Why when I come to a stop with the heater on, the car smells like exhaust? I took in into our local Subaru shop and they couldn't find anything wrong. When I'm driving it's fine, but in town or in traffic, I have to keep shutting off the heater. If I forget, the car fills up fumes and I have to drive with the windows down or my daughter's asthma flares up.
View 14 RepliesWhenever the temperature is below 20 degrees F and am idling at a stop light, if I have the heater fan running I get a horrible exhaust smell inside my car. I have discovered that I can lessen the bad smell by turning off the fans when the car is idling and then turning it back on when I start to drive.
View 3 RepliesI've had my car for 6 months and have noticed that when I start my car with the vent on blowing air I can smell exhaust fumes. It doesn't seem to happen every time and if I start the car with the air off I don't smell anything. I can turn the air on after ten minutes of driving and the smell is there at first then seems to go away, either that or I get used to the smell. My closest dealership is 60 miles away
View 4 RepliesAfter 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.
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...
View 3 RepliesI 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.
View 4 RepliesWell I started smelling Gas fumes in the cabin of my 11 GLS. The smell was intermittent for about a month now. Then last weekend it started getting bad. I found it only smelled when pulling fresh air through the HVAC, so it had to be under the hood. Pulled the engine cover to find the foam backing was soaked with gas. Started the car and could see the Hard fuel line dripping.
I saw from other post on the forum that this tube has one time use fitting on both ends and that a special tool is needed to torque the fittings. Dropped it off at the dealer yesterday and they are replacing the line today.
I tell you all this because the Dealer said that their records show my car had the short block replaced at 24000 miles. When replaced they probably didn't torque the line correctly causing it to leak.
The question I have is, Should I be more or less worried about the bottom end of this engine now that I know it has been replaced? The car has 44000 miles on it now.
Newly acquired 2002 Accord.
At idle and while at a stop, the cabin receives a heavy dose of exhaust fumes (nope, not from the auto in front of me - I'm often alone at stop lights/signs)... what is the most likely culprit?
This did not seem to occur until AFTER I had the timing belt (package) replaced...coincidence
I recently bought a 1997 Subaru Outback. There is a burning smell sometimes and can't quit put my finger on any specific time that this occurs. Also, I find the heat is really crummy. Takes a very long time to heat up and never gets really warm. I might add that when I bought this car the air conditioning "condenser" was not hooked up. It came with the car and looks like a small radiator. Could this have anything to do with either problem?
View 2 RepliesMy 2003 Subaru outback has a gas smell when i first start it on very cold mornings. I live in New England. It goes away after the engine is warm. Also, it never happens in warm weather.
View 3 RepliesI recently rebuilt a 97 Subaru Outback Legacy, and everything was fine however, whenever I've taken it on the highway, I began noticing a distinct odor of burnt oil. Last night I got home and I actually began seeing smoke. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that oil was running down the differential, dripping onto the power steering and then onto the exhaust. When I looked at the flywheel it had no oil on it so I'm assuming it's not engine oil, however the oil that is dripping looks like engine oil (Im using mobile 1 full synthetic). The fluid levels are all ok, transmission levels ok, engine oil is a little more than full( I added 1 gallon before starting it up for the first time) and there is differential oil, but I know the smell of differential oil, and the oil that was dripping down the differential was not differential oil.
View 3 Replies05 outback xt ... I bought this car last October and don't know the history of what has been replaced and what is oem. That being said I have had a horrible smell (imagine a skunk eating rotten eggs) when I back the car up. I also have a problem with my car hesitating when i accelerate but it goes away once the car is warm. The check engine light has never come on when driving but I know it works.
View 6 RepliesI have a 2004 subaru outback that smells of gas when the tank is filled. The smell persists for a couple of days after the tank is filled. It started in the spring and I brought it to the dealer but they couldn't find anything. It seemed to go away during the summer but now that the colder weather has started the problem has returned.
View 6 RepliesI have a 2005 Subaru Outback XT with turbo. I have had a strange problem the last two winters and have stumped two mechanics, so far.
At this time of year, it is necessary to warm my car up for a few minutes in the morning. Last winter, when I warmed my car up, I would smell gasoline outside of the car and in the cab. It only happened when it is about 25 degrees or less outside. After about 10-15 minutes, once the car was warm, the smell would go away. I figured smelling gasoline was bad news, so, I took it to my mechanic who said he found a loose clamp in the engine. He tightened it and it fixed the problem. I didn't have any other issues that winter or through the next year.
But, this winter, the problem is back. I have moved, so, I took the car to a new mechanic (recommended by friends) and told him the issue. He said that he found a loose clamp between the engine and the turbo and tightened it. He said other than that, he can't think of anything. Well, that worked for a few days. But, now, the problem is back and with a vengeance. The smell is a bit different. Still like gasoline, but kind of like exhaust, too. And it is strong. I have to open the windows for a few minutes to air the car out before I can drive it. I took it back to the mechanic, but he is stumped and not sure what to do next.
