I admit, that probably sounds crazy but I have had a strange smell coming from the vents once the car has warmed up. It smells a bit like oil and plastic. Ive had my R56 for a month as of this Friday and thought it was a new car thing and would go away by now but there's been no sign of that. Admittedly, I havent ever had a completely brand new car either. So, is this normal or am I being paranoid?

 

My car was off-gassing a lot of different smells when I got it and it has diminished. There are a lot of plastics, resins, glues, foams, and other materials that all contribute, and a bunch of mechanical bits working there way in as well, including the distinctive smell a clutch gives off. Those parts are still wearing in but much diminished at even 300 miles.

 

Yes. There is the interior smell and a smell like one you would get off a hot engine. I don't drive with the windows down and keep the fan on recirculate. Could be off some electronics heating up or on the heater core. The smell is faint so I doubt it's a problem.

 

That's "new car smell" all those voc's vaporizing, just like when you paint a room or have new carpet installed.

 

Yeap, same here... But that's normal I guess, Like Greg said, lot's of new stuff working there way in

 

Its prolly the valve cover gasket seating. I had it replaced on my Celica when the serpentine belt was replaced (normal mantenance) and it went away in a couple of weeks.

 

The only smell I've noticed, besides the "new car smell" is of radiator coolant. Having lost an engine due to overheating (long story), I'm particularly paranoid. But everything seems to be normal.

 

My '06 had significantly stronger new car odors than my wife's '05. I felt that it was attributable to the leatherette seats in mine compared to the cloth seats in hers.

 

Keep those windows opened (or cracked a bit) it's the VOCs and they are pretty bad for you. Leatherette will contribute a lot to the smell as it's PVC...

 

Run your heater/defroster at full blast for about 10 minutes and see if that helps, it did with my 05 S when it was new.

 

The "new"car smell goes away within 6 months, so enjoy those fumes while you can!

 

The oil and plastic smell is probably coming from the engine compartment, as the varnish and othe volatiles burn off parts that heat up. If it's coming inside, you probably have the A/C set to bring in outside air. I noticed this on the 200mi drive home from the dealer, but only outside the car, as I generally leave the A/C on recirc to cut down on exhaust smells from other cars, and I bought my car in a dust storm so it was on from minute one.

Now, all I smell is the VOCs outgassing from the plastic parts -- aka "new car smell".

 

I can't tell ...mine is still in England and my nose is not that good.

dean.

 

Reelsmith, can you smell the heather in the countryside? Or the salt air at Southampton?

 

I just checked with our service department & they said it's oil burning off exhaust headers & will go away.

 

Great, Ill try that. Thanks! Thanks everyone for the responses, at least Im not totally losing my mind!

reelsmith - thanks for the helpful input

 

My MINI started pumping out a funny smell from the vents after a few months. When I complained to the dealer, the service advisor said it was because I was always running the A/C on recirculate. He said that even if I need to do that, to switch to fresh air mode whenever possible to keep moisture from collecting in the ducting -- and from "things growing." Since I've been using fresh air mode more often, the bad smell has gone away.

 

My pleasure. I do my best.

dean.