Is That “New Car Smell” Dangerous?
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2023
- Some of us can't get enough of that new car smell. But certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that help create this aroma are linked to cancer. While this doesn't mean new car smell definitely increases your chance of getting cancer, it does mean companies need to carefully test their vehicles to make sure these VOCs are present at safe levels.
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I worked as a car detailer for the past year and working there we were surrounded by aerosolized vinyl (literally petroleum distillates in a can, plus we were in poorly ventilated rooms and cars with no warning about the risks) , leather cleaner, you name it. I’m a researching chemist, so I quickly noticed how dangerous the chemicals we were constantly breathing in were. I raised concerns but nothing really changed. We would have our heads inside hot cars spraying cleaners that contain many of the same chemicals that were mentioned, and we weren’t warned about any of them.
If anyones a lawyer hit me up I’ve got a case for you. My health and the health of my coworkers is not worth the “new car smell”.
Smells a health risk for you
holy holy holy moly this make my chest hurt to read, dog,
Please pursue this you are absolutely in the right
Sound like you have a class action lawsuit. You can easily search for a lawyer on google. Some even work with the condition of you not paying unless you win in which case they keep 30% of the settlement.
Absolutely wild
No win no fee lawyer's my dude.. they are like hungry sharks... only get payed if they go big and win
Sounds perfect for you're situation
Literally smells like condensed migraine.
smells like your can’t afford a new car 🫵🫵🫵😂
Smells like brain cells dying
YES it's the worst
Boy oh boy do I love the smell of chloroform in the morning
Well if it’s the acetaldehyde you’re smelling then you’re certainly not wrong. It’s the breakdown product of ethanol by alcohol dehydrogenase that causes hangovers
It's not just the risk of cancer that should be worrying us, but also the pulmonary and neurological effects those chemicals have on our bodies!
But how are you going to get funding for research if you don't have a buzzword like "cancer"?
Everything contains "chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer."
Remember, life gives you cancer!
@@dx-ek4vr Right, but life is unavoidable! Thankfully, a lot of carcinogens aren't.
especially on kids
Well, this helps explain why sitting in a new car makes me sick! I've got a ridiculous amount of allergies and sensitivities, and I can only ride in a new car with all the windows open. Otherwise, it's a massive sinus headache, a sore throat and a little difficulty breathing for me. Kinda makes me glad I can only afford an old car!
Having similar health problems also means off-gassing chemicals severely affect me, but as my chronic health issues prevent me from doing any steady work, I'm never going to be able to afford a vehicle that isn't over 10-15 yrs old anyway!
@@stevie-ray2020 Well, my old pickup is a 1997 Chevy with over 3,000 miles on it, so I know how you feel!
Old cars are better and more reliable as well, screw buying new cars you can barely fix anything on yourself. Get a nice 1980-1990 or a cheap 1990-2005 and fix it up and you're set
Sometimes our sensitivities serve as an early warning system for things that are bad for us.
@merlapittman5034 How do you only have 3,000 miles on a 26yo car? Mine is 10yo and I'm rapidly approaching 200,000km (which is about 124,000 miles).
The VOCs only decrease by 25% after *2 years*??? That's a much lower percentage than I was hoping to hear. Sometimes it feels like everything is poisonous 😥
I know, right?! My car is only 2 years old! I'm glad I drive with the windows down most of the time, geez.
Geez, dropping almost 25% by the second summer is not as fast as I thought it would be and the fact that some didn't change during the study period is concerning. Just one more reason why I really don't need a newer new car.
Or in my case any car at all. I didn't want to own one but now I have another reason on my ever growing list of cons.
As an asthmatic, I can verify that the new car smell in new cars makes my air intake really upset. But the car deodorizer/stinkum spray that smells like "new car scent" does not. ＼（〇_ｏ）／
My guess (before watching the video) would be that an actual new car is off-gassing a lot of VOCs from the manufacturing process of the plastics / fabrics. (And whatever products they might’ve put on the surfaces, to make them look shiny)
While those air vent scents are just chemicals made to be safe to inhale at the low amounts they put out. (Ie, not putting it directly on your nose)
Wow. Barely a minute into the video, and seems like I’m correct. At least about the first half. XD
I'm astmatic too and have no problem with breathing in new car. Especially since i drive with closed air circulation all the time. Don't know what's worse. The exhaust gases from another vechicles or VOC's from my own? I guess it's all the same at some point...
@@Hachiro Not sure any of the air fresheners made from scented petroleum products are good for people.
