How can I get years of cig. smoke out of an a/c system in the used car I want to buy?

Question

I know I can clean the interior but every time I turn the air or heat on, I gag!!! ugh! It's a cute little Nissan p/up but the cigarette smoke seems to permeate the whole vehicle. Is this a lost cause? any and all ideas appreciated. thanks

Answer 1

Don't buy the car... either that or you can:

Replace the entire ac/heat system, including the ductwork
Replace the headliner
Replace all of the seats
Replace the carpet
Replace the sound absorption material

Answer 2

Sadly it would cost a great deal to completely eliminate the smell, the smoke basically "soaks" into most of the porous surfaces in the truck, plastic,cloth,rubber,foam, these materials make up the majority of the interior of the truck , the HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning) ductwork and housing is plastic, the seats carpet and headliner all contain plastic,foam, and cloth, the seals and gaskets around the dash and doors are rubber, the dashboard is made from plastic.
So unfortunately all these items have absorbed the smell and it will never go away completely i would just move on to another truck.

Answer 3

I hope a mechanic answers you :)

I may be wrong, but for the A/C and heater, doesn't the air come INTO the car from OUTSIDE the car? If that is the case, no matter how much the occupant smoked, there shouldn't be that much smoke odor coming from those systems, right?

Sounds like you should be able to replace or clean some kind of filter...

Here's a really long article:

"
Not only do we depend on our cars to get us where we want to go, we also depend on them to get us there without discomfort. We expect the heater to keep us warm when it's cold outside, and the air conditioning system to keep us cool when it's hot. We get heat from the heater core, sort of a secondary radiator, which is part of the car's cooling system. We get air conditioning from the car's elaborate air conditioning system. Despite its relatively small size, the cooling system has to deal with an enormous amount of heat to protect the engine from friction and the heat of combustion. The cooling system has to remove about 6,000 BTU of heat per minute. This is a lot more heat than we need to heat a large home in cold weather. It's good to know that some of this heat can be put to the useful purpose of keeping us warm. Air conditioning makes driving much more comfortable in hot weather. Your car's air conditioner cleans and dehumidifies (removes excess moisture), the outside air entering your car. It also has the task of keeping the air at the temperature you select. These are all big jobs. How do our cars keep our "riding environment" the way we like it? Most people think the air conditioning system's job is to add "cold" air to the interior of the car. Actually, there is no such thing as "cold," just an absence of heat, or less heat than our bodies are comfortable with. The job of the air conditioning system is really to "remove" the heat that makes us uncomfortable, and return the air to the car's interior in a "un-heated" condition. Air conditioning, or cooling, is really a process of removing heat from an object (like air). A compressor circulates a liquid refrigerant called Refrigerant-12 (we tend to call it "Freon," a trade name, the way we call copy machines "Xerox" machines). The compressor moves the Refrigerant-12 from an evaporator, through a condenser and expansion valve, right back to the evaporator. The evaporator is right in front of a fan that pulls the hot, humid air out of the car's interior. The refrigerant makes the hot air's moisture condense into drops of water, removing the heat from the air. Once the water is removed, the "cool" air is sent back into the car's interior. Aaaaaah! Much better. Sometimes we worry when we catch our car making a water puddle on the ground, but are relieved to discover that it's only water dripping from the air conditioning system's condenser (no color, no smell, and it dries!). Note: Refrigerant-12 is extremely dangerous. Many special precautions must be taken when it is present. It can freeze whatever it contacts (including your eyes), it is heavier than air and can suffocate you, and it produces a poisonous gas when it comes in contact with an open flame."

The whole site is pretty good for basic "how does a car run?" info.

Call an professional detailer and see what they recommend, anyplace that cleans limos can probably get anything - smell, stain, etc. - out of a car! And teh used car dealer should pay for part of it - negotiate!

Answer 4

First, change the filter in the heater/air. Try to find where the air intake is (for the heater, not the motor). Sounds like you might have a wet cigarette butt wedged in somewhere near it. Scrub that whole area with ammonia OR white vinegar (not both), don't rinse. Some have even taped dryer sheets over the intake till the oil in the nicotine residue dries up. good luck.

Answer 5

Hi

In my experience, sadly you can't - it's just too ingrained.

On the other hand, you will start to notice it less and less as time goes on - or the subliminal advertising will lead you to take up smoking tobacco.

Good luck!

L

Answer 6

you didn't specify a year of the truck. it may have a cabin filter, most any prts store can get it. if it doesn't have one, invest in a couple bottles of febreeze "auto" and apply liberally.

Answer 7

i dont think you can :-(

Answer 8

You can't...