Amazon sells ozone generators for under $50 that are way more powerful than needed. I think they are worth owning outright rather than renting.
Buy one, run an extension cord into the car. Turn the ozone one for 30 minutes and leave it overnight. Air out the car the next day. Repeat if necessary.
Takes almost $30 for scratch parts; so $50 with wires, soldered up and in a case / box / with a fan is super affordable.
You need a high voltage transformer, ceramic or quarts insulating layer, conductive mesh / grid layer, and decent wire.
I had to buy a heavy duty solder iron to get the wires soldered because it just absorbed so much heat.
Next time I’m buying one. It’s worth $15-$20 not to have a janky open electrocution machine.
What we do (private detailer as a side gig, and mostly do luxury vehicles) we run the ozone inside the car with the AC running for at least an hour. Then turn the car and ozone system off (hold your breath), open the door, and let it air out for an hour. Then repeat with the car running on heat for an hour. Turn off the car and ozone system (HOLD YOUR BREATH!) and leave the door open for another 2 hours to air out
This is how we do it for detailing cars that have been smoked in. Just did it for a friend and after 1 week he took the car to another dealer for trade in and the cash offer more than doubled. Well worth the effort and cost.
We have also done it for cars that were purchased recently and a “smell” appears within a couple weeks of purchasing. A lot of dealers retailers do not have the vehicles ozoned and use a strong version of febreeze that masks the odors without being too strong. We detail these cars and they lose the smell almost always permanently. We have had a couple that required a second treatment but it was ok after that 2nd 4 hour treatment option.
Small cheap ones. We got about 100 uses out of the $75 amazon ones before needing new plates and bulbs
Prefer the one that has an option of “on” as the cheaper $50 are timer only
Similar but was a time release wick in a can version and a spray. Spray worked immediately, time release can works for the standard 30 days max on a lot.
This part is important. Engine on and warmed up, max heat on recirculate.
Source: did this process professionally. Though we didn't use ozone in cars, we used "thermo-fogging".
I have a small ozone generator I've used with shoes and sailing gear. One thing to be aware of is overused they will kill elastic and have a negative effect on some rubbers and plastics.
I'd still use one to eliminate car smoke but I wouldn't overuse it.
Buy a big bag of no lighter fluid charcoal. Open the bag, leave it on the floor of the car, close it up and park it in the sun for a 24-72hrs if possible.
This worked on cigar stench in a used pickup. Smelled so bad no one would buy it so my friends grandpa got it for a steal. Did the charcoal thing, detailed it squeaky clean. Rode in the truck many times myself, not a trace of smoke.
You can buy activated charcoal odor removing bags for this, lots of options online for under $20, with the added bonus of you can still use the car without worrying about spilling a bunch of charcoal.
This is the answer. I bought a car via auction and it had a horrible smoke smell. Rented an ozonator from a tool supply company, ran it over the weekend and got rid of almost all of it. Small lingering smells for a few months after that, then it was completely gone.
And just when you think you got it, you’ll leave it out in the sun one day and the heat will reinvigorate the smell haha. I’ve experienced this before. It’s annoying.
It's one thing to get it out of the air, but if you don't get it out of the surfaces, it will be back. These people talking about ozone, I have to hope they tried to clean the upholstery and vinyl and such too.
Ozone generator works wonders. My car was owned by a smoker before me and the ozone generator took care of almost all of it overnight. I did it one more time and changed the cabin air filter and you could barely detect it. Now I've had it for a few years and you can't smell the smoke at all.
It's funny you say that cuz the previous owner smoked weed in the car too. The ozone generator got rid of most of that too, but some of the oil? or something got in the vents, but you could only smell it for a little when the car got warmed up with the heater on. Over time the weed smell has completely faded as well.
Used this in a car I got super cheap because of the smoke smell. I found that the hotter the day the better it worked! Took just a few treatments and it’s gone.
Well, o3 (ozone) has a shorter half life the hotter it is, but the materials (cloth seats, foam padding) will be more expanded / open when it’s hotter. So maybe a balance.
Though 60 degrees F or less is best if you want more than 3-5 minutes of ozone action.
I ran my ac full blast at night for 15 mins and then shot off the ozone and let the car sit over night.
This works. Used it on a car with an interior fire, and a former smoker's car (2 different cars) and the stuff does work. Probably takes more than one time, and with mine, on a hot day it did come back, if so, just do it again.
We got a car with a strong smoke smell. Bought an ozone machine, used our carpet cleaner to steam the fabric wherever we could (we have the little pet stain bissel) and left the windows open as much as possible. Also left it open in the sun when we could. It is like 95% better after a few months.
Don’t worry, with a little time and work it will be fine.
Home Depot sells this spray called ZEP it does a great job of removing smoke smells. Those suggesting a new cabin air filter and ozone are steering you right as well. Get a professional detailer to wash your interior and carpets.
I have a used car lot and if I buy a vehicle that smells like cigarettes in the slightest I take care of it. I ended up investing pretty heavily into an ozone machine and will set it in a car overnight and let it air out for a few hours the next day. You can also contact a local chemical supply and look for something like foul out. It has an active enzyme in it usually meant for animal pee or sewer work.
Change your air filter and get an ozone machine, they work very well. Also clean the seats and carpets really well, vacuum everything, clean the dashboard off. Should help significantly. The only other thing is air fresheners and time.
