Bad or Burnt Exhaust smell in cabin during hard acceleration.

[ltjball]

I have had the TSB done, it did not completely resolve the problem. Still have the sulfur smell entering the cabin and it does not matter if rear air is on or off, does not matter if in recirculate or max. The smell is also on the exterior of vehicle, if you happen to pick up someone curbside you will smell the same odor. Also if you have ever been behind another new Ford, pick a Ford any Ford you will smell the same odor and they do not necessarily need to be accelerating.
I had a case # opened when I had it in the dealer for the TSB. After the TSB repair was done and I noticed it still had the problem I contacted Ford area customer service and ask if there was anything they could do to resolve the problem and was informed that there is not any other repairs and she said she was closing the case and hung up. Contacted the dealer to make sure she was not missing anything and presumably they contacted Ford and was told there are no other repairs.
Recently contacted Ford corporate through the website to inform them on how unhappy I was, because the vehicle still has this problem. Received email from customer service and was told that an area manager would contact me within 24 hours, that was 2 weeks ago. Emailed her back and no response, emailed her again and no response. So now they wont even acknowledge me or respond in any manner. The dealer will not take it in for repair because there is nothing available for them to do. 10000 miles on vehicle and can not stand to drive it and Ford will not even acknowledge they have problem or attempt to repair the problem.
This was my first Ford purchase ever, it will be my last. I have had vehicles with problems before and have never been treated like this. At least there were attempts made to repair the vehicle and never was there a lack of communication. It is really hard to imagine that a company like Ford would allow this to continue for what 5 years now. It is even harder to imagine,(well maybe not) that they do not have an engineer that is able to resolve this problem.

That is terrible customer service! I went in to my dealer armed with photo and video proof of CO in the passenger cabin. If CO is getting in so is every other nasty exhaust chemical. After all of the horror stories on here I was prepared for the worst case scenario such as yours. To this point the Dealer and Ford's area customer service manager have been very helpful trying to resolve this issue. My 2015 Limited with 1600 miles is in for the 2nd time right now and is on day #10 without a fix.

 

[peterk9]

....... If CO is getting in so is every other nasty exhaust chemical....

That is a fact. Even though you have a cabin air filter, when the fan is running and drawing in outside air, you will be exposed to all kinds of exhaust and other pollutants. The cabin isn't air tight. Not much different than walking down the sidewalk of a busy street.

Peter

 

[ltjball]

That is a fact. Even though you have a cabin air filter, when the fan is running and drawing in outside air, you will be exposed to all kinds of exhaust and other pollutants. The cabin isn't air tight. Not much different than walking down the sidewalk of a busy street.

Peter

You are 100% correct. There is no need to further expose yourself every time you drive your explorer by it constantly pulling in its own exhaust. We can't avoid the outside pollution that is already there, we can avoid the exhaust created by our own vehicles.

 

[omar302]

When driving it creates a bit of a vacuum/air turbulence behind the vehicle which I'm guessing will allow a small amount of exhaust to make its way back into the vehicle. That is also one reason it is more difficult to keep the back of this type of vehicle clean of dirt etc.

Peter

Talking about turbulence, new cars & SUVs now have some kind of lipson both sides of the rear window (tailgate) and even though the 2016 Explorer isn't a full redesign, they added these lips. It seems that they really have a significant effect so that Ford added them with such a mild refresh.

Higher resolution image here.

 

[F150EB]

My point exactly. Looking for thoughts on what that implies. After 5 years and 93 pages on this forum, neither Ford nor us owner's are sure of the cause. Since it only appears to happen while driving that seems to indicate that it is not simply an exhaust or muffler lining issue. Those should occur whether in gear/moving or not. It seems that since the smell doesn't occur if in park, that might be a clue to the final cause? Really just a question. As an engineer, trying to get to the root cause just like everyone else.

Well flooring the car in park with no load on it is very different than the opposite. I'm sure the fuel maps completely change. It needs to go on the dyno. Ford doesn't care, they don't give a flying **** about us. I never got a response from some lady in customer service after the TSB didn't fix the issue. I filled out a survey explaining the issue, the silence is deafening.

 

[Dramboni]

My 3 week old explorer is currently at the dealership having the TSB performed for the exhaust and both rear door quarter windows and mouldings replaced. Like most who have found their way here I was shocked to read through page after page containing years worth of complaints about this. The dealership is confident the TSB will fix the problem, I'm obviously skeptical after all of the testimonials here.

The fix will make it slightly better than before but the smell still exist during hard acceleration.
Took it to the dealership 3 times and the problem still exists
$45 k down the drain.

 

[Dramboni]

My new Facebook page.

/www.facebook.com

 

[blwnsmoke]

The smell is also on the exterior of vehicle, if you happen to pick up someone curbside you will smell the same odor. Also if you have ever been behind another new Ford, pick a Ford any Ford you will smell the same odor and they do not necessarily need to be accelerating.

It's one thing to come on here and vent, complain or just post about your issues. It's another to make blanket statements like this that are just untrue. When you make ridiculous statements like this that are not true then it reflects on the rest of your post(s) where people will start to question your truthfulness in your posts and not take you seriously.

