Honda Car Forum

The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's not
mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage over
the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are dry), a
burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap motor (it
works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and just stale air.
I've tried various treatments to little avail, and will probably try
ozone next, if I can find a shop that uses it. But I can't help but
notice that, unlike all the other cars I've owned, the fresh (ha!) air
intake is located *completely* under the hood, in the engine
compartment. Does anyone else with the series Civic (any of the sedans
of that era) have a similar problem? If so, have you found a way to
solve it? The car gets 40mpg and I don't want to sell it.

Leftie wrote:
> The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's not
> mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage over
> the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are dry), a
> burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap motor (it
> works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and just stale air.
> I've tried various treatments to little avail, and will probably try
> ozone next

don't. ozone rots rubber, and thus all your seals.


> , if I can find a shop that uses it. But I can't help but
> notice that, unlike all the other cars I've owned, the fresh (ha!) air
> intake is located *completely* under the hood, in the engine
> compartment.

no it's not. unless you have a seal missing, air gets drawn from the
gap between the windshield and the rear of the hood.


> Does anyone else with the series Civic (any of the sedans
> of that era) have a similar problem? If so, have you found a way to
> solve it? The car gets 40mpg and I don't want to sell it.

now you know why modern cars with a/c have cabin filters - it prevents
the crud build-up in the evaporator matrix. unless you want to do major
surgery and clean-up, the truly anal solution, you're stuck with trying
to deodorize the matrix from the outside. with the fan on, spray in
isopropyl alcohol from a squeezy bottle. use a whole bottle and just
keep going for as long as it takes.

jim beam wrote:
> Leftie wrote:
>> The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's not
>> mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage over
>> the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are dry), a
>> burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap motor (it
>> works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and just stale
>> air. I've tried various treatments to little avail, and will probably
>> try ozone next
>
> don't. ozone rots rubber, and thus all your seals.


Good point.


>
>
>> , if I can find a shop that uses it. But I can't help but notice that,
>> unlike all the other cars I've owned, the fresh (ha!) air intake is
>> located *completely* under the hood, in the engine compartment.
>
> no it's not. unless you have a seal missing, air gets drawn from the
> gap between the windshield and the rear of the hood.


I didn't mean that it's completely isolated from fresh air, I mean
it's completely out of the outside air stream. The air hitting that
buried air intake has just blown over the engine. All the other cars
I've owned have had the intake either exposed right at the base of the
windshield, or at least with open air directly above them at the base of
the windshield.

>
>
> > Does anyone else with the series Civic (any of the sedans
>> of that era) have a similar problem? If so, have you found a way to
>> solve it? The car gets 40mpg and I don't want to sell it.
>
> now you know why modern cars with a/c have cabin filters - it prevents
> the crud build-up in the evaporator matrix. unless you want to do major
> surgery and clean-up, the truly anal solution, you're stuck with trying
> to deodorize the matrix from the outside. with the fan on, spray in
> isopropyl alcohol from a squeezy bottle. use a whole bottle and just
> keep going for as long as it takes.


I've actually tried my vodka and cider vinegar mixture, but I guess
I didn't use enough. How much labor (actual time and book rate) is
involved in physically cleaning the fresh air path? On recirculate the
smell is still there, but substantially reduced.

Leftie wrote:
> jim beam wrote:
>> Leftie wrote:
>>> The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's
>>> not mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage
>>> over the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are
>>> dry), a burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap
>>> motor (it works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and
>>> just stale air. I've tried various treatments to little avail, and
>>> will probably try ozone next
>>
>> don't. ozone rots rubber, and thus all your seals.
>
>
> Good point.
>
>
>>
>>
>>> , if I can find a shop that uses it. But I can't help but notice
>>> that, unlike all the other cars I've owned, the fresh (ha!) air
>>> intake is located *completely* under the hood, in the engine
>>> compartment.
>>
>> no it's not. unless you have a seal missing, air gets drawn from the
>> gap between the windshield and the rear of the hood.
>
>
> I didn't mean that it's completely isolated from fresh air, I mean
> it's completely out of the outside air stream. The air hitting that
> buried air intake has just blown over the engine. All the other cars
> I've owned have had the intake either exposed right at the base of the
> windshield, or at least with open air directly above them at the base of
> the windshield.

if you think you know better than honda, write, tell them, then get rid
of the car. your call.


>
>>
>>
>> > Does anyone else with the series Civic (any of the sedans
>>> of that era) have a similar problem? If so, have you found a way to
>>> solve it? The car gets 40mpg and I don't want to sell it.
>>
>> now you know why modern cars with a/c have cabin filters - it prevents
>> the crud build-up in the evaporator matrix. unless you want to do
>> major surgery and clean-up, the truly anal solution, you're stuck with
>> trying to deodorize the matrix from the outside. with the fan on,
>> spray in isopropyl alcohol from a squeezy bottle. use a whole bottle
>> and just keep going for as long as it takes.
>
>
> I've actually tried my vodka and cider vinegar mixture, but I guess I
> didn't use enough. How much labor (actual time and book rate) is
> involved in physically cleaning the fresh air path?

call the dealer and ask! if you can't do it yourself, you can't afford
to do it.