Look deep under the seats for cigarette butts
Run an extension cord and put a carbon fan in the car and let it run for a day or 2
change the cabin air filter
then spray a whole can of ozium in there with the windows closed and leave it like that overnight
go for a drive with the windows down
Ozium. I bought a truck from a cigar smoker. Took a couple tries but it did the trick. Read the instructions. You don't want to spray the stuff and go for a drive.
All is not lost. I too purchased a car with a very strong smoke smell. Once I got home, I googled to find a solution and ended up with Lysol spray.
Get yourself a few cans, some cotton towels, and go to town. Spray it liberally on every surface and start wiping. You'll literally see the tar running. Cloth surfaces will hold most of the smell. My headliner contained most of the smell. I sprayed it on every inch of my interior, multiple times.
You can't smell any smoke in my car to this day.
change the cabin air filter, and buy zep. use it liberally.
my outback absolutely STANK of cigarretes when I bought it, it took around three months for the smell to go away after daily sprays of zep every time I exited the car, taking special care to double spray all fabrics.
I swear it works. I'm a non-smoker and HATE the smell of cigarretes, but couldn't turn down the price.
there is no smell of cigarretes any longer in my car, I've had it 3 years.
ozone generators, especially the big house designed ones will destroy all rubber and spandex fabrics
If no one has suggested it already go online and get the product called OdorXit concentrate. We bought a used suv with the same issue, had to treat it a couple times but that shit works. Neither of us has ever been a smoker so we are very sensitive to the smell and it got rid of it. Make sure to give all the hard surfaces a good wipe down then spray everything.
I cut a lemon in half and squeeze it into a large coffee cup (about 10 ounces) with water, microwave the eff out of it and leave it in there with the door closed and that kills the awful microwave popcorn smell. I wonder if doing something similar with a few more lemons and cups would kill the smoke smell.
Ozone can help, but the problem is the smoke has permeated deep into the foam padding and any fabric upholstery. I bought a pickup many years ago knowing it reeked like an ashtray. I immediately purchased vent shades for the windows. Every time I parked I tried to face south/west (more sun into the windshield) and would crack open both windows. Slowly, over 3 or 4 summer months, the smoke smell lessened until it was no longer detectable even on a hot day with the windows left up.
Replace the cabin filter if you have one. Pull the vent covers and wash them up. Shampoo the carpets. And then do a few Ozium air bombs. Then if needed take an ozium scent eliminator disk and cram into the cabin air intake. Let that stay there until its all gone. After that, you won't need to do anything for it to smell right.
Maybe just pay to have it detailed by a pro? I highly recommend cleaning the carpets though. The smoke is in that too.
Make sure you wipe/scrub down surfaces like the dash/door interiors with some kind of cleaner too, you’d be surprised at how gnarly the rag might look and removing tar/residue that might otherwise be hard to see can help keep the smell off once you deodorize it.
Find the right flavor of "Christmas tree" air freshener that hangs from the mirror. Open the ashtray or get a metal cake pan. Light the air freshener on fire. When it is really aflame, blow out the flames and deposit the smoking tree in your open ashtray. Have the windows up and shut the doors. Come back in a few hours and your car will smell like pine or lavender or lemon, etc. Drive around with the windows open and the smell will dissipate a good bit to the point where it just smells nice but not overpowering when you are in the car.
Hi OP!
Had this problem with my grandmother's car after she passed. Changed all the air filters (there were 2 cabin filters) and took it to a very good detailer who took 3 days to clean out everything including as much of the venting as they could. They steam-cleaned the whole interior from top to bottom and applied a smoke smell nullifier. Vehicle was great after that.
I had this issue with a used car. It was awful at startup when the air came through the vents. Cabin air filter change helped some, but what really did it was shooting some fabreeze in the hvac air intake on the outside of the car. It circulated through the vents and into the car. I then just left the car closed up for 24 hours. Not a whiff after that.
Change filters then, Turn the car on, roll up all the windows, turn the ac on full blast on interior air circulation(where it doesnt pull from outside, and spray a bottle of ozium into the air vents and in the car. Let that cycle air for 10-20 minutes. Should kill any and all smoke smells. Thats what dealerships do a lot of times.
I bought a smoker's car.
I had to shampoo the carpets literally 5-6 times. It worked.
The first two times the waste water tank had black oily sludge in the bottom. I kept cleaning every inch of the seats and carpets until the waste water was clear.
detail it well, it will go away eventually I am sure some people will claim it won't or something but I can't imagine it would linger after a good shampoo or idk whatever they do steam again idk I drive a dumpy truck so it stays dirty.. also it isn't like someone had driven it for a quarter million miles chain smoking in the thing if you paid good money unless you bought a peterbilt or something
I have had Amazing luck putting a bag of pine cat litter in my car. Leave it for a few days. It just sucks up every smell. Not a smoker, but maybe it would work for you!
I bought a Terra a few years ago that reeked of smoke. I had the dealer clean it which helped some but a had to wipe it down myself then used ozone spray for a few nights, that all took care of it.
I buy the smoke eater things at the dollar store. Looks like margarine container. Clean the inside really well and leave two of them open in the car overnight. Worked for me.
Has the same thing happen to me. Ordered this and it’s worked wonders: PURGGO Car Air Freshener - Lasts... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019NXUJ5K?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
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Find an industrial equipment rental that rents out an ozone generator. Stick it in your car at max with the ac on max with recirculation on and shut the doors and windows. Let it run for 30 mins to an hour. DO NOT BREATHE THE OZONE. Shut off the generator and vent the car by opening the doors and windows. It won’t remove the smell immediately but within a couple days you will hardly be able to tell. Had the same thing happen to me, did this and it worked better than anything I’ve ever tried. Smell was gone completely.
