Hot take: That 'new car smell' means you are breathing in chemicals I don't want near me

I worked on a 2024 sedan last week that still had that factory odor sealed in the cabin. After 15 years in the trade, I think all those volatile compounds are doing damage we don't see yet. Anyone else notice more plastic off-gassing in modern interiors?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivermason10d ago

Oh great, so we're basically paying extra to hotbox ourselves with glue fumes? I sat in a buddy's brand new SUV last month and my eyes were watering within five minutes. Made me miss the good old days when interiors smelled like stale cigarettes and old french fries. At least you knew what you were breathing in. Might start bringing a gas mask to the dealership test drives, see what kind of look that gets me.

patricia3210d ago

Fabric seats seem to hold those chemicals way worse than leather in my experience... had a customer complain about headaches after sitting in their new crossover for an hour. Have you ever tested the air quality inside a sealed car versus outside with one of those VOC meters?

mileslane10d ago

Yeah @patricia32, you're right that fabric holds stuff longer but I think it's actually the opposite way around with VOCs. Leather usually off-gasses more because of the tanning chemicals and sealants they use on it. I've used a cheap VOC meter in a couple new cars and it was always way higher than outside until I let it air out for a few days.