Passat (B5) :: Exhaust Smell In Cabin - Possible Causes?
Feb 23, 2007
I just got my 2000 Passat back from the body shop. I rear-ended an SUV about a month ago and had my hood, front bumper, left headlight, A/C compressor, and radiator replaced.
HOWEVER, now when I let 'fresh air' into the cabin, I smell a strong exhaust smell. When I push the 'recycle air' button, the smell goes away. This leads me to think that somehow my exhaust pipe was cracked/damaged in the collision and is now spewing exhaust gas into the engine compartment - and thus when I allow fresh air (front the engine compartment) into the cabin...I am getting toxic exhaust blown in my face!
Where should I look for signs of an exhaust leak and is there an easy 'trick' to find the leak?
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There is no noise that would indicate a hole in the muffler, just the exhaust smell. I'm wondering if the catalytic converter is going out? If it is the catalytic converter, will it strand me on the highway eventually?
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From time to time, i get some exhaust smoke smell in the car, when driving slow or standing in a queue.
90% of the time everything it's perfect, but at a sudden moment, the rpm is rising with 50 or so, the instant consumption rises from let's say 1.4l/h to 1.8-2.0l/h when in gear and standing, i get a small vibration and then the exhaust smell appears.
If i'm closing the recirculation, then no more smell.
After 15-20 min, everything get back as it use to be, 1.4l/h consumption, no vibrations no smells no nothing.
This i think happens when the dpf is cleaning and i cought with vcds of a friend when it happened and the exhaust temp was 350 celsius or something. Usually is 200 degrees celsius, so it is a dpf regeneration. Also the car is running smoother after this.
Still..the smoke smell... it's annoying and quite strong. There is no sign of smoke from the exhaust pipes, flexible pipe or whatever. There is no sign at all anywhere.
I have a small theory but i don't know from where to start. Usually the catalyst temp is 200 degrees. When it's 350, it expanding more, or at least the cracks are expanding and smoke+smell is from there...but there is no sign anywhere.
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Gas / Exhaust fume smell ... in the cabin? I've been noticing I smell like I've been in an old school muscle car running straight pipes every time I take the car out. More of an exhaust fume smell but sometimes the fresh gas smell is very strong.
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After I start the car, warm up a bit then drive, there are exhaust fumes that get into the cabin as you can smell them.
It's happening more often now. I have spoken to my Phaeton tech who said that the car has a sensor that goes off and shuts down external air if it notices exhaust uses getting in.
I have been hearing a little bit of road noise on the driver side so I'm thinking some fumes are coming in from the door seal (although it looks fine).
Sometimes it's bad enough that you have to open the windows or you will feel sick. It passes within 5 minutes or so and the car is fine after that. It only happens right after ignition for a few minutes.
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I have a 2014 RX 350. I have noticed an intermittent issue with exhaust smells coming into the cabin when the car is on recirculate and I am at highway speed. It happens when I am first accelerating after I've entered the freeway. If I get the odor, I can make it go away by briefly hitting the recirc/fresh button to bring in fresh air for a few moments. This doesn't happen driving around town.
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'90 Maxima 256k.....recently I've noticed exhaust coming in through the vents when I have the AC on and have been idling or driving in slow traffic. I know I have a small exhaust manifold leak because I hear the clicking. The problem is this exhaust smell happens very intermittently. Usually on hot humid days when I have the AC on. I have tried to duplicate the issue to no avail. Sometimes I can sit in a parking lot at idle with the AC on for 30 minutes and I don't smell any exhaust (not even when I smell under the hood). How can this be? If it truly was an exhaust leak then it would leak all the time and I would smell it. Could my EGR valve be leaking? When the EGR valve is activated?
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Mechanics are stumped. 3 months ago, during a 4WD commute through the snow, I started noticing what at the time smelled like bus exhaust coming into the cabin. My SES lights comes on for 2-3 days, then off for 2-3 days. Codes say MAP sensor and low coolant coolant.level. When the SUV warms up fully, you can smell the odor strongly under the hood, inside the cabin while sitting at a stop light, and inside with the Heat or AC on. Mechanics had the car for days, replacing cam and Map sensors. There is no evidence of exhaust leaks or coolant on the engine. Level of coolant has been dropping slowly in the reservoir.
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Not long ago my wife said the air recirc doesn't work any more on our '04 V8 and I had to admit that I agreed. After a little investigative driving, I noted that heavy acceleration (or uphill climb) causes V8 to tick (can hear it reflecting on passing walls, for instance) and strong smell of exhaust in cabin.
I thought it might be a manifold/exhaust system leak causing the noise and the exhaust smell. Seems to be only when driving aggressively or climbing. Soonest the local dealer can see it is 7/21 (16 days from now). You think it safe to drive?