Not even remotely relevant but that's a great ascii face
Another bonus to me driving a 40+ year old Land Rover, there's literally nothing in it to off gas, and even if there was, you couldn't ever call it air tight. It's a safety feature!
Yeah so all the exhaust fumes and burning oil fumes just leak in instead. Lol not hating just joking I love old cars too
Aside from the crippling repair costs of keeping a vehicle that old running….stress can kill faster than cancer
Sorry but even an old Landy has wires, and those wires are covered in insulation which off-gasses. Any oil or grease is permanently evaporating too. Any switches or dials are likely to contain resins/plastics that off-gas. Any wood is likely to have been preserved with Formaldehyde emitting compounds. Every painted surface will off-gas and even leather will. If it's very leaky, that's a saving grace although with an older vehicle, there could be some very nasty compounds used in some areas.
I'm jealous. I would give a lot to have my 1971 Land Rover back, with the spare on the hood, the no-rust-anywhere body, and the spotlight headlights. Thwy could cause problems sometimes on tge highway at night. Folks would blink their lights at me thinking I had my high beams on, and I very occasionally would demonstrate that those aren't my high beams; THESE ARE. Just for a second, after I had been blinked at continuously for 100 miles. My bad.
@@SardiPaxo, all of those components continue to off-gas at those dangerous levels for ever? I doubt it. I'd be feelling pretty comfortable at 40 years.
Car salespeople are also listed as Volatile Organic Compounds.
Back in the day I had a job at a new car dealership washing and cleaning cars about to be delivered. We used a “spot” remover on the interior that contributed a lot to the “new car smell”. I believe it was acetone based (along with some other stuff maybe scents).
That smell used to trigger instant car sickness in me as a child.
Same. And the only way I ever got nauseous in a car, no issue with even reading in cars that did not have that smell.
Same. It still does.
Just thinking of it makes me sick.
it relaxes me, so I guess it's different for each person
We (me, my family members, others I am close with) always have to make sure there is no “new car smell” in any vehicle I will be riding in, because otherwise that smell will shortly be replaced by the smell of vomit.
So like with houses, the message here for general people is the importance ventilation and fresh air
My brother Phil, hypothesised that new car smell gets people high, and in that euphoria, they buy.
Have cognitive impairment studies been done on new car smells?
It would be interesting to examine this from a risk taking perspective, and compare new versus old car driver behaviour.
Oh whoa this is a great thought, I really hope someone pursues this study tbh
I don't think that experience can be classified as being high.
Being high is a state where you are halucinating as well, no?
@@lastyhopper2792no. lol
@@lastyhopper2792 No. Being high doesn't automatically mean you hallucinate. Sometimes, all the high only relates to how your body feels: mildly euphoric, maybe tingly, or feeling more active & focused, for example. Hallucinations are a specific type of high, & usually only show up with certain substances, such as psilocybin mushrooms or LSD. Pot, for example, gets you high, but you don't hallucinate on weed, unless you've somehow overdid it.
@@DrachenGothik666 I see. That means my circle has been using the word inaccurately.
Thank goodness I have the habit of rolling down all windows and opening the moonroof in my car whenever I start it. An aunt of mine told me years ago that cars accumulate chemicals in the inside air, and I’ve done it ever since. Plus, I helps a lot in the summer to cool down the car faster.
I find “new car smell” so nauseating. I never understood why people like the smell.
It's a lot better than your car smelling like disgusting air fresheners and cigarette smoke.
Same for me, it gives me a headache.
i prefer my car to smell like nothing
I also don't understand how some people like the smell of gasoline also.
i do like that smell but the truly questionable thing people like: Liquorice
This smell used to make me so incredibly nauseous as a kid 😬
One of the SciShow eps I will file under A for "awesome." I never thought of how sunlight might influence VOC levels in anything, let alone in a new car. Pay attention, car dealers.
We just bought a new model Y and thinking about it. I really don’t recall noticing that new car smell last month when we picked it up. It really doesn’t smell like anything. And it’s got a HEPA filter which even knocks out diesel truck smells and gasoline engine smells from outside.
When my car was new, if it had been in the sun for a while (and I live in Texas so, you know, daily) getting in would make my eyes sting. I’d have to air it out because the “new car smell” was getting into my orifices. Very glad that’s worn off by now.
i have autism and one of the sensory things i absolutely CANNOT STAND is new car smell. even the slightest bit of it makes me nauseous and i just cant be in a car that smells like that. i always assumed it was an autism thing, but seeing this maybe its something more? very interesting, and kind of unnerving!!