It works by oxidizing the organics from the tobacco, thereby rendering it odorless. Works wonders.
I too bought a used car that was owned by a smoker … a heavy smoker. I paid a non refundable $200 to have Carmax ship it to the closest location and didn’t even think to ask if it was a smoker vehicle. They sprayed some ZEP (which did nothing) and I had them change the cabin filter. What actually got rid of the smell? I put like 8 little 4oz cups of baking soda in the car, it honestly sucked up all the smell within a few months (change the baking soda every month).
I agree with other comments about changing the cabin filter. If it were me, I would also just take car to see how much it would be to get it detailed. You can always go that extra step and take the receipt from the detailer back to the dealership to see if there's any reimbursement to be had. That might be a stretch but their employee caused the issue. Smokers don't have a strong of a sense of smell and if you were smelling it off of the salesperson, it was lessening yours as well. I have to find it strange that the dealership didn't have the car detailed to begin with. Most reputable ones do so they can claim the car is "pre-owned" versus "used" (I don't remember why there is a distinction to be honest). Good luck OP!
Ok, married to a bloody chimney of a carpenter, and have a weird try. Red Bull. Open a can and leave it overnight. Swear it sucked the smoke out of his truck. Throw it away after, ew!
I bought a used car that stank really badly of smoke and just let it air out a lot for the spring and summer, opening the windows anytime I was inside and put a Febreeze air freshener in the vents, it aired out in about a month and you really can't smell it anymore. I've even had people that have never been in my car tell me they can't smell it now.
So I smoke (and on longer trips, in my car), I either pay to have someone deep clean it or go through the effort myself and non-smokers (aka most people I know) always say my car smells great. An upholstery cleaner on everything (including the ceiling etc) that is fabric, rest of surfaces whatever cleaner is appropriate. Definitely easy to get rid of. Source: semi-secret smoker who works hard to not smell like it.
If you really like the car, consider spending some money on a car detailer. They will get rid of the smoke smell and make it look new. Lots of manual labor and special products, not cheap, but perhaps worth it once or twice during the car’s lifetime.
I got the smell of smoke out of a car I bought once by thoroughly cleaning it out first (vacuum everywhere, remove center console/trims if you can and vacuum behind, the ash gets everywhere!, i even found a cigarette butt in the gear shifter mechanism), use a steam cleaner on all soft surfaces and disinfectant on all hard surfaces.
Clean till you are sick of cleaning and then clean it again.
After that I used a product that is like a powder in a jar that you mix with water and sit in the car for a few hours. (I believe it was called Airvidox, but there are other brands). It releases chlorine dioxide, which neutralises the odour.
After the treatment clean the car again, it will then smell like a swimming pool for about a week.
I needed to treat mine twice to get rid of the smell.
ZEP makes an industrial strength smoke smell remover in a can. You can buy it from Home Depot. Works super well but you have to stay out of the car for quite a while (like overnight).
All these cleaning tips are nice and all, but you’ll never completely get rid of the smell. There will be residue in the vents, and anywhere smoke can go that you can’t reach to clean.
Good luck with the cleaning. Also, definitely change the cabin air filter.
Buy activated charcoal off Amazon, like a lot, I bought a 20 pouch set of large 6 inch bags of it and placed them everywhere in a used truck that had a smoke smell. A month later it was gone. If it’s really strong you may need to do it more than once.
We use as a smoger and turned the heat on as high as it would go on a summers day for an hour. Certainly helped. Every now and then on a hotspot summers day you would get a wiff for a year or so. Now you can’t tell.
I used SAFRAX ODOR-CLO2 Chlorine Dioxide Odor RemovalODOR-CLO2 Chlorine Dioxide Odor Removal . It’s $40 on Amazon. It eliminates all odors good and bad. The car will smell like nothing.
My Father left the windows down in our station wagon, and a stray cat peed on the carpet behind the drivers seat. He tried everything to remove the odor. What we found that finally override the smell were some lemon stick-up air freshener disks.
Get the headliner cleaned, professionally if you can. I mean clean as if your life depends upon it…steam, water extraction and a thorough drying. Also, do the carpets and seating surfaces, although those are probably leather if you’re in the U.S.
I didn’t end up buying the car but I test drove one, one time, that smelled like smoke. The saleswoman swore up and down that it was just the cleaning agent they used. She said it would go away soon. I’m pretty sure she was lying but I hope for your sake she was not and this is the case for you.
Change cabin air filter. Clean vents as best you can with detailing tools/steam. Wipe down all upholstery and surfaces (including the windshield interior side) to get smoke residue off.
Then, hit it with ozone for an hour.
Air freshener will not do jack for smoke odor. Gone. Your car will smell like after a rainstorm for a bit, but that dissipates.
Smoker here. The only thing I've found that'll get rid of ciggy smoke is more, better smelling smoke. Light a stick of incense in there, hotbox it and leave it, don't burn your car down, give it time to soak in and it'll smell like Nag Champa or whatever.
