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Odors

Hi, the blue tint you mentioned is in fact from oil burning. Over time the internal engine components, specifically the piston o-rings and the valves, wear out and oil starts seeping into the cylinders and burning with the air and...

Simultaneous illumination of "all" warning lights on the dash while driving, when there is no underlying fault, indicates an electrical failure. That failure would have to be diagnosed in a warning light diagnostic (https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/warning-light-is-on-inspection). With regard to the check engine...

This may be related to a dirty or faulty idle air control valve. This is a unit that reads the air intake as it is mixed with fuel before entering the engine. This information is then relayed to the computer...

Hi, thanks for writing in. The strong gas smell may be an indication of a fuel leak (https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/how-to-find-the-source-of-an-oil-leak-by-ed-ruelas) from a fuel line somewhere or potentially an evaporative emissions system leak. Check to see if you see any visible signs of...

Hi, thanks for writing in. The first thing I would recommend doing is taking your vehicle to a local exhaust shop to determine if you have any exhaust leaks. If you have any exhaust leaks that would be my first...

Hey there, thank you for asking a question about your 2005 Saturn Ion. A "strong" odor of fuel is an emergency circumstance. If you park a vehicle with a known gas leak in a tightly closed space, such as a...

The first danger that should be considered is the fact that items on the rearview mirror (https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/is-it-dangerous-to-hang-something-from-the-rearview-mirror) are a distraction. Depending on the object they can partly obscure your view. Visibility is a main concern as well as depending on...

Hi there. The engine revving up higher than normal could be caused by the idle air control valve (IAC). The valve could have gotten stuck when the engine was throttled rapidly when first started. Check the IAC and see if...

A heater core is the most likely failure you are having since it is causing the smell and fog on the window. You will need to have the heater core replaced. The heater core is mounted inside the A/C heater...

This is most likely a cabin filter that needs to be changed. Your car is equipped with an air filtration system that works similarly to your engine's air filter in that it filters the outside air as it flows into...

Hello, thank you for writing in. The best way to remove a moldy smell from your vehicle's air conditioning system is to replace the evaporator. This is a very time consuming and expensive repair, but is the only way to...

Hi there, thanks for writing in. I recommend you check out our article here (https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/how-to-remove-odors-from-your-car) on how to get rid of a smell in your car. Cigarette smell can be difficult to remove from certain materials: cloths, carpets, and even...

The most common reasons for an exhaust system to smell bad is the result of the thermal reaction that occurs within the catalytic converter. The temperatures inside catalytic converters run around 1200F to 1600F. The front substrate inside the catalytic...