I think it is an autism thing. Auties are often hypersensitive and know when something is bad for them long before neurotypicals can sense that anything is off...
😂😂🐑🤡🦧
@@brodieyoutubestuff ???
@@simplypink8375I saw another comment from this dude and all he does is make fun of people with mental issues
@@J-sv9dpneuro-typical person here. I vomit went I get in a car that stinks of this new car smell.
Your statement does not stand.
I have always been curious about the subject of new car smell and especially with the idea of the items/material in my car heating up and it’s effects. Another related idea I’m curious of, is food/beverages being left in a vehicle all day being heated up and it’s effect on the structure of the food and it’s container.
My 99 VW Beetle is 25 years old this year and still has it's characteristic smell! (That of crayons) And I can't get enough!
Dude new car smell would always trigger my migraines and make me nauseous and I’m glad there might be a reason of it other than classical conditioning or my imagination…I mean, it’s VERY BAD there’s a reason, but selfishly I feel validated lol
I can get rid of that new car smell. Just let me borrow it for a couple of days.
Couple of days? Just hotbox in the car for a couple of hours.
An auto manufacturer I used to work for has a TSB for off gassing causing a film on the inside of the windshield- along with cleaning procedures.
New car smell makes me feel ill every time
I knew a guy who use to be a car salesman at a new car dealer, eventually he found that going into the showroom would trigger his asthma and had to quit. He ended up in a low level used car lot which only did minimal cleaning on the cars when they came in for resale.
Years ago at an airshow at the Edmonton International Airport there was a brand new C-17 Globe master on display. Edmonton was its 2nd destination from the factory. It had a new "airplane" smell to it. It was awesome👍
upholstery isnt the only thing off-gassing in the cabin ;p
Phhhhht!
I have multiple chemical sensitivity. It took 6 months of off gassing the new car in rural fresh air, every day opening the windows and sky light, for me to be able to handle the smell without gagging and getting a migraine AND we had asked they use no 'new car smell' cleaning before delivery (that's messed up right there).
I always say that cars are literally killing machines
That's a weird thing to say.
yes, ambulances and firetrucks spread only death
@@jaybeemhardscrote7466not at all, they are machines that frequently kill users and non-users
It's why I ride a bike.
@@goku445 yeah, that would definitely lower your risk of getting killed by a car. 😅
In 2016 I test drove a Hyundai Tucson and Phoenix Arizona when it was 110° outside. The toxic smell that came out of that car when I open the door was intolerable. I should’ve just left when I smelled that, but I actually test drove the vehicle. But it took me 10 minutes before I could actually get into the without feeling suffocated. The drive wasn’t so bad with that smell turned me off and I went to another dealership to buy a different car.
There are some really TOXIC smelling fumes coming from power banks, like the kind made by Jackery, Bluetti, Ecoflow, Anker, etc. I hope someone researches this soon because these are starting to become popular and affordable, and they’re meant to be used inside of a vehicle, tent, or in your home. The fumes are strongest when they heat up from charging or high drain use. Makes me feel sick in all kinds of different ways to the point where I need to place them in a different room with a vent pulling the air out.
Love these kind of videos btw
Fantastic timing, I'll be getting my first new car soon. Now I'm wondering if there is something that I can do to reduce exposition. I mean obviously I can open the windows/doors. I see formaldehyde can be broken down to harmless things using catalysts, but since there are so many other VOCs... Guess there is no good short term cure
You can reduce exposition by using more general statements about things and not going into too much detail....
New car smell is addictive. Rental vehicles are usually new so it’s fun to sit and smell it. Ahhh. I love it!
One of my classic cars in the shed (31 years old) has a really strong new car smell. It only has 70k Km on the clock and the interior literally looks like showroom condition.
It's interesting how even a extremely well kept old car can stink as much as a new car.
Thanks. 🙂
I hate how noxious our world is. Just on vacation, got hit with the new rental car smell, and a bonus migraine from the hotel dumping a figurative gallon of febreeze. I actually switched hotels.
I just drive with my windows an inch open all the time I am in my car
Okay, how the HECK do you have such a clean sweater with such a FLUFFY cat?! I mean, I know rollers exist, but you can't even see ONE hair!!! lol
Savannah has become such a great host, I'm loving their latest videos!
Her delivery is so smooth and natural. She's pretty great!