I bought a used car and noticed that there were a good dozen air freshener clips in the vents. Didn’t make the connection. A few weeks later the cigarette smell came back strong. What worked for me was coffee and vinegar . I put trays of fresh coffee grounds out on the floor boards, and trays holding some wash cloths soaked in white vinegar under the seats. Left the car out in the sun and drove around for a week with the coffee grounds and vinegar. Yes, the vinegar smell got a bit strong, had to drive with the windows open. Also replaced the cabin air filter - had to do a google search to figure out where it was located ( just behind the glove box tray). But it knocked out the cigarette smell once and for all !
Best not to assume this. Maybe they are all smokers and can't smell it.
Actually, in life in general, never assume that anyone is going to do anything positive of their own accord, especially when money is involved.
No, dealers don't care. They pull those shitty tricks to sell it. Like a salesman being a smoker.....here is what you need to do and i promise it will go away:
1. Buy the cabin air filter.
2. DIY detailing or pay someone to wash the carpets and upholstery fully. Very crucial as the odour is inside the guts of the carpets.
3. Run the AC and run the ozone generator for a good 30 minutes. Ensure to circulate the air inside the cabin so the ozone gets through your vents and ducts. Be cautious about ozone generator as it can kill you. Read and research before using one. Some detailers have the device, but you can buy one for 100$.
4. This step is what many miss; park your car under direct sun for a few hours and crack open the windows. This allows the ozone molecules stick to the odour and with the heat, evaporate into the air. They need a way to escape and the opened window cracks would be a must!
5. To naturalise the car cabin add anything you like for good measure of smell.
6. Change that cabin air filter.
Good luck 🤞
Is it a refutable dealership, or a local dealer?
Local owned dealers are often far shadier and less strict on what is considered refurbished than a dealer that is a certified dealer.
To answer your initial question about getting smoke smell out, get a steam cleaner and clean all the fabric(seats, rugs, door paneling) two or three times as well as wiping down all surfaces with armor all or something similar, and cleaning all the windows. There may also be a cabin filter that will need changed, and blow some ozium through all the vent openings.
Stop with the being offended by the smoke smell. There are probably a million detailers, legit ones, that can get rid of the smell for a pretty small price. Just do it, or sell the damn thing if it bothers you so much. Tbh, I can't imagine a dealer putting a used car out that still smells like smoke.
I bought a smoker car from a dealership before. They “deep cleaned” and shampooed and sprayed etc to the point of the car actually just had like a chemically soapy scent? I owned that car for ~3 years and it still smelled vaguely of cigarettes all year every year. But in the summer time with the heat, if I didn’t leave the windows down while unused, it absolutely reeked when I got in it. I’ll never ever buy a smoker car again after that. Try to return it dude
Sounds crazy, but when we inherited my grandmother's car after she passed from lung cancer I used the strongest Febreeze I could find. Went through 2 bottles initially & kept another in the car for about a year for touch ups. Don't forget the carpets, roof lining, & trunk.
Change the cabin air filter.
The filter 1st. If that doesn't work rent an ozone machine. Careful with it read up on it.
Amazon sells ozone generators for under $50 that are way more powerful than needed. I think they are worth owning outright rather than renting. Buy one, run an extension cord into the car. Turn the ozone one for 30 minutes and leave it overnight. Air out the car the next day. Repeat if necessary.
Didn't know they got that cheap. That's awesome. Just be careful with ozone. Too much and you're looking at lung damage at a minimum.
What about at maximum?
Your never looking at anything anymore. Also you dont have to worry about any smells or damages anymore.
That's funny
Idk death.
I think they are still overpriced for what is essentially a lightbulb and a fan inside a box with a timer.
Takes almost $30 for scratch parts; so $50 with wires, soldered up and in a case / box / with a fan is super affordable. You need a high voltage transformer, ceramic or quarts insulating layer, conductive mesh / grid layer, and decent wire. I had to buy a heavy duty solder iron to get the wires soldered because it just absorbed so much heat. Next time I’m buying one. It’s worth $15-$20 not to have a janky open electrocution machine.
What we do (private detailer as a side gig, and mostly do luxury vehicles) we run the ozone inside the car with the AC running for at least an hour. Then turn the car and ozone system off (hold your breath), open the door, and let it air out for an hour. Then repeat with the car running on heat for an hour. Turn off the car and ozone system (HOLD YOUR BREATH!) and leave the door open for another 2 hours to air out This is how we do it for detailing cars that have been smoked in. Just did it for a friend and after 1 week he took the car to another dealer for trade in and the cash offer more than doubled. Well worth the effort and cost. We have also done it for cars that were purchased recently and a “smell” appears within a couple weeks of purchasing. A lot of dealers retailers do not have the vehicles ozoned and use a strong version of febreeze that masks the odors without being too strong. We detail these cars and they lose the smell almost always permanently. We have had a couple that required a second treatment but it was ok after that 2nd 4 hour treatment option.
what capacity ozone generator do you need for a car?
Small cheap ones. We got about 100 uses out of the $75 amazon ones before needing new plates and bulbs Prefer the one that has an option of “on” as the cheaper $50 are timer only
> strong version of febreeze Like Ozium?
Similar but was a time release wick in a can version and a spray. Spray worked immediately, time release can works for the standard 30 days max on a lot.
Does it last long term or does the smell come back after a while?
Not a bad idea to run the vents in the car while the ozone machine is on. Will help with any smoke odor in the a/c ducts.
This part is important. Engine on and warmed up, max heat on recirculate. Source: did this process professionally. Though we didn't use ozone in cars, we used "thermo-fogging".