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I have an '08 Grand Cherokee Laredo, 3.7L V6 with 74,000 miles on it. Recently the exhaust/muffler have been getting loud, and during my state inspection the guy said it would probably need a new muffler/pipe in the next few months. That was about a month ago. Since then there has been an on-and-off horrible plastic/chemical smell in the cabin some of the time. My wife drives it about an hour to work each way, and she says sometimes it gets so bad she has to open the windows (in 20 degree temps....) or she gets a headache. She describes it as a "formaldehyde smell" and says it tastes kind of sweet. To me it's more like a burnt plastic/chemical type odor. I checked all underneath but saw no plastic bags or anything else odd. Nothing unusual under the hood. No visible smoke. I have an appointment in two days to have the exhaust fixed. My question is - is there any way this weird smell could be exhaust related? I am hoping so, because otherwise it's a total mystery. It's definitely not an "exhaust" smell as I know it.
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I just had a blown motor swapped with a used engine with around 50,000 on it in my 2002 Toyota Camry LE 4 cyl.
After driving the car enough to warm up I turned the vent on and in comes a fairly strong exhaust type smell.
I have driven the car for a little over an hour since the motor swap.
The car is driving fine with plenty of power and no sputtering or rough idling.
I just called my mechanic and he seems to think it is due to the oil that is present on/around the motor/exhaust from the swap that is burning off.
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I own a 2004 Ford Taurus (3.0L V6, OHV (12), non-flex fuel) registering a P0420 engine code. If I can smell exhaust fumes in the cabin, can I assume there is a leak in the catalytic converter system, or could the O2 sensors be the issue (or could it be the catalytic converter itself...)?
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I have a 2000 Ford Focus ZTS with about 135,000 miles on it with a fume problem. Once it's warm, I'm noticing what smells like exhaust fumes in the cabin when stopped or at low speed (not at highway speed.) It runs perfectly otherwise. I took it in a few months ago (before I noticed the correlation with engine temp), and the mechanic could not replicate the problem, and he said there was no exhaust leak, I now suspect this is because he only tested it cold.
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2003 6L 250 SD. Always smells of exhaust on the cabin. If there is snow it gets much worse.
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I have been smelling raw exhaust in the cab, especially when the weather is colder and when standing still.
I took it to the dealer and in the process of fixing minor coolant and oil leaks on the turbo, they located a small exhaust leak with visible soot on the back side of the turbo.
They tell me that there is no way to repair it and that only Ford can rebuild or repair these turbos.
2011 SD 6.7
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My fiance's car just got the dreaded oil smell in the cabin. Now I would like to start with swapping the PCV valve, but I can not find a source to buy it online. What other trouble scenarios could I be looking at? The car: 2001 V6 4mo Wagon, 110000 miles.
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I have a 99 Passat wagon. After I got hit in the left rear quarter panel, I started detecting exhaust smell in the car when I opened the windows or sun roof. The exhaust pipe did not get damaged, but neither the body shop nor the regular shop could detect anything out of the ordinary. My theory is that the new bumper cover may be a little different than the one that was on there and does not let the gasses flow past the bumper the way it was before I got hit.
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My 2003 Passat has a noxious smell when I pull up to a parking space or sometimes when I stop at a light. It smells like burning oil or exhaust, but not all the time. The repair shop has replaced the oil pan, which was dented (by my 18-year-old son), replaced axle seal, and have replaced a broken and leaking PCV hose, but that has not solved the problem, and the don't know what else to do.
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I have a 2005 Passat and recently I noticed an exhaust fumes smell inside the car; windows closed. This occurs when driving in no traffic... My circulation is on open or outside air...
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CEL came on. No performance issues or noises coming from the car this time around. I did notice that after parking and killing engine, there is a faint exhaust-type smell though. I took the car to my local Advance Auto Parts and had them hook the car up to their computer for a diagnostic. Two codes came up.
1: P0431, warm-up catalyst efficiency bank 2 below threshold pending
2: P0431, warm-up catalyst efficiency bank 2 below threshold confirmed
The AAP employee didn't have anything to add to the code readouts. I'm concerned that this is a catalytic converter issue, and if that's the case, a repair would likely cost more than I'm willing to put into the car at this point. It has just over 125K miles on it.
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My 2001.5 Passat traditionally does not start easily when it is less than 6degrees outside. Today it was that cold..it started easily..but about 30 minutes into my drive to work..I realized it was a little smoky and exhaustish smelling in the car..once I realized it wasn't the car next to me..i realized if I turned off the heat..the smell went away..but at the stoplight..i could see smoke coming from under the hood..out the corner by the passenger/dashboard... Car has 80,000, recent oil change, what it is?
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