@@Statsy10 in the description it lists savannah's pronouns as they/them, just an fyi :)
@@SeraphGamingYT OK, good to know. Thanks.
@@SeraphGamingYT Thanks so much for sharing this! I had wondered with this comment and it's great to know which are the prefered ones. And I absolutely agree, they become one of my all times favorites at the rate they are going =D
But then the majority of the hosts Sci Show had were pretty great or at least good.
When I have a new car I leave the AC running. This vents the car while driving it. If on a cool day and don't mind the road noise, and road dust you can open the windows for the duration of use. I found that after a few weeks to maybe a month or so the new car smell normally goes away.
This is why I put vent visors on my truck. Always venting.
My sense of smell is very sensitive. In most cases of 'new X smell' my throat will seize up the second it hits my nostrils (and with many other unhealthy gases too, like cigarette smoke). I'm not sure why it responds so strongly and immediately to these things when in many cases other people I'm with won't even have noticed the smell exists yet, but I'm grateful for its protection.
I sometimes listen to videos at higher than normal speeds. I often forget about this until the closing music part and it always catches me off guard at how ridiculous it sounds at 1.5 speed.
I have a sensitive nose, I prefer and feel better, when there is a lack of smell. So, to me cleanliness, means lack of smell. I know a lot of people like smells, so that's why everyone is different. Everytime you go into someone else's house, you can see some people use air fresheners or perfumes or the smell of spices or flowers. Some people really like smells, but for my place, I prefer no smell. We're all different, so I guess everyone is going to do things differently.
I had suspected this for ages
"New car smell" reminds me of walking through model campers at the county fair and seeing warnings posted about formaldehyde used in the making of the particle board off gassing. 🤢
Took a newish motor on a 200mile trip today, picked up from a customer and had to take it too a dealers. 600miles on the clock and it had the newish smell, which i hate it imo. Around halfway, started to feel extremely tired, dizziness, nauseous. I didnt get much sleep the night before and thought i might be coming down with something. Stopped a couple of times on route, felt a bit better after getting some fresh air. Only until now, and that im home and feeling normal again, that i thought it might have had something to do with the car, hence why i am here.
Is that why I had an allergic reaction for over a week from a new desk I bought until I cleaned it cause I was too lazy to do it??? The more you know...
I just bought a non-stick pan from Ikea for $4. Every time I use it AT ALL (even low heat) my air quality sensor goes nuts saying I have 60ppm of TVOCs. It actually maxes out the sensor's graph, and that's from the opposite side of the house fun times
Huckleberry is non-toxic by design. Too cute.😊
I sneezed just watching this video😂
It's mind boggling that the aromas don't reduce much after 2 years at concerning levels... There's only a finite amount of material for it to come from. But one thing that wasn't discussed is air exchange... When people open their doors to get in, when they drive and there's natural or forced air through vents, and driving with the windows rolled down. Typically, people ventilate their car faster on hot days as well. So the measurements of the VOC's are probably often far higher than in real-world use. There should also be universal notice or automatic function for ventilating a new car without the owner tending to it on an ideal day.
Also, I'm astonished about formaldehyde... For our middle and high school science classes, we dissected specimens literally soaked in jars containing the sour smelling compound, and gloves weren't mandatory, and nobody seemed to be aware it's a carcinogen 😬. It wasn't often, so I hope it had no effect on us.
"You can smell the benzene!" :p
This makes me curious on the levels a new scooter or motorcycle would put out. Suspect they would be much lower given they aren't enclosed in the manner a car or truck would be.
Found out this is also the case with my record collection ☹
"At what cost"?
I'd die for Huckleberry.
I honestly love the new car smell, it makes me feel oddly calm.
Weirdly enough though when I was a kid or would make me super nauseous but not anymore. I think my olfactory sense also started linking the smell of a new car to maybe, luxury and so I really REALLY like the smell now. Keep my car clean just so that there's always a bit of that smell i can whiff off ❤
In university, I had a research assistant summer job in an inhalation toxicology lab testing one of those VOCs ... so stinky!
Hi can i ask a question
I love Huckleberry :D I've recently started feeding a fluffy stray. :D
I really like Savannah, they are just relatable.
Hug Huckleberry for me pls
I have long been a proponent of horse carriages. This further burnishes my argument. Thanks SciShow. ❤
Not only the Sun exposure but also the interplay between the chems...
2:30 At what cost? Only YOUR SOUL.
I have a poor sense of smell generally (like having a mild cold all the time), but new car smell makes me feel ill.