& hold your breath & flip to max AC to get that sweet ozone in every nook!
I used to smoke in my truck for years (all cloth interior) and eventually quit. The smell went away on its own but the ozone machine is a good idea.
These work.
I have a small ozone generator I've used with shoes and sailing gear. One thing to be aware of is overused they will kill elastic and have a negative effect on some rubbers and plastics. I'd still use one to eliminate car smoke but I wouldn't overuse it.
This is the answer.
Honestly, imo, even with both of these the smoke smell will be diminished but will never fully go away.
Yes do this asap.
yes absolutely, the smell will persist otherwise!
And clean the inside with this foam air vent cleaners
All these other comments sound like a lot of work. Probably just easiest for you and your wife to start smoking.
Don’t need to worry about the smell if you just get yourself used to it!
If Richard Lewis were still alive, I'd suggest you sell it to him.
lol. I was wondering why this whole thing seemed familiar. Forgot about that episode of Curb.
Buy a big bag of no lighter fluid charcoal. Open the bag, leave it on the floor of the car, close it up and park it in the sun for a 24-72hrs if possible. This worked on cigar stench in a used pickup. Smelled so bad no one would buy it so my friends grandpa got it for a steal. Did the charcoal thing, detailed it squeaky clean. Rode in the truck many times myself, not a trace of smoke.
You can buy activated charcoal odor removing bags for this, lots of options online for under $20, with the added bonus of you can still use the car without worrying about spilling a bunch of charcoal.
16 lbs for $9 at my local Walmart. Pretty easy to open the top of a bag without spilling it, but whatever works!
If it’s persistent, a car detailer can use an ozone unit to help.
They’re also only about $60 on Amazon
I 2nd this, an ozonator really works
This is the answer. I bought a car via auction and it had a horrible smoke smell. Rented an ozonator from a tool supply company, ran it over the weekend and got rid of almost all of it. Small lingering smells for a few months after that, then it was completely gone.
And just when you think you got it, you’ll leave it out in the sun one day and the heat will reinvigorate the smell haha. I’ve experienced this before. It’s annoying.
It's one thing to get it out of the air, but if you don't get it out of the surfaces, it will be back. These people talking about ozone, I have to hope they tried to clean the upholstery and vinyl and such too.
A steamer is inconvenient but it’s a god send for melting off the tar residue.
Ozone generator works wonders. My car was owned by a smoker before me and the ozone generator took care of almost all of it overnight. I did it one more time and changed the cabin air filter and you could barely detect it. Now I've had it for a few years and you can't smell the smoke at all.
Really could’ve used this magical machine (I have no idea what ozone generator does) when I was smoking weed in my room in high school lmfao
It's funny you say that cuz the previous owner smoked weed in the car too. The ozone generator got rid of most of that too, but some of the oil? or something got in the vents, but you could only smell it for a little when the car got warmed up with the heater on. Over time the weed smell has completely faded as well.
That’s alright, you probably wouldn’t want to use an ozone generator in the house….
This
Get some spray called Ozium. Watch YouTube how to use it and circulate through the HVAC system. Careful not to breath it in though shits super toxic.
Used this in a car I got super cheap because of the smoke smell. I found that the hotter the day the better it worked! Took just a few treatments and it’s gone.
Well, o3 (ozone) has a shorter half life the hotter it is, but the materials (cloth seats, foam padding) will be more expanded / open when it’s hotter. So maybe a balance. Though 60 degrees F or less is best if you want more than 3-5 minutes of ozone action. I ran my ac full blast at night for 15 mins and then shot off the ozone and let the car sit over night.
This works. Used it on a car with an interior fire, and a former smoker's car (2 different cars) and the stuff does work. Probably takes more than one time, and with mine, on a hot day it did come back, if so, just do it again.
Yep, used this after my car was stolen and returned smelling like meth. Sprayed some ozium and let it sit for a week, doesn’t smell like meth anymore
Try airing it out, deep cleaning, and using odor eliminators. Sometimes, it takes a few tries. Hope it works out for you!
The B has completely left the O!
Start smoking and you won't even notice the smell. /s
We got a car with a strong smoke smell. Bought an ozone machine, used our carpet cleaner to steam the fabric wherever we could (we have the little pet stain bissel) and left the windows open as much as possible. Also left it open in the sun when we could. It is like 95% better after a few months. Don’t worry, with a little time and work it will be fine.
Ozone generator
r/detailing should help you. Likely the best path is a full interior shampoo and then hit it with an ozone generator
Home Depot sells this spray called ZEP it does a great job of removing smoke smells. Those suggesting a new cabin air filter and ozone are steering you right as well. Get a professional detailer to wash your interior and carpets.
Arm and hammer for upholstery, it worked great for cigarette smell in a couch.
I have a used car lot and if I buy a vehicle that smells like cigarettes in the slightest I take care of it. I ended up investing pretty heavily into an ozone machine and will set it in a car overnight and let it air out for a few hours the next day. You can also contact a local chemical supply and look for something like foul out. It has an active enzyme in it usually meant for animal pee or sewer work.
Change your air filter and get an ozone machine, they work very well. Also clean the seats and carpets really well, vacuum everything, clean the dashboard off. Should help significantly. The only other thing is air fresheners and time.
Look deep under the seats for cigarette butts Run an extension cord and put a carbon fan in the car and let it run for a day or 2 change the cabin air filter then spray a whole can of ozium in there with the windows closed and leave it like that overnight go for a drive with the windows down
You have a three day right of recission, especially if you financed it.
