I understand there are two cabin filters in the Tacoma...one for the AC and one for the cabin. Is it easy to get to those and replace them? We have tried everything to remove the cigarette smell from the previous owners who must have chain smoked. It's horrible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
How To Remove Terrible Cigarette Smell
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It's going to take more than a cabin filter, I had to do this to my father-in-laws car.
First off, you need to drop the glove department door to get at the filter. Be very careful with the clip on the shock absorber to the right side of the glovebox door, it's a piece of junk and breaks easy.
Then get yourself a Little Green Clean Machine and clean your seats and carpets, the stench gets in the materials. Bissel makes a good cleaning solution for the machine, it will get rid of the smell. The guy who bought my father in laws car commented "I guess noone ever smoked in this car". Believe me, it was an ashtray on wheels when I started!
There is one more agressive method that you can add. Look for a product on line that contains CHLO2, Chlorine Dioxide. Here is a link, there are other places that sell this product too. http://www.wildlife-control.org/index_files/Page604.htm. This stuff is supposed to be good!
First off, you need to drop the glove department door to get at the filter. Be very careful with the clip on the shock absorber to the right side of the glovebox door, it's a piece of junk and breaks easy.
Then get yourself a Little Green Clean Machine and clean your seats and carpets, the stench gets in the materials. Bissel makes a good cleaning solution for the machine, it will get rid of the smell. The guy who bought my father in laws car commented "I guess noone ever smoked in this car". Believe me, it was an ashtray on wheels when I started!
There is one more agressive method that you can add. Look for a product on line that contains CHLO2, Chlorine Dioxide. Here is a link, there are other places that sell this product too. http://www.wildlife-control.org/index_files/Page604.htm. This stuff is supposed to be good!
Febreeze the heck out of the headliner also that is where I notice most of the smell from when I detail my friends cars that smoke. Lil green machine the carpet and seats with shampoo or tuff stuff upholstery cleaner and it will help with the smell. Windows down as much as possible also will help to air it out. Takes time but you can get rid of the horid smell.
That and just air out your truck every night.
Honestly,
Good luck. The smoke odor thats caught up in the headliner is about impossible to get out. Not to mention you need to pull the dash and get the vents off to clean inside the heat/a/c system. Not to mention dropping the fan below the glove box and cleaning it out as well. You can try and get the seats and carpets cleaned but it will eventually come back. If you want to drop a dime......replace the carpet and headliner. Don't be suprised when you clean the a/c-heat vents and ducting if its yellow in color. Use tsp and water to get rid of the yellow..
Good luck!
Good luck. The smoke odor thats caught up in the headliner is about impossible to get out. Not to mention you need to pull the dash and get the vents off to clean inside the heat/a/c system. Not to mention dropping the fan below the glove box and cleaning it out as well. You can try and get the seats and carpets cleaned but it will eventually come back. If you want to drop a dime......replace the carpet and headliner. Don't be suprised when you clean the a/c-heat vents and ducting if its yellow in color. Use tsp and water to get rid of the yellow..
Good luck!
Had the same with my Subaru I bought used from a heavy smoker.
Step 1: Clean all hard surfaces. You'd be amazed how much soot is on them. Do everything, and do it all again, and one more time.
Step 2: On a warm breezy day, Febreeze the hell out of it. Don't lightly mist it. Make it wet. Do this in the morning. Leave all the windows down. After 4-5 hours, do it again. Don't plan on driving anywhere that day.
Done!
It worked like a charm for mine. It stuck so bad of smoke when I bought it, but it was exactly what I was looking for and cheap. Friend was with me when I bought it and could smell it. He came by 2 days later and could not tell that anyone ever smoked inside it.
I bought a 2001 xtracab from a smoker and it took a couple months, but I did get the smell out. The most important thing is carpet shampoo. Shampoo the seats, floors, and roof/headliner. Clean everything religiously a couple times, use febreeze and open the doors and windows whenever the weather is good.
Not quite
Its not impossible to get out but it is hella hard. The first car I bought was a Honda Civic Sport. I looked at it on the lot and loved it. When the sales man gave me the keys to take a looka the inside, the smell that came out when I opened the door almost knocked me over. It was horrible. After haggling down to the price I wanted to pay, I told him I would only buy the car if it ws fully cleaned and detailed, including the a/c system. They took it to a car care place and cleaned the entire inside (minus the headliner) and hooked the car to some sort of machine that completely cleaned the a/c system.