One other thing left out is why so many really like that "new car" smell, they're getting high from it, as we know most substances that harm us do also grant a feeling of euphoria as our senses are befuddled by a toxin
I'm sure they knew about the sun, i always wonder about this smell in a car crazy.
Wow, we have to change many things in our lives.
I like how the generic car at 3:00 is clearly a W140 Grand Edition.
Roll up the windows and park it in the sun with the heat cranked up to max. Let it cook for a few hours then air it out. (Pro tip: don't sit in the car during the process)
Haha, two years is still pretty new! My car is 17 - it was made in 2006.
Seriously, mine's a 2001. I can absolutely afford a new used one, but I'm attached and it's a Honda so it still works great and has decent emissions and gas mileage. I plan to keep her til she dies on me, and that might be awhile.
How do the levels change when running the A/C though? I imagine there's a big difference between air that's been sitting stagnant in the car for 24 hours vs air that was just freshly circulated from outside.
Maximum a/c actually mostly recirculates the same air in order to keep cooling it more and more, because that's a lot more efficient than cooling the hot outdoor air at all times
Just one more reason to buy used cars for me. I am meticulous about bringing my car in for literally any hiccup or stutter. I have a paid off 2010 basic model, which means there aren’t a ton of electronics to muck up the mechanics. It passes all emission tests. As long as I stay vigilant and keep up with all of my car’s problems, it’s still cheaper than buying a new car with electronics that can fail and require special attention. My car smells like generic old car smell. And since I bought it as a 2 year old fleet car (it had been a rental car), it has only smelled exactly the same way. Plus the parts are In abundance because it was a popular car in its heyday. Which means the parts are cheap and the time in the shop are minimal.
There is no reason to buy new aside from prestige. The second you drive it off the lot you’re in the red. Buy a solid car that has a couple years of data to back up its performance and reliability. It’s cheaper in literally every sense.
I always found the new car smell to be unpleasant. I would often put the airco on blowing on full speed to sort of air it out.
I wonder if it's more the exterior of the car, the seats and the dashboard, and not the other internal parts that create these VOC's.
Your So Good ...
You do a Great Job of Delivering the Message ...
I did a report on this in high school…back in 03-04?
@SciShow science question: why is the rain drop size smaller in northern climates?
“Nail polish remover” …I use straight acetone!
And now I’m wondering how dangerous that New Book Smell is. That wonderful glue-paper-ink-warm smell. That delightful pop when you carefully crack the spine for the very first time…
HUCKLEBERRY!!! ❤ What a beautiful cat! (Yes, the episode was also fascinating and disturbing, but cat...)
Huckleberry looks dangerously adorable.
I barf and get headaches and fatuige from 'new car smell'. I don't through up because of the movement of the car it's the fumes from the materials. I can ride rollercoasters and old non smelling cars just fine but if I just sit in a car with that horrible smell I feel very nauseous and often through up.
For all automatization of cars it would be nice if they added a feature for "Pre-drive air purge".
For example Teslas and their Call-in feature where the car comes at you from a parking spot could be used to purge the warm air while it was parked with a strong air flow and vacuum on the back so the air is quickly replaced.
What about public transportation vehicles like buses and trams? How many VOC compounds and how high would the levels be in those?
I sometimes have to let new purchases gas off,it causes headaches and asthma in me. Especially the new electric gadget smell.
well as a kid, this smell always got me carsick on long trips... (well, when already being a bit susceptible to motion sickness)
Reasons to continue using public transport for as long as feasible. And yes, I know that's not an option for everyone.
It kind of also makes me wonder tho, what the data is for PP vehicles like trains and busses.
I hate riding a bike which seems like the healthiest option. Why?!
“He is so fluffy, but at what cost”
You just figured that out. You get the same effects in new houses.
Their cat is the cutest omg
I wish the new car smell would never fade and would last forever. It’s a shame that it doesn’t smh.
“He is so fluffy but at what cost”
Well, thats a bummer
shoutout to huckleberry - you look great
new car smell makes me feel sick so i feel very validated rn.
some of them can cause a migraine in some people same as renting a car on a trip or when you're regular car is in the shop getting fixed etc. I've been burned by leather/vinyl car interiors more often than I'd like to remember. for example when my dad and I went to California 5 years ago the rent a car gave me a migraine from the detailing things they use and I already wasn't feeling well from the flight
Can't wait to see Hank and his amazing mohawk on here
"As long as a drug store receipt". Tell me you're American without telling me you're American! xD
Smells fresh and clean