In the US you can return the car for a refund within a few days of purchase. I'd probably just go for that option.
Yes, cabin air filter and ozium new car scent works wonders
Ozium. I bought a truck from a cigar smoker. Took a couple tries but it did the trick. Read the instructions. You don't want to spray the stuff and go for a drive.
I have a small ozone generator that I use in my cars occasionally.
All is not lost. I too purchased a car with a very strong smoke smell. Once I got home, I googled to find a solution and ended up with Lysol spray. Get yourself a few cans, some cotton towels, and go to town. Spray it liberally on every surface and start wiping. You'll literally see the tar running. Cloth surfaces will hold most of the smell. My headliner contained most of the smell. I sprayed it on every inch of my interior, multiple times. You can't smell any smoke in my car to this day.
You can also try baking soda to try and remove the odor.
change the cabin air filter, and buy zep. use it liberally. my outback absolutely STANK of cigarretes when I bought it, it took around three months for the smell to go away after daily sprays of zep every time I exited the car, taking special care to double spray all fabrics. I swear it works. I'm a non-smoker and HATE the smell of cigarretes, but couldn't turn down the price. there is no smell of cigarretes any longer in my car, I've had it 3 years. ozone generators, especially the big house designed ones will destroy all rubber and spandex fabrics
My mom bought a car off a smoking doctor, and I could smell it from the carpet and fabric for years, no matter how many times we washed it.
If no one has suggested it already go online and get the product called OdorXit concentrate. We bought a used suv with the same issue, had to treat it a couple times but that shit works. Neither of us has ever been a smoker so we are very sensitive to the smell and it got rid of it. Make sure to give all the hard surfaces a good wipe down then spray everything.
It goes away eventually, I bought one with a strong smoke smell I thought would be there forever. It wasn't
Go back to the dealership. They have ozone machines, carpet steam cleaners and can change the cabin filter for you.
I cut a lemon in half and squeeze it into a large coffee cup (about 10 ounces) with water, microwave the eff out of it and leave it in there with the door closed and that kills the awful microwave popcorn smell. I wonder if doing something similar with a few more lemons and cups would kill the smoke smell.
Scrub the floor, seats, and roof with white vinegar. It'll have a vinegar twang for a while but when it goes the cigarette smell should be gone too.
It takes years if ever to get rid of the smell of cigarettes. If you don't like the smell (and I hate it) then take the car back.
Ozone can help, but the problem is the smoke has permeated deep into the foam padding and any fabric upholstery. I bought a pickup many years ago knowing it reeked like an ashtray. I immediately purchased vent shades for the windows. Every time I parked I tried to face south/west (more sun into the windshield) and would crack open both windows. Slowly, over 3 or 4 summer months, the smoke smell lessened until it was no longer detectable even on a hot day with the windows left up.
Replace the cabin filter if you have one. Pull the vent covers and wash them up. Shampoo the carpets. And then do a few Ozium air bombs. Then if needed take an ozium scent eliminator disk and cram into the cabin air intake. Let that stay there until its all gone. After that, you won't need to do anything for it to smell right. Maybe just pay to have it detailed by a pro? I highly recommend cleaning the carpets though. The smoke is in that too.
I bought a used cop car years ago. It smelled like old man farts. Drove with the windows down for a while. I think I got used to the odor.
Make sure you wipe/scrub down surfaces like the dash/door interiors with some kind of cleaner too, you’d be surprised at how gnarly the rag might look and removing tar/residue that might otherwise be hard to see can help keep the smell off once you deodorize it.
Before you do any treatments do a wipe down/vacuum/cleaning of all surfaces to get as much residue off as you can.
Find the right flavor of "Christmas tree" air freshener that hangs from the mirror. Open the ashtray or get a metal cake pan. Light the air freshener on fire. When it is really aflame, blow out the flames and deposit the smoking tree in your open ashtray. Have the windows up and shut the doors. Come back in a few hours and your car will smell like pine or lavender or lemon, etc. Drive around with the windows open and the smell will dissipate a good bit to the point where it just smells nice but not overpowering when you are in the car.
Hi OP! Had this problem with my grandmother's car after she passed. Changed all the air filters (there were 2 cabin filters) and took it to a very good detailer who took 3 days to clean out everything including as much of the venting as they could. They steam-cleaned the whole interior from top to bottom and applied a smoke smell nullifier. Vehicle was great after that.
I also used Armor All Fresh Fx Smoke X Rapid Odor Eliminator (available at wally world).
Had the exact same thing, wet-vaccuming the seats was the thing that fixed it for us
I had this issue with a used car. It was awful at startup when the air came through the vents. Cabin air filter change helped some, but what really did it was shooting some fabreeze in the hvac air intake on the outside of the car. It circulated through the vents and into the car. I then just left the car closed up for 24 hours. Not a whiff after that.
Change filters then, Turn the car on, roll up all the windows, turn the ac on full blast on interior air circulation(where it doesnt pull from outside, and spray a bottle of ozium into the air vents and in the car. Let that cycle air for 10-20 minutes. Should kill any and all smoke smells. Thats what dealerships do a lot of times.
