Cabin filters, YES cabin filters can actually throw your sense of smell off, we wrote a blog about this here back in 2017 and it still gets massive hits online from around the world. In short, many people don’t replace their cabin filters when recommended or when required, we recommend changing them within 15,000kms/1yr or when contaminated enough (don't forget these things also filter out pollutants from the outside air coming into your car).
This can be a huge thing with fragrances, we have seen countless cabin filters loaded up with dead insects, leafs and other nasty foreign objects (enough that the entire filter and housing is clogged up). We have seen countless cabin filters riddled with mould too when left too long (that’s not good to breathe in).
These filters get clogged up or contaminated rather quickly, THOUGH the smells that come out of them, come out gradually, so gradually most people wont notice it until either someone else who hasn’t been in your car tells you OR when it becomes apparent to yourself (when those dead insects start to decompose enough and stink). This is because your brain becomes used to a certain smell that is introduced gradually and when it’s a gradual smell increasing in strength, it tends not to register in your brain (hence nose-blindness explained in another tabs).
Checking and replacing (not cleaning) a cabin filter with most cars should take you no more than 5 minutes (if they’re not clogged up). You'll notice when you remove a contaminated cabin filter that when you smell it closely, they usually reek and then you might notice your car has a similar smell to your cabin filter. If and when you have a contaminated cabin filter, those smells will be circulating throughout your car, changing cabin air filter can sometimes make a world of a difference.
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