I think my next step is to take it to a Subaru dealer, but with a 10 year old car, I'm hesitant to go that route. Though, I love my car and want it to last AND be safe to drive. What is going on?
I've got a 2000 Subaru outback with 170k miles on it. I recently pulled a code for a bad line pressure solenoid and replaced it. About 500 miles later the oil temp sensor light started flashing so I turned the car off and when I turned the car back on it wasn't flashing and hasn't come on since. No CEL. I'm now about 2k miles after changing the line pressure solenoid and now whenever I drive over 10 or so miles my car smells like the clutch is burning. He idle is a little rough, i.e. it vibrates a little more than usual and the car is a little slow to respond when I gas it.
View 19 RepliesI'm getting a gas smell when I start the car in the morning-especially if its cold. I typically blow the defroster which only makes it worse. It seems to be worse when its colder out and does not happen as the day goes on. My mechanic has checked for leaks-none. I thought it might be an oxygen sensor(?), he does not think so.
View 2 RepliesThe car had no accelerating power and it was well overdue for new spark plugs and wires. I just replaced them and it's doing much better, however, the engine seems to be shaking a bit when I start it/idling, which is making the entire car shake some too ( the seats, car shifter, etc ) . It's been awhile since I've also replaced the air filter too, which I obviously should have checked but haven't yet. When I replaced the spark plugs, I noticed there was a minor amount of engine oil on the spark plug wires, where they connect to the spark plugs; more notably the front 2(of 4), left and right. I also just changed the oil and there was no oil loss really, other than any minor amounts that get burned off through the miles.
The exhaust manifolds ( y-split ) are okay, but one of the nuts seems to loosen over time, causing a minor air leak there and makes it a tad noisy. Near the back half of the exhaust system, there some water dripping at one of the connections, and at the tail pipe the exhaust smoke is chugging and isn't consistent sounding.
What is still causing this engine shaking and the chugging noises from the exhaust system. The 'Check Engine' light is on, due to other repairs I know I need to make, such as an 02 sensor and fuel level sensor; however, lately it has started blinking too.
I have a 2000 Outback, 80K, and I've been having brake issues. The first thing I noticed was a burning brake smell. I pulled over and found that my two front wheels were very hot. I pumped the brakes a few times and let them cool down and drove on. Pulled over in a bit to check them and they were fine. Took the car to the dealer who said, "We can't really find anything wrong with the fronts, but the backs are sticking a bit and we fixed that." So, off I went. Of course, it happened again. Left front seemed the hottest, but this time I noticed that the rear wheels were warm as well. Took it in again. Again, "We don't know." "Could it be the calipers or the lines or the ABS chip," I asked? "Well, yeah, maybe the front calipers." So they replaced the front calipers.
Picked it up and noticed two things of interest on the print out: "Rear brakes hanging up," and the front pads are a 8mm and the rear at 3mm! Hm... Seemed fishy to me. I had all the pads replaced a year and half ago. The last set lasted 75K, so this is odd, as is the discrepancy between back and front. I had the dealer pull the service record. In May the rear were at 5mm. Two weeks ago they were at 3.5mm. Yesterday they were a 3mm. I asked, "What would cause that?" They said, "Well, probably whoever did your brake job didn't clean the brakes up well so they are getting stuck and wearing down." I took the car and drove 60 miles, mostly on the highway. Fronts wheels were cool. Rear wheels were warm to hot.
The problem with the caller from CA's Subaru smelling like burnt rubber is the actual tires are heating up due to an improper torque split between the tires. Subarus are very sensitive to changes in tire pressure and thus the diameter and will wear the tires down. The driver mentioned 8 sets of tires. He has a bad torque split in the AWD system.
View 13 RepliesRecently, my car has been sounding louder than usual. It seems to be coming from under the vehicle, and when I checked, there was smoke coming from a pipe underneath. My best guess is that the exhaust is leaking. It kind of looks like there's a disconnect here....
View 3 RepliesI have a 1996 subaru impreza outback. It is now dead. Billowing white smoke, coolant coming out of the tailpipe, terrible rocky idle and some smoke coming from the exhaust at the manifold. (assuming it cracked from the harsh idle) I'm pretty good with cars but I've never taken on a head gasket problem myself. I have time to fix it, I just don't really know if it will be worth it. Should i just replace the motor w/ a scrapyard motor? Should I take this opportunity to rebuild and upgrade? I have a crappy chevy to get me around in the meantime. Should I give it a try or just scrap it. I paid 800 bucks for this car and it has 220k miles. No major problems until now. New alt a few months back. Previous two(only two) didn't have any problems at all. I feel like it would be worth it.
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