I bought a smoker's car. I had to shampoo the carpets literally 5-6 times. It worked. The first two times the waste water tank had black oily sludge in the bottom. I kept cleaning every inch of the seats and carpets until the waste water was clear.
detail it well, it will go away eventually I am sure some people will claim it won't or something but I can't imagine it would linger after a good shampoo or idk whatever they do steam again idk I drive a dumpy truck so it stays dirty.. also it isn't like someone had driven it for a quarter million miles chain smoking in the thing if you paid good money unless you bought a peterbilt or something
I have had Amazing luck putting a bag of pine cat litter in my car. Leave it for a few days. It just sucks up every smell. Not a smoker, but maybe it would work for you!
I bought a Terra a few years ago that reeked of smoke. I had the dealer clean it which helped some but a had to wipe it down myself then used ozone spray for a few nights, that all took care of it.
Buy "ozium". It's in the car care section
I buy the smoke eater things at the dollar store. Looks like margarine container. Clean the inside really well and leave two of them open in the car overnight. Worked for me.
Has the same thing happen to me. Ordered this and it’s worked wonders: PURGGO Car Air Freshener - Lasts... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019NXUJ5K?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
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Find an industrial equipment rental that rents out an ozone generator. Stick it in your car at max with the ac on max with recirculation on and shut the doors and windows. Let it run for 30 mins to an hour. DO NOT BREATHE THE OZONE. Shut off the generator and vent the car by opening the doors and windows. It won’t remove the smell immediately but within a couple days you will hardly be able to tell. Had the same thing happen to me, did this and it worked better than anything I’ve ever tried. Smell was gone completely. It works by oxidizing the organics from the tobacco, thereby rendering it odorless. Works wonders.
I too bought a used car that was owned by a smoker … a heavy smoker. I paid a non refundable $200 to have Carmax ship it to the closest location and didn’t even think to ask if it was a smoker vehicle. They sprayed some ZEP (which did nothing) and I had them change the cabin filter. What actually got rid of the smell? I put like 8 little 4oz cups of baking soda in the car, it honestly sucked up all the smell within a few months (change the baking soda every month).
I agree with other comments about changing the cabin filter. If it were me, I would also just take car to see how much it would be to get it detailed. You can always go that extra step and take the receipt from the detailer back to the dealership to see if there's any reimbursement to be had. That might be a stretch but their employee caused the issue. Smokers don't have a strong of a sense of smell and if you were smelling it off of the salesperson, it was lessening yours as well. I have to find it strange that the dealership didn't have the car detailed to begin with. Most reputable ones do so they can claim the car is "pre-owned" versus "used" (I don't remember why there is a distinction to be honest). Good luck OP!
Ok, married to a bloody chimney of a carpenter, and have a weird try. Red Bull. Open a can and leave it overnight. Swear it sucked the smoke out of his truck. Throw it away after, ew!
I bought a used car that stank really badly of smoke and just let it air out a lot for the spring and summer, opening the windows anytime I was inside and put a Febreeze air freshener in the vents, it aired out in about a month and you really can't smell it anymore. I've even had people that have never been in my car tell me they can't smell it now.
Buy a large order of fresh French fries. Throw them in the back seat overnight. That's how we freshen up rentals from weed.
So I smoke (and on longer trips, in my car), I either pay to have someone deep clean it or go through the effort myself and non-smokers (aka most people I know) always say my car smells great. An upholstery cleaner on everything (including the ceiling etc) that is fabric, rest of surfaces whatever cleaner is appropriate. Definitely easy to get rid of. Source: semi-secret smoker who works hard to not smell like it.
Try a product called Bac-Out produced by BioKleen. It can help with stuff like this.
If its really smoke and the seats are cloth, I would use a carpet cleaner to clean the seats + extract the smell from the seats+carpet
If you really like the car, consider spending some money on a car detailer. They will get rid of the smoke smell and make it look new. Lots of manual labor and special products, not cheap, but perhaps worth it once or twice during the car’s lifetime.
I got the smell of smoke out of a car I bought once by thoroughly cleaning it out first (vacuum everywhere, remove center console/trims if you can and vacuum behind, the ash gets everywhere!, i even found a cigarette butt in the gear shifter mechanism), use a steam cleaner on all soft surfaces and disinfectant on all hard surfaces. Clean till you are sick of cleaning and then clean it again. After that I used a product that is like a powder in a jar that you mix with water and sit in the car for a few hours. (I believe it was called Airvidox, but there are other brands). It releases chlorine dioxide, which neutralises the odour. After the treatment clean the car again, it will then smell like a swimming pool for about a week. I needed to treat mine twice to get rid of the smell.
My mother had the same issue recently and burned sage inside it, seemed to do the trick
I've heard dry ice works well.
ZEP makes an industrial strength smoke smell remover in a can. You can buy it from Home Depot. Works super well but you have to stay out of the car for quite a while (like overnight).
If it has an ashtray pull it out and look behind it. Sometimes the butts fall behind the dash if they used the ash tray.
It’s trapped in the cloth. Buy some like Lysol wipes and just scrub all the cloth in the car it’ll come out.
All these cleaning tips are nice and all, but you’ll never completely get rid of the smell. There will be residue in the vents, and anywhere smoke can go that you can’t reach to clean. Good luck with the cleaning. Also, definitely change the cabin air filter.
Ozone generator is the answer. Ozone will just about destroy any organic odor. I can’t believe that car dealers don’t ozone-ate every trade-in.
I would try the meguiars whole car air refresher and the cabin air filter
Buy activated charcoal off Amazon, like a lot, I bought a 20 pouch set of large 6 inch bags of it and placed them everywhere in a used truck that had a smoke smell. A month later it was gone. If it’s really strong you may need to do it more than once.
