What Does Your Car Taste Like?

The five human senses are; sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. How can you use these to keep your car running longer and your repair costs down? We'll go over the five different senses and see what your car might be trying to tell you. This is not intended to diagnose any problems, but instead help you be "aware" of what's going on when you operate your vehicle and how you might be able to prevent more costly repairs.

Smell and Taste

Most people might instantly think of gas. Yes, any fuel smell should be promptly checked out by a professional. I think this goes without saying..... But what are some other smells that you might encounter that can also be a safety concern? Coolant is one. Sometimes when a heater core starts to leak, the coolant will be evaporated and blown through the vents before it starts dripping inside and becomes an obvious problem. When this happens, you can "smell" the coolant and even "taste" a sweet taste in your mouth for no apparent reason. This is not safe and you need to have your car checked out promptly as coolant is poisonous.

As your engine warms up, any leaks on or around your engine these can also be noticed with your sense of smell. More noticeably if it happens to be leaking directly onto hot exhaust components. This can be a fire hazard.

On the other hand - Carbon Monoxide has NO smell, so any exhaust leaks need to be sealed up as soon as possible!