Coolant smell after the ac has been on

[Kevin A. Parra]

Hey guys I've been dealing with this issue on my girlfriend's NIssan Altima for a while also. For some odd reason I noticed my car smelled like it today. It's somewhat hard to explain but after I drive her car or my car for a while. Once you come to a stop and park the car the minute you open up the door your hit with this weird smell of coolant or gas. I can't tell exactly what the smell is I know none of the cars are leaking coolant. Hers just recently started smelling when the ac is on and your driving it. I know it's something to do with the Air conditioning because the smell does not come around if you leave the air conditioning off and drive the car around I hope it isn't us smelling the damn refrigerant. But I always thought that was tastelss and didn't smell. THanks for any help guys.

 

[Kevin A. Parra]

No one has heard of this issue?

 

[G3GirL]

Does it smell burnt and sweet? Coolant has an almost sweet scent to it. Almost like syrup or a butterscotch smell -- nothing like the smell of gas. You should be able to tell the difference. If you can't narrow down the smell, I'd suggest having someone else have a go at it, because no one on the internet will be able to tell you what the smell is unless they can actually smell it. It could be anything. Coolant, oil, something electrical...

As far as you noticing the smell only when the A/C is on and the car is in motion, are you sure you guys don't have the vents set to pull in air from the outside? That might explain it. Try setting it so it's just cabin air circulating inside the car.

 

[Kevin A. Parra]

Yeah its kind of hard to explain it does have some sort of sweet smell but its hard to say that its coolant and the smell only happens when you go outside of the car. Like the car smells like that inside we both use recirculated air therefore the smell is coming from outside.

 

[G3GirL]

If you're smelling coolant, then you have a leak somewhere. It could be a tiny one that you can't see or that's evaporating before it hits the ground.. Another possibility is if you've recently done any service to your car and refilled the coolant, maybe some spilled and you're smelling the residual burning off. That smell likes to linger.