is when I have the AC on and the dial is all the way to cold.