New Member, New (Used)X5

[JimBoSS_AU]

Hi All, I just purchased a 2017 X5 Saturday past and I should receive it in a few weeks.

As you can imagine, the last few days I have been reading and watching as many forums and videos as I can to get familiar with the car and what to look out for.

So here I am.

One thing I noticed when getting in the car was the previous owner must have been a heavy smoker as the car absolutely stunk up a storm. Was a good negotiating tactic as I used that to get a better deal. But now I need to clear off the stench.

Can anybody guide me on the best approach to deal with this?

[vancitym3]

I would go on YouTube. Plenty of excellent videos on there on just how to do that.

[shimmy23]

good luck. i've never truly seen a fix for this. that smoke just absorbs into everything

[JimBoSS_AU]

Originally Posted by vancitym3

I would go on YouTube. Plenty of excellent videos on there on just how to do that.

I'll take a look , fingers crossed there is something that can be done.

[JimBoSS_AU]

Originally Posted by shimmy23

good luck. i've never truly seen a fix for this. that smoke just absorbs into everything

I saw a aircon deodorizing kit where you close the doors and trigger the can to go off and let it circulate, I might try that but think it may just cover the smell over with air freshener and make it worse.

[TexasRiderBMW]

Maybe a good detail with a carpet steamer and headliner and a good thorough seat wipe down would do the trick? Sorry to hear that OP, that’s the worst. I’m so happy my car was smoke free when I got it.

On a side note, welcome and hope you enjoy your X5!

[JimBoSS_AU]

Originally Posted by WindyCityBMWX5

Maybe a good detail with a carpet steamer and headliner and a good thorough seat wipe down would do the trick? Sorry to hear that OP, that’s the worst. I’m so happy my car was smoke free when I got it.

On a side note, welcome and hope you enjoy your X5!

Thanks for the Welcome!

Yep, I've asked the dealer to take a look and see what can be done before I get it in a few weeks, so hopefully its a solution by many smaller things.

I'll update when I get it to see where my start point actually is.

[Vivek.]

Use some type of airborne odor eliminator such as the Meguiar's can. It will fill your interior and work to eliminate the smells from places you can't reach. Scrub down all non-porous surfaces with a detergent cleaner. Make sure it is safe (ex don't use a strong oil-stripping detergent on vinyl or plastic or it may stain it white). Use carpet cleaner and an extractor on all carpeted surfaces. Steam clean and extract the headliner. Scrub your leather down with a leather cleaner like Lexol, this may need a few passes. Use a coarse natural hair brush to really scrub it down. Leather is slightly porous and will absorb smells. If you have Nappa, it is more susceptible to this than Dakota. Finish the leather with a heavy leather oil such as Obenauf leather oil (available on Amazon, great stuff I use it on all leather goods) to bring out the natural scent of the leather.

[dr_greenthumb]

If you can let the sun in, open windows, let any air, breeze, wind, etc. take it's toll on it.
It's really amazing what can be accomplished in one day if you have a solid wind blowing through the vehicle.

[Qsilver7]

Ditto just doing a simple google search for smoke neutralization. There are really good solutions that professionals use after a fire that will naturally eliminate the smell of smoke.

[JimBoSS_AU]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

Use some type of airborne odor eliminator such as the Meguiar's can. It will fill your interior and work to eliminate the smells from places you can't reach. Scrub down all non-porous surfaces with a detergent cleaner. Make sure it is safe (ex don't use a strong oil-stripping detergent on vinyl or plastic or it may stain it white). Use carpet cleaner and an extractor on all carpeted surfaces. Steam clean and extract the headliner. Scrub your leather down with a leather cleaner like Lexol, this may need a few passes. Use a coarse natural hair brush to really scrub it down. Leather is slightly porous and will absorb smells. If you have Nappa, it is more susceptible to this than Dakota. Finish the leather with a heavy leather oil such as Obenauf leather oil (available on Amazon, great stuff I use it on all leather goods) to bring out the natural scent of the leather.

Great tip on the leather Oil. will look into that product

[matt21484]

Ozone generator. My previous 5 series was owned by a smoker and the dealer had a free ozone machine session for a full day. Couldn’t tell when I went to pick it up the next day.

[simonc1]

Agreed that ozone treatment is the way to go. Professionally done it should take out all smells.

[Rokoz]

Here to suggest a proper full detail of all surfaces in the interior (Headliner, carpet, seats, doorcards, etc) followed up by several ozone treatments should make a MASSIVE improvemen. Good luck!