Dusty smell inside Isuzu MU-X

Australian dust is pretty amazing stuff. In some locations, it’s so fine, it can get past even the best rubber seals and into a car’s cabin. Problem is, once it's found its way into the heating and cooling plumbing on your car, every time you turn on the climate control or open the vents, you’re going to smell dust.

Cabin filters can help reduce this, but once the dust has entered the car, there’s very little chance of ever removing it completely.

However, if the smell is only present when you’re travelling on a gravel road, it might be that there’s a more obvious leak that is allowing the dust inside at that point in time. Check all the door and window rubbers, not forgetting the tailgate as the rear of the car is where the dust often enters.

If there are no rubber seals showing damage (or a tell-tale trail of dust) make sure each panel is properly aligned and that the weight of a spare-wheel rack (if you have one fitted) hasn’t distorted the tailgate hinges.

The other thing to do is to put the climate-control on recirculate and switch on the air-conditioning as this will pressurise the cabin and help keep the dust from being sucked into the car. It’s amazing how effective this can be.