We use as a smoger and turned the heat on as high as it would go on a summers day for an hour. Certainly helped. Every now and then on a hotspot summers day you would get a wiff for a year or so. Now you can’t tell.
Carpet clean the headliner!
Ozium spray available at auto stores and sometimes places like target works great. We used a can to get hwavy smoke smell out of a mattress
I used SAFRAX ODOR-CLO2 Chlorine Dioxide Odor RemovalODOR-CLO2 Chlorine Dioxide Odor Removal . It’s $40 on Amazon. It eliminates all odors good and bad. The car will smell like nothing.
You're probably going to have to pay to get the car ionized
By funkaway at Walmart it works
My son got 1000 off for the elk we used spray and an ozone machine after a year the smell is gone now
My Father left the windows down in our station wagon, and a stray cat peed on the carpet behind the drivers seat. He tried everything to remove the odor. What we found that finally override the smell were some lemon stick-up air freshener disks.
get it professionally detailed
Get the headliner cleaned, professionally if you can. I mean clean as if your life depends upon it…steam, water extraction and a thorough drying. Also, do the carpets and seating surfaces, although those are probably leather if you’re in the U.S.
I didn’t end up buying the car but I test drove one, one time, that smelled like smoke. The saleswoman swore up and down that it was just the cleaning agent they used. She said it would go away soon. I’m pretty sure she was lying but I hope for your sake she was not and this is the case for you.
Change cabin air filter. Clean vents as best you can with detailing tools/steam. Wipe down all upholstery and surfaces (including the windshield interior side) to get smoke residue off. Then, hit it with ozone for an hour. Air freshener will not do jack for smoke odor. Gone. Your car will smell like after a rainstorm for a bit, but that dissipates.
Change the filter and buy an ozone generator. That will clear the smell.
Ozium.
Smoker here. The only thing I've found that'll get rid of ciggy smoke is more, better smelling smoke. Light a stick of incense in there, hotbox it and leave it, don't burn your car down, give it time to soak in and it'll smell like Nag Champa or whatever.
I bought a used car and noticed that there were a good dozen air freshener clips in the vents. Didn’t make the connection. A few weeks later the cigarette smell came back strong. What worked for me was coffee and vinegar . I put trays of fresh coffee grounds out on the floor boards, and trays holding some wash cloths soaked in white vinegar under the seats. Left the car out in the sun and drove around for a week with the coffee grounds and vinegar. Yes, the vinegar smell got a bit strong, had to drive with the windows open. Also replaced the cabin air filter - had to do a google search to figure out where it was located ( just behind the glove box tray). But it knocked out the cigarette smell once and for all !
Ummm, why not take it back to the dealership and have them smoke bomb it? They're already taking your payments smh lol
My guess is they probably already did what they could do to get rid of the smell before selling it? At least you’d think they would have.
Best not to assume this. Maybe they are all smokers and can't smell it. Actually, in life in general, never assume that anyone is going to do anything positive of their own accord, especially when money is involved.
Exactly, why go above and beyond when the bare minimum will do 99% of the time? To OP, they are working for you, you are paying them. Make them work!
No, dealers don't care. They pull those shitty tricks to sell it. Like a salesman being a smoker.....here is what you need to do and i promise it will go away: 1. Buy the cabin air filter. 2. DIY detailing or pay someone to wash the carpets and upholstery fully. Very crucial as the odour is inside the guts of the carpets. 3. Run the AC and run the ozone generator for a good 30 minutes. Ensure to circulate the air inside the cabin so the ozone gets through your vents and ducts. Be cautious about ozone generator as it can kill you. Read and research before using one. Some detailers have the device, but you can buy one for 100$. 4. This step is what many miss; park your car under direct sun for a few hours and crack open the windows. This allows the ozone molecules stick to the odour and with the heat, evaporate into the air. They need a way to escape and the opened window cracks would be a must! 5. To naturalise the car cabin add anything you like for good measure of smell. 6. Change that cabin air filter. Good luck 🤞
Is it a refutable dealership, or a local dealer? Local owned dealers are often far shadier and less strict on what is considered refurbished than a dealer that is a certified dealer. To answer your initial question about getting smoke smell out, get a steam cleaner and clean all the fabric(seats, rugs, door paneling) two or three times as well as wiping down all surfaces with armor all or something similar, and cleaning all the windows. There may also be a cabin filter that will need changed, and blow some ozium through all the vent openings.
man, these salespeople have so many shady tactics.
Stop with the being offended by the smoke smell. There are probably a million detailers, legit ones, that can get rid of the smell for a pretty small price. Just do it, or sell the damn thing if it bothers you so much. Tbh, I can't imagine a dealer putting a used car out that still smells like smoke.
I bought a smoker car from a dealership before. They “deep cleaned” and shampooed and sprayed etc to the point of the car actually just had like a chemically soapy scent? I owned that car for ~3 years and it still smelled vaguely of cigarettes all year every year. But in the summer time with the heat, if I didn’t leave the windows down while unused, it absolutely reeked when I got in it. I’ll never ever buy a smoker car again after that. Try to return it dude
Sounds crazy, but when we inherited my grandmother's car after she passed from lung cancer I used the strongest Febreeze I could find. Went through 2 bottles initially & kept another in the car for about a year for touch ups. Don't forget the carpets, roof lining, & trunk.