[KBD]

I bought a 2024 CPO X5. Not sure where the smell is coming from in my cabin. It's not an unpleasant smell, just not my cup of tea. It smells like maybe the previous owner sprayed cologne or some strong fragrance into the seats/carpet/etc.

As far as I know, the US models do not come with the cabin air package, so that's one item I've ruled out.

How would one go about getting rid of a persistent smell, and getting back to OEM? As in, no smell at all, other than upholstery? I would be happy to learn a process to eventually "replace" this smell. But after 4 weeks it seems to be as strong as ever.

[mcsquared]

Probably will need a serious interior detail.

Here’s a link to one of many vid’s that will show you how, if you are a DIY’er.

[biz77]

If you want your car to smell like a urinal cake and have a nice film covering the entire interior of the car, use a Dakota Odor Bomb. I'd try to rent a small ozone generator and leave it in the car for a day.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Vinegar

[Jaizero]

Ozone generator.

Run it for 30 minutes with all the doors and windows closed and HVAC on max and recirculate.

Once it's finished, let the car air out for a few hours. Ozone is nasty to breathe and can cause irritation.

[RMNB]

Originally Posted by Jaizero

Ozone generator.

Run it for 30 minutes with all the doors and windows closed and HVAC on max and recirculate.

Once it's finished, let the car air out for a few hours. Ozone is nasty to breathe and can cause irritation.

The above is a start. My situation was prior owners cigar smoke which was awful! I did everything possible: Cleaned every square inch of the inside literally! I shampooed the carpets, steamed the headliner and shampooed with a deodorizer again, changed the cabin filter, ran the ozone generator several times, sprinkled arm-n-hammer carpet (powder) and revacuumed. I spent a few weekends on this for hours and after all that I believe it's 95% better. Air freshners of course just mask the smell.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by KBD

I bought a 2024 CPO X5. Not sure where the smell is coming from in my cabin. It's not an unpleasant smell, just not my cup of tea. It smells like maybe the previous owner sprayed cologne or some strong fragrance into the seats/carpet/etc.

10:1 what you are smelling is the residual "hide it" fragrance of whatever it was that the dealer used to hide the underlying offending smell. Likely that of cigarette / cigar smoke.

Originally Posted by KBD

How would one go about getting rid of a persistent smell, and getting back to OEM? As in, no smell at all, other than upholstery?

Regardless of how the current bouquet of smells got in, the way to get them out is to thoroughly clean all interior surfaces, especially the carpets.

If you've never done deep interior cleaning before, prepare to be grossed out, or pay someone else to do it for you.

Here is an example:

[KBD]

Thank you for all the responses. I've never used an ozone generator before. I'm going to order one and see how it goes. If it works well, I am excited to use it for my Tundra, which sees much more activity than the X5.

I left all the windows down while parked in my garage, and it seems to have alleviated some of the smell. Definitely trying the ozone generator next.

[M3Sleeper]

Originally Posted by KBD

Thank you for all the responses. I've never used an ozone generator before. I'm going to order one and see how it goes. If it works well, I am excited to use it for my Tundra, which sees much more activity than the X5.

I left all the windows down while parked in my garage, and it seems to have alleviated some of the smell. Definitely trying the ozone generator next.

Do a full interior detail.

It's smoke + cologne possibly. I can't stand the smell of 75% of cologne people wear. Possible Vape car also it sticks to the windows, headliner, carpet, seats.

Leather clean & Condition will help but get a good brand.

[KBD]

Thanks to all who recommended an ozone machine. I got a cheap one and ran it for 15 minutes. First impression, it completely removed the smell and now just smells like.. nothing. This is exactly the result I was looking for.

[John in VA]

Originally Posted by KBD

Thanks to all who recommended an ozone machine. I got a cheap one and ran it for 15 minutes. First impression, it completely removed the smell and now just smells like.. nothing. This is exactly the result I was looking for.

Which one did you get?

[KBD]

Day 2 - follow up

When I drove the car today, there was barely a detectable residual smell. But once it sat in the hot TX sun for several hours, the smell came back and was noticeable. Not nearly as strong as before, but definitely still there.

I can only guess that the heat must have allowed some materials to expand and release some trapped scents. I let the car sit in the afternoon sun for about 4 hours and ran the ozone machine for 10 minutes again. Then replaced the cabin filters. As of right now, there is a very faint, but detectable smell, possibly some residual ozone smell as well. Note that I have not done a thorough interior cleaning. All I did was run the machine and it did help a noticeable amount.

I'll report back in a few days if this was as successful as I had previously thought.

I did research quite a bit on the effects of using an ozone generator today. There can be potential health risk and damage to property. For this reason, I chose to only run it maximum 15 minutes and air out for at least an hour afterward. The ozone smell is quite unpleasant to me.

Please research thoroughly and be fully informed of all the risks involved before considering using this type of device. Understanding how to operate it safely is paramount. The risk outweighs the benefits for me, especially in a 100K vehicle. Use at your own risk, I am not responsible for any damage that you may incur. I personally don't recommend it.

A thorough interior cleaning would probably have yielded the same desired result for me. I do not intend to use this machine again.

[KBD]

Originally Posted by John in VA

Which one did you get?

Got one from Amazon for 75 bucks. Worth a try. I didn't look at the brand. As far as I'm concerned they all do the same thing.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by KBD

...Note that I have not done a thorough interior cleaning...

This smell won't have a chance of being eliminated until this is done. That's really step one.

[KBD]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

This smell won't have a chance of being eliminated until this is done. That's really step one.

I think you're right. Today the smell came back fairly strong after sitting for a couple of days.

I think someone sprayed fragrance into the carpet and headliner. I tried the "sniff test" in attempt to pinpoint the source of the smell, but it seems like it was embedded into every surface of the interior.