Well when they brought it back it was MUCH better but you could still smell it. I tracked it down to the headliner (they didn't tell me they didn't have it cleaned) and made them do it again, with the headliner included, or I was walking away from the deal. Its amazing what you can get when you tell them you're walking!
After the second cleaning with the headliner included, the car smelled like a brand new car. No bull. I was amazed. There was no smell of smoke at all. People would get in the car and think it was brand new.
As a side note, I told him that for haveing to wait the extra time he was now going to have to throw in window vents and a stone deflector! Got that too.
Good luck with getting rid of the smell. If the home remedies don't work take it to a professional who does this for a living. They know how to get rid of that stank!
Its not impossible to get out but it is hella hard. The first car I bought was a Honda Civic Sport. I looked at it on the lot and loved it. When the sales man gave me the keys to take a looka the inside, the smell that came out when I opened the door almost knocked me over. It was horrible. After haggling down to the price I wanted to pay, I told him I would only buy the car if it ws fully cleaned and detailed, including the a/c system. They took it to a car care place and cleaned the entire inside (minus the headliner) and hooked the car to some sort of machine that completely cleaned the a/c system.
Well when they brought it back it was MUCH better but you could still smell it. I tracked it down to the headliner (they didn't tell me they didn't have it cleaned) and made them do it again, with the headliner included, or I was walking away from the deal. Its amazing what you can get when you tell them you're walking!
After the second cleaning with the headliner included, the car smelled like a brand new car. No bull. I was amazed. There was no smell of smoke at all. People would get in the car and think it was brand new.
As a side note, I told him that for haveing to wait the extra time he was now going to have to throw in window vents and a stone deflector! Got that too.
Good luck with getting rid of the smell. If the home remedies don't work take it to a professional who does this for a living. They know how to get rid of that stank!
^ They say hella in Canada?
I detail cars for extra money and have done a few that have had a terrible smoke smell. I have found that shampooing all the material in the vehicle including the headliner is a start then using a fogger which are available all over the internet which will get into the duct work. Be careful though, there are some extremely strong smelling ones out there. One thing I haven't tried but could help even more with getting the smell out of the ducts is set the fogger off with the recirc. on. I would probably want to replace the cabin filter after this though. I hope this helps.:thumbsup:
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14 Posts
Use an ozone generator. You can pick up cheap ones for $20. Leave it on and in the vehicle for a couple days and you will not be able to tell that it's ever been smoked in. This is what professionals use to remove smoke and other oders after fires and such in buildings.
Mike
Mike
Blue Coral Carpet Cleaner. I smoke in my truck and whenever someone rides I ask them if it smells like I've smoked in my truck before, they say no. (I ask them because smokers can't smell it right?) EVERYONE says the same. I think having the windows down when you smoke has alot to do with it though. My truck just doesn't seem to pick it up though.
That blue coral definitely makes it smell like a brand new truck though. I agree with Greg337 though, you should be gettin that headliner good. Smoke rises, that'll be the main collector of it.
That blue coral definitely makes it smell like a brand new truck though. I agree with Greg337 though, you should be gettin that headliner good. Smoke rises, that'll be the main collector of it.
Jimmy,
Where do you buy them for $20. I found them for $279!
Where do you buy them for $20. I found them for $279!
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78 Posts
Sell It
He's talking about the ones that plug into the cigarette lighter, places like Sharper Image sell them. Be aware that some people (like my brother) gets nose bleeds from those. Some people are more sensative to OZone than others. To me, they just smell like it's about to rain and they bother my nose just slightly.
Vacume everything... The carpet, seats, ect. Leave the truck parked with all the windows down for a day or so and itll be completely gone. I used to smoke all the time in my truck (windows down) and have always done this to get the smell out. Nobody can tell I've smoked in my truck anymore.
I am Service Advisor at Chevy/Dodge dealer and my Recondition guys have and Ionizer that either plugs into lighter or, even better, into wall socket. They usually have to run it all night or more to get smell out but they said it works well. About size of shoebox with vents and fan, made of aluminum. I was gonna go more info off unit, but a customer was let borrow for few days on a used vehicle purchase.
Maybe a local dealer or detail shop has similar unit?
Maybe a local dealer or detail shop has similar unit?
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