Both of my Jaguars smell from oil, petrol and leather. It's exhilarating!

 

Almost all of my Jaguars have had this smell. Mildew in the heater / ac ducts causes same smell. I have sprayed copious amounts of Lysol in the cowl intakes which will take some of it away for awhile. I don't know if one could ever get rid of all the small underhood leaks. The smell seems to be worse inside the well sealed body than under the hood ???

 

 

I replaced my cam cover gaskets as one of the first projects on my Jaguar, just after plastic cam chain tensioner replacement. In spite of that, I still have a slight leak on both sides. I found that the burnt oil smell in the cockpitof my XK8 coupe, from the leaking cam covers, can be minimized by holding the re-circulation button until it beeps. Unfortunately, you will have to hold it in each time your start your XK8, but it really helps.
Mine is a 1999, so I don't know if all X100s HVACs function that way.

 

My issue seems to be different that most - I don't get any smell through the HVAC. It blows fresh.
The burnt smell comes from the very backside of my center console.
I'm still having my valve cover gaskets checked. Should be able to see any signs of leaking once it is up on a lift. Having just purchased my Jag, I don't even own jackstands or ramps yet. Given the cost of a good mechanic, I'll probably set up shop soon!

 

When I replaced the right side cam cover after the tensioner upgrade, I decided to use a thin coating of black RTV on the sealing surfaces and a new gasket, and this seems to work. Now I have to go back and RTV the left side cover. I used "Great Stuff". The smell and heat entered from under the center console so I stuffed the rather large gaps with rubber foam insulation. I never owned a car with so many flaws, but I love it.

 

I miss all this. After an operation some years ago I lost 90% of sense of smell. People are always telling me how nice the leather smells etc. I think I am loosing out.