Fishy Smell in C70

Aug 02, 2003 2 Replies

No emergency here, just idle curiosity. When I test drove a C70 convertible with leather interior at the dealer this past May, the interior gave off a *strong* smell of fish, as though the factory had prepared the leather with fish oil. It wasn't just us; others -- including salesmen at more than one dealer -- acknowledged the smell and said that was just the way Volvos are. We bought a C70 in which the smell was much less noticeable than some others we test drove, and the odor is dissipating as we've driven a lot with the top down. No, there weren't Swedish herring hiding in the trunks, or cod left on the engines. Hallucinations? Or has anyone else experienced this as well?


I was in a new(ish) V70, and the leather had a pretty strong smell, but no worse then the leather in my families 960 at the same age... it didn't smell like fish tho.

A pal had a similar experience with an older SAAB 9000, which on really close investigation turned out to be a small bag of whelks tucked under the carpet!

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