So a week after picking up the 48k mile 2003 XJ8 VDP and on a nice sunny day all of a sudden it starts to stink of cigarette smoke. Not horrible but it must have been masked by the dealer. So what is the best way to eliminate the smell all together?

 

I am afraid that I am not being a smart *** by saying "Get a new car" !

 

Shampoo the carpets and wash every square inch of the interior except headliner with mild soap and water. Brandon

 

Hire a carpet shampoo machine .

 

Look for somewhere that rents carpet cleaning machines (Rug Doctor is one) and you'll need the upholstery attachment. Clean the carpets and mats. Also clean the headliner with a can of spray upholstery cleaner.

Then do what the dealer did : mask it with an air freshener. It will go away eventually.

 

Spray both Ozium (first) and a scent of your choice (second) through the air intake while the blower is on heat and recirculate. Do this after the cleaning- smoke odors tend to get in the vent system and reappear if you do not get rid of them there. Do this AFTER you shampoo. Unfortunately, some of the smell will be in the headliner- I spray cologne on the carpets and headliner- it dissipates after a little while, but seems to dull the smoke odor. I have done this with most of my cars and it usually does the trick. Also, take the seats out to clean them and the carpet- ashes and smells seem to find their way into all the nooks and crannies.

 

Washing the carpets is essential. Also, change the cabin air filter. Ozium though the air intake is a great idea as well.

 

You can clean all you want, and you should do that, but you need an "Ozone Machine" to completely eliminate the smell.

Search and you should be able to find someone who rents them.

It is what they use in the hospitality industry to remove the smell from hotel rooms that have been smoked in.

Vector

 

Simple, smoke a pipe or cigars in the car for a few weeks. You can lessen the smell but not get rid of it in my mind.

 

I know EXACTLY what you are dealing with. Have the car interior detailed, by some one really good. They will not get the smell out, you just want any dirt or cigarette debris removed, as that will hold the odor. Next use ozium, and the ionizer machine mentioned earlier. You will need to treat it every night in this way for a week, but it will be gone. My '04 XJ8 smelled so strong you could smell it OUTSIDE the car AFTER it was detailed, and now even on the sunniest day, with the windows rolled up, the smell has not made a come back, and it has been over a year.

 

The head lining smells the most in one of my XJs..... The whole car stinks...... It is about to be stripped as the donor for the XJS, I hope I can get it out of air con units as I am planning on fitting them..... The previous owner must of smoked 100 a day....... Gross!

 

This is what I use.

https://www.dakotaproducts.com/ProductView.aspx?id=50

and this for the A/C vents

Professional Air Conditioner Cleaner - Car Odor Remover | einszett

 

All of the above, but as stated change your cabin filter AND use an A/C Bomb after thorough cleaning throughout.

The A/C bomb will be left spraying inside the car with the unit on full and at its coldest setting with the recirc button ON.
This draws the deodouriser through the system / vents etc and then back into the car killing off any smoke smells / bacteria etc.

 

Thanks everyone. Great great ideas and I will give them a try and report back.

 

What made the biggest difference for me was re-covering the headliner. That got rid of 90% of the smell, but I also thoroughly washed all of the upper interior panels inside and out while I had them off to get the headliner out. I also thoroughly cleaned the carpets and mats with a Rug Doctor, cleaned the seats with leather cleaner, and wiped everything else down with interior cleaner. That all got rid of most of the smell. Some automotive Febreeze helped a little bit more, and after driving with the windows down for 2 years (just how I like to drive), the smell is basically completely gone.

 

Due to the low miles and the smell, I'm pretty sure the previous owner of my Jag sat in the car, in his garage and smoked cigars. Multiple cleaning, changing the air filters, lessened the smell but didn't remove it completely. Over last winter while the Jag was stored I put some fresh pine cuttings in a plastic container and left them in the car. In the spring it smelled like a pine forest, much better than the cheap cigars.

 

Soak a towel in white vinegar and place it in a plastic container behind the front seat for a couple of days.

 

All good ideas to mitigate a nasty problem; ask a realtor what they go through trying to sell a smoker's house! I have been in the high end automobile business all my life and have to say, it's almost impossible to get rid of smoke smell. We tried the ozone treatment and it had negligible effect on our used cars, if the original smell was strong. To do all the things mentioned, especially replacing the headliner (where all the smoke goes) is just cost prohibitive on a mass scale. Today, there is such a strong sentiment against buying a "smoker's car," that we knock $3-4000 off the trade-in value and just wholesale the car. I have seen buyers, sitting in the auto while a salesman is showing them how things work, light up a cigarette in their new $100,000 car. Who doesn't love new-car smell?!!!

 

This was a great thread. I had tried everything (ammonia, vinigar, ect...) than, I tried the advice here.. I had filter changed, car detailed, than used an ionizer and sprayed ozium everyday... And after maybe 2 weeks, I noticed no more smoke odors. I was afraid the smell might come back in damp weather, but it hasn't. thank you everyone.

 

As a former smoker (try having your lungs glued to the inside of your chest cavity to prevent them from collapsing...that will wean you off the coffin nails real quick), I echo all of the above; my XJ actually had cig burns IN the headliner from the PO's granddaughter (who had the car for a while as her driver...)

So, many carpet shampoo cycles later, new headliner, leatherique treatment on the seats, new dye to cover some of the more egregiously worn areas, and thorough vacuuming every couple weeks, new cabin filter, clean the inside of the windows, and basically get real OCD on cleaning...and the inside of the car smells like a new car, even though is 15+ years on now.

I feel sorry for folks (having been one...) who are tied to the tobacco habit; BTDT. But my cars/home/yard/garage/etc are strictly NON SMOKING zones.

You can get there; just takes a bit of work and OCD cleaning.