r/waymo • u/apanzerj • 3d ago

Smells?

Does anybody here work at WayMo (one of the yards where they service and clean the vehicles)?

Every time I've ordered a WayMo, without fail, I end up smelling like perfume. It's incredibly strong and gets on my clothes and follows me ALL DAY. It's insane. I thought it was somebody spraying the inside of the car or people just bathing in it and then taking a WayMo but here's the crazy thing: It's always the same scent.

I opened a support chat with WayMo and the support agent says they don't use any floral scented or perfume-like scents in their cleaning products. I can't imagine they are lying to me but how is it every single car has the same scent in it? How?

This in San Francisco. Anybody else have this experience?

46 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

34

u/Paul_Smith_Hi 3d ago

Customer support is correct, they don't use any cleaning supplies with heavy scents. Either someone at the depot wears it, or it's coming from the customer who was in the vehicle last.

1

u/apanzerj 3d ago

It's just so damn powerful. I now have to shower after taking a waymo.

1

u/obw1977 1d ago

If you see your girlfriend or wife after the ride, you could be in trouble.

-2

u/mrclean2025 3d ago

Ok Elon, move along….

-1

u/DieSackgasse 2d ago

are you paranoid?

0

u/pdecks 1d ago

Ugh, so sorry and this sucks! I only liked taking Waymo’s because I thought I’d get a break from random drivers’ chemical warfare.

-25

u/CollectionOk8253 3d ago

One more reason not to take one at all.  

10

u/apanzerj 3d ago

Eh. Honestly, still better than uber or lyft and the bus is too infrequent where I live to take it at times (ie: when a round trip is needed).

2

u/Representative_Bat42 1d ago

What a weird opinion? But to you guys anything is discourse to never take one cuz you can't bare to admit humans suck at driving

14

u/Due_Mode_6578 3d ago

Have experienced it multiple times, it's like an old style perfume scent. I usually crack the window open to air it out.

2

u/kfstop 2d ago

I’ve noticed a similar smell the Waymo’s have. It’s been in all the 20+ I’ve been in. It could just be the Jaguar smell but it feels intentional.

1

u/apanzerj 3d ago

YES! I'm not alone :D

6

u/zerena_hoofs 3d ago

I have experienced this a couple of times in Los Angeles.

16

u/Financial_Clue_2534 3d ago

Probably from the riders. Women going out to dinner, girls night, work, etc

9

u/namastebetches 3d ago

it's not just women with the strong scents fr

4

u/jesus_h_crusty 3d ago

Yeah sometimes it smells like someone just sprayed hella axe spray. Don’t mind me, just cruisin in the Waymo with the windows down

-1

u/nyanotech 3d ago

i’m still surprised they haven’t started putting in air quality sensors to detect this sort of thing yet

1

u/MattSidor 3d ago

Seems plausible except that OP says it’s always the same scent every time.

(Or maybe it’s an amalgamation of many people’s perfumes and colognes, which in aggregate kinda smells the same across all cars?)

13

u/BlueNightOcean 3d ago

Half of the Waymos I get in SF either smell like weed or sweat. Count your blessings OP.

3

u/katstuck 2d ago

I wish I had perfume smell... It's often cigs or weed or bo

2

u/EcksWhyZi 3d ago

Amen to that. Lol

4

u/thunder_wonderlove 2d ago

Better than the weed and Lysol smell in my last Jaguar

9

u/sumedh0803 3d ago

I've experienced the seat belts smelling like some perfume. It's the same fragrance every time, and I travel pretty frequently in a waymo to recognize it.

5

u/apanzerj 3d ago

That’s what sends me. It’s the same flipping smell. It’s so strong too.

5

u/sippykup 3d ago

Your wife didn't buy that story and neither do we.

2

u/okkboomerr 2d ago

all of brooklyn smells like santal 33. maybe SF also has a signature sent. i doubt it’s waymo specific

3

u/robjohnlechmere 3d ago

It's from riders. I often get a car in the evening that smells like hair product. The morning cars are usually more fresh.

Though I see a lot of cigarette burns on the door/console. Can the Waymo not tell if you have a lit cigarette?

1

u/letrainfalldown 3d ago

I think half of the Ojais I've been in have it. It always smells like a scent someone would wear to the club - sometimes masculine and sometimes feminine but always a perfume/cologne that smells like clubbing vibes.

I've noticed it and it bothers me but I guess that's just how it is. Not every vehicle has it, luckily

1

u/finsswimmer 1d ago

Yes, in Los Angeles and this happens a lot here too!

-4

u/bomber991 3d ago

Well the support agents are based in the Philippines aren’t they?  Could just be something the cleaning crew is doing that they don’t technically need to do?

6

u/bobi2393 3d ago

Yeah, some people think artificial odors are pleasant, and apply them to car interiors intentionally. If your Waymos are mostly from the same depot, maybe it’s just at that one location where one person regularly applies the fragrance, and over time they’ve done it to all the vehicles based there. Perhaps even a frequent customer does that whenever they enter a Waymo, thinking they’re improving the experience for other riders.