Car Cabin Smells like Exhaust

[coryb03]

Hi All,

Wondering if anyone has experienced any issues with the cabin of their car smelling like exhaust - mechanic did a check and said theres no exhaust leaks. im not sure what else it could be?

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[AlexL]

Is it stock? There is no other answer except an exhaust leak. Smelling like gas, or oil, or coolant could be something else. But exhaust smell is exhaust leak.

[coryb03]

previous owner had a full invidia system on it but it was too loud so i bought a catback stock exhaust from junkyard and put that on. i am pretty sure the smell is exhaust

[lokanaft]

If you have an oil separator, then it may not be closed back to the engine intake, but vented into the atmosphere and you feel this smell.

[TurboRev]

It might be worth checking the cabin air filter or the ventilation system. Sometimes a dirty or clogged filter can let in unwanted fumes. Also, ensure your HVAC system isn't set to draw in air from outside.

[GoFrogs]

Originally Posted by coryb03

Hi All,

Wondering if anyone has experienced any issues with the cabin of their car smelling like exhaust - mechanic did a check and said there's no exhaust leaks. i'm not sure what else it could be?

Didn't see the year of the car...

depending on where you start your vehicle, it is possible that the exhaust is being blown to the front of the car and is then sucked in by the hvac fan IF you have the recirc-air button "off", i.e. draws in outside air.

I get this on occasion when the air is cold and heavy and exhaust lingers around the car (mostly late fall and winter).

As mentioned above, turn recirc on and/or turn your fan speed to as low as possible or off and see if he smell persists

another possibility is the cabin vents located behind the rear bumper cover, on the lower quarter panels below and back from the tail lights. These cabin vents are what allow you to shut the doors and the vents only open with positive cabin pressure. However, if some of the plastic vanes on these vents gets stuck open, they can let in smells.

I assume you got all of the gaskets for the stock system you put on in place of the invidia system...yes?

[Gixhost]

If you purchased a stock cat-back exhaust and installed it I would check again for a leak as everyone else is suggesting...you may need to tighten the bolts at the donut gasket more...also if you didn't install a fresh donut gasket you may want to replace it. If you aren't using a donut gasket and factory spring bolts with the factory cat-back that could be the issue as well. What kind of downpipe are you running? If it isn't factory you may get some exhaust smell depending on whether its catted or not and whether you're missing a cat. Even with a single high flow cat setup when you come to a stop with you windows down you'll get some exhaust smell. If its just exhaust filling up the cabin all the time something is wrong and as everyone has said there is a leak somewhere.

[Jedi03]

lift car and look for soot on all parts of the exhaust, headers, up pipe, down pipe, etc. sounds like there could be a leak somewhere

[bo2o]

One thing to check is the condition of the exhaust system itself. Even though there are no leaks, there could be a problem with the exhaust routing or a component of the exhaust system that is allowing exhaust gases to enter the cabin in some way. Maybe the exhaust pipe is damaged.

[Charlie-III]

Originally Posted by bo2o

One thing to check is the condition of the exhaust system itself. Even though there are no leaks, there could be a problem with the exhaust routing or a component of the exhaust system that is allowing exhaust gases to enter the cabin in some way. Maybe the exhaust pipe is damaged.

A leak is most likely, burning off oil/grease, etc. is second, stuck open rear fender area vents are next.

Only way to get smells without a leak but new exhaust is a hot pipe is against body undercoating, rubber, etc. which is burning/melting.

[krystian98]

Maybe check the cabin filter?

[jegfaller]

What about the catalyst?

[jegfaller]

Originally Posted by coryb03

Hi All,

Wondering if anyone has experienced any issues with the cabin of their car smelling like exhaust - mechanic did a check and said theres no exhaust leaks. im not sure what else it could be?

What about the catalyst?

[Jedi03]

you can smoke test the exhaust, but another idea is the cabin vent in the rear of the car behind the rear bumper cover. Sometimes they get stuck open and being right next to the exhaust outlet will let the exhaust right in