The previous owner of my Fit was a smoker. help me!

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by hondaguy72

I'd even go so far as to remove all the carpet and seating, shampoo outdoors and rinse with a garden hose. The foams in the seats are pretty dense and won't absorb too much water. It would dry pretty quickly on a warm day.

I've washed seats before, but I'm not sure if I'd want to wash the Fit seats with a hose since they have air bags in them.

[Ford Man]

After all the cleaning a couple open boxes of baking soda secured where they can't turn over and make a mess might help absorb part of the left over odor.

[Dunkler]

Thanks so much to all of you guys that provided me with ideas for how to eliminate this smell. I found that spraying my whole interior down with a strong mix of vinegar and water followed by a sprinkling of baking soda on all the upholstery followed yet again by another spraying of vinegar has almost eliminated the smell. After scrubbing in that solution of vinegar and baking soda into the seats and carpet and headboard lining with a soft bristle brush I then let it sit for a few hours. I then vacuumed it all up with a good ShopVac and hosed it all down with Febreeze several times. I also replaced the cabin air filter. I believe there is still the faintest smell still left, but it is pretty well over powered by the febreeze.



Front seats in vinegar/baking soda solution


Rear seats


All done and air drying in garage with 2 fans!

[Bill in Houston]

It doesn't smell like a big pickle?

[Odin]

why not just uses this as an excuse to do a complete interior removal, better fuel efficiency

[Dunkler]

Originally Posted by Odin

why not just uses this as an excuse to do a complete interior removal, better fuel efficiency

Man, I totally thought about that! Alas, though I have a baby boy and the wifey wants me to keep the rear seats in in case of me having to transport him somewhere.

Bill,
It doesn't smell particularly like a giant pickle because the interior has since dried and the smell of Febreeze took the place of all scents for the most part!

[Bill in Houston]

Good news. Like I said, I really am interested in hearing how this car does for you, since I can easily imagine owning one in the future.

[Dunkler]

Originally Posted by Bill in Houston

Good news. Like I said, I really am interested in hearing how this car does for you, since I can easily imagine owning one in the future.

I will be posting multiple fuel logs for everyone to follow in the garage section under "Blue" for my Fit. So far so good, I am at 211 miles on this 3rd tank of gas and I am right at the half tank mark

I will eventually post other observations about the car as well such as the effects of some aero mods that are in the planning stages!