Now that the warm summer has arrived in the northeast, there's a waxy, oily smell that fills the trunk when the trunk warms up from the sun. I cannot track it down. If I had to relate the smell to something, I'd say it smells like a box of Crayola crayons that have been left in the sun.
I've had passengers in the back seat who insisted on opening the windows because of the smell. One of them nearly got sick.
Has anyone experienced else this smell in the E46? How do you get rid of it?
Wow, this is a new one - I've had an E46 for 6 years without this occurring.
It does sound like something may have fell under the seat or in the trunk. and that may have 'melted' in the heat...
Yes, I have it in my 2006 model E46. I haven't located or gotten rid of it.
Bob
Thanks to google, it appears we are not alone.
I have emptied the trunk (removed spare tire and everything else that wasn't fastened down).
Smell remains.
The smell is definitely eminating from the trunk.
Another thread:
I was going to say check there as well as e46fanatics,com
I had this kind of smell in my 2002 model Z3 coupé for some years after I bought it. It happened to come, by hot weather and intensive car usage, from the passage which is below the passenger door (side sill ? dunno the correct term), opening in the compartemt at the right of the engine, close to the windscreen, under the bonnet. Probably the wax that the manufacturers put on their cars when stocked for long of shipped far away the place they were built. It might have dropped in this place, not so far from the exhaust pipe. Otherwise, a nice leather smell is still present after 6 years and 100000 km.;-)
"bjn" a écrit dans le message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
Waxoyl treatment?
Thanks. This one:
Have you owned the car since it was new, or did you buy it used?
If you bought it used, have you taken the trunk apart to look for the source of the smell? Remove the floor panel and take the spare out to be sure there are no foreign objects that can make the smell. Remove the panel on the right side of the trunk to be sure nothing has fallen into the battery compartment.
You should also give serious consideration to lifting the back seat bottom cushion out to make sure there is nothing underneath. If you lift from the front bottom edge, the seat has spring-clips holding it down that you have to overpower. No tools should be needed, but it will require considerable force to get the springs to let go.
Having said all of that, my daughter has an '00 3 Series that has a waxy smell, but we think it is from melted lipstick or equivelent that is embedded in the passenger footwell carpet.
I took my 2003 E46 CPO car to my local dealer to try and determine where the smell was coming from. I had to pay for the analysis ($110 USD) and was told they were not able to find the source of the smell; very discouraging --They were nice enough to deal with though.
I believe I will check the shelf in my E46 and see if it is the problem; Thanks for providing another place to look!
By the way, before taking the car to the dealer I steam cleaned the interior and trunk area, cleaned the Leather seats with pH balanced cleaner and cleaned all of the glass --using all natural cleaners on the entire car. The smell was still there (although not as strong).
I use have an Odor remover in the trunk that seems to be helping
Butch
Although others have derided it as an old wives tale, I've found that leaving an open can of ground coffee in the car helped with other odors.
Tom K.
I bought the car new.
Inside of the car (interior) and trunk has been inspected and cleaned. This smell is coming from the car itself, not from anything that spilled.
Sorry, I read that after I posted ....
No problem, I appreciate the assist.
Hi all, I've also got an e46 52 plate BMW with the same crayon/waxy smell from the trunk. I thought it was the battery as it had a slight leak but after changing it the smell was still there, so in true Welshman style I dismantled the rear of my car and I think I have found the course of the smell.ok if you remove the rear seat and seat back from the car there is a piece of carpet that tracks from just under the rear seat into the trunk. Remove this and there is a waxy substance on the underside of the carpet. If you warm it a little with a hair dryer you get the waxy smell as in the trunk. I've left that carpet out for 2 days now and the smell is hardly noticeable in the trunk, I'm trying to air the trunk as best I can through the day and seams to be getting better. As for the carpet, I've removed all the waxy material from the underside and steamed the carpet and it also seams to have improved in smell.the smell in in the trunk material so will take a while to disappear totally. Hope this helps let me know the outcome, Regards Taff.
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