> On recirculate the
> smell is still there, but substantially reduced.

On Jun 16, 7:25*pm, Leftie <N...@Thanks.net> wrote:
snip

> On recirculate the
> smell is still there, but substantially reduced.

Are you positive there isn't a tiny oil leak under the hood that's
causing the smell?

ACAR wrote:
> On Jun 16, 7:25 pm, Leftie <N...@Thanks.net> wrote:
> snip
>
>> On recirculate the
>> smell is still there, but substantially reduced.
>
> Are you positive there isn't a tiny oil leak under the hood that's
> causing the smell?


That or an exhaust leak was my initial guess, but I keep the car
garaged and there is no oil under it. I replaced a leaking section of
exhaust pipe, and there was no difference. And no, the leaking pipe
wasn't even in or under the engine compartment...

Leftie <No@Thanks.net> wrote in news:1BpZl.3971$f43.547@newsfe03.iad:

> The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's not
> mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage



So it's a gasoline and oil smell?



> over
> the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are dry), a
> burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap motor (it
> works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and just stale air.
> I've tried various treatments to little avail, and will probably try
> ozone next, if I can find a shop that uses it. But I can't help but
> notice that, unlike all the other cars I've owned, the fresh (ha!) air
> intake is located *completely* under the hood, in the engine
> compartment.



Actually, it's not. It's sealed from the engine compartment by a soft
rubber gasket that presses against the underside of the hood. That gasket
wouldn't be missing, would it?


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Leftie <No@Thanks.net> wrote in news:vbe_l.6653$jI6.5495@newsfe11.iad:

> ACAR wrote:
>> On Jun 16, 7:25 pm, Leftie <N...@Thanks.net> wrote:
>> snip
>>
>>> On recirculate the
>>> smell is still there, but substantially reduced.
>>
>> Are you positive there isn't a tiny oil leak under the hood that's
>> causing the smell?
>
>
> That or an exhaust leak was my initial guess, but I keep the car
> garaged and there is no oil under it. I replaced a leaking section of
> exhaust pipe, and there was no difference. And no, the leaking pipe
> wasn't even in or under the engine compartment...



Check the soft rubber gasket just in front of the wieprs.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Tegger wrote:
> Leftie <No@Thanks.net> wrote in news:1BpZl.3971$f43.547@newsfe03.iad:
>
>> The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's not
>> mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage
>
>
>
> So it's a gasoline and oil smell?

Not exactly, certainly not gasoline, but there is a garage-y
component to the smell.

>
>
>
>> over
>> the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are dry), a
>> burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap motor (it
>> works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and just stale air.
>> I've tried various treatments to little avail, and will probably try
>> ozone next, if I can find a shop that uses it. But I can't help but
>> notice that, unlike all the other cars I've owned, the fresh (ha!) air
>> intake is located *completely* under the hood, in the engine
>> compartment.
>
>
>
> Actually, it's not. It's sealed from the engine compartment by a soft
> rubber gasket that presses against the underside of the hood. That gasket
> wouldn't be missing, would it?
>
>

Aha! I have no idea, and will check that when the rain stops. If
they buried the intake and then used the gasket to make fresh air flow
downwards and backwards into it from above, though, I remain unimpressed
with the design. Thanks a lot for the info, though.

Leftie wrote:
> Tegger wrote:
>> Leftie <No@Thanks.net> wrote in news:1BpZl.3971$f43.547@newsfe03.iad:
>>
>>> The ventilation system in my '95 EX sedan smells terrible. It's
>>> not mainly mold, but a combination of smells accumulated in my garage
>>
>>
>>
>> So it's a gasoline and oil smell?
>
> Not exactly, certainly not gasoline, but there is a garage-y
> component to the smell.
>
>>
>>
>>
>>> over the Winter (I don't drive it in snow, only when the roads are
>>> dry), a burned wiring smell that I suspect is the recirculate flap
>>> motor (it works, but I hear static on the radio when I use it) and
>>> just stale air. I've tried various treatments to little avail, and
>>> will probably try ozone next, if I can find a shop that uses it. But
>>> I can't help but notice that, unlike all the other cars I've owned,
>>> the fresh (ha!) air intake is located *completely* under the hood, in
>>> the engine compartment.
>>
>>
>>
>> Actually, it's not. It's sealed from the engine compartment by a soft
>> rubber gasket that presses against the underside of the hood. That
>> gasket wouldn't be missing, would it?
>>
>>
>
> Aha! I have no idea, and will check that when the rain stops. If they
> buried the intake and then used the gasket to make fresh air flow
> downwards and backwards into it from above, though, I remain unimpressed
> with the design. Thanks a lot for the info, though.

dude, have you ever looked at the air intake on a modern helicopter?
it's convoluted so that ground debris doesn't get in the engines. even
fine dust is separated out. similar logic here - all the driven debris
stays out of the intake.

of course, if you drive detroit crap with a design life of 5 years, this
might not be a problem, but if you have a honda and want to drive it 20+
years without its being clogged with twigs, leaves, mud, insects or any
of that other crap, this is the way to go.