Just something to think about...

 

[colson543]

Problem still pursists! LEMON LAW

Hello all!! Just an FYI, anyone having this issue, contact your state's BBB and open a case if you are eligble for the Lemon Law. I settled with FORD for 2 car payments and an extended warranty!! I only settled because after the Ford service engineer performed the final fix attempt, the problem seemed to be fixed.
Sadly, after putting a few hundred more miles on there, the problem is FAR from fixed and I am having to re-open my case with the BBB and probably have to go in front of the arbitrator now.
PLEASE EVERYONE
Take this up with your BBB. Just going to the dealership and complaining to them/here is not going to do anything to have FORD address the problem. The only way they will address it is if they have a real financial reason to! If needed, get a lawyer. Most Lemon Law lawyers will not take your case unless they know they can win and will also not charge you unless they win, and FORD will probably have to pay them! I am looking into possible obtaining a Lawyer myself, because if the smell makes me sick, I am HORRIFIED to put my future children in the car!

 

[613GT500]

As a goodwill from my dealership, when bringing up this potential issue that may also affect MY2016 (where I'm currently waiting for delivery of my Sport); I was given a Sport as a loaner for the entire weekend.

I did not experience any lingering issues within the confinement of the cabin space, despite WOT repeatedly.
Yes, there is a smell that is produced (exhaust smell); but it's nothing different than what is produced by every other vehicle that is subjected to WOT.

I can produce the same smell with my 2015 Lexus RX350 and more noticeable in my 2001 Integra TypeR.
But the smell does not linger on nor keeps a lasting “taste” in your mouth.

Am I just too use to this smell?

 

[peterk9]

As a goodwill from my dealership, when bringing up this potential issue that may also affect MY2016 (where I'm currently waiting for delivery of my Sport); I was given a Sport as a loaner for the entire weekend.

I did not experience any lingering issues within the confinement of the cabin space, despite WOT repeatedly.
Yes, there is a smell that is produced (exhaust smell); but it's nothing different than what is produced by every other vehicle that is subjected to WOT.

I can produce the same smell with my 2015 Lexus RX350 and more noticeable in my 2001 Integra TypeR.
But the smell does not linger on nor keeps a lasting “taste” in your mouth.

Am I just too use to this smell?

There are 2 different smells at play here. One is the rotten egg (sulphur) smell and the other is the actual exhaust smell. It isn't uncommon in any vehicle to briefly produce the former under hard acceleration but the exhaust smell is something that should not be entering the cabin. I'm guessing that you've noticed the rotten egg smell in your other vehicles. Hope your Sport arrives soon.

Peter

 

[613GT500]

There are 2 different smells at play here. One is the rotten egg (sulphur) smell and the other is the actual exhaust smell. It isn't uncommon in any vehicle to briefly produce the former under hard acceleration but the exhaust smell is something that should not be entering the cabin. I'm guessing that you've noticed the rotten egg smell in your other vehicles. Hope your Sport arrives soon.

Peter

Yes, that is correct, which was very noticeable every single time during WOT.
Exhaust smell, which was very noticeable today when auto starting the car and letting it idle before I took off (fairly cold morning, frost all over), but was not present once I entered the vehicle.

 

[Ecobeast88]

Thought I was the lucky one and didn't get the smell. Got it today and it stinks! 2800 miles today and just filled up at a different gas station today. Doubt that's the reason. Now I'm waiting for the water leaks and hood to start bubbling! Good thing I leased this thing.

 

[peterk9]

Thought I was the lucky one and didn't get the smell. Got it today and it stinks! 2800 miles today and just filled up at a different gas station today. Doubt that's the reason. Now I'm waiting for the water leaks and hood to start bubbling! Good thing I leased this thing.

If it is the sulphur smell it could well be the gasoline since they all have different levels of sulphur. If it is the exhaust smell then it probably isn't the gasoline.

Peter

 

[JMP10]

First post here. I have read a lot on this particular topic. We currently have a 2013 explorer limited that has had the hood bubbling, water leaks and the exhaust smell in the cab. This is the car my wife and daughter drive in most of the time and I am sick of it and will be getting rid of it this week. It has had all the TSB's done and nothing has worked and everyone at Ford acts like I am the first person to have these problems. At least the people I have talked to. My question is, "is there still the exhaust smell in the cab with hard acceleration on the 2016 explorer?" I know this has been asked before but the one we might be looking at is the new 2.3 L ecoboost and I was wondering if that would maybe make a difference.

Thanks

 

[peterk9]

First post here. I have read a lot on this particular topic. We currently have a 2013 explorer limited that has had the hood bubbling, water leaks and the exhaust smell in the cab. This is the car my wife and daughter drive in most of the time and I am sick of it and will be getting rid of it this week. It has had all the TSB's done and nothing has worked and everyone at Ford acts like I am the first person to have these problems. At least the people I have talked to. My question is, "is there still the exhaust smell in the cab with hard acceleration on the 2016 explorer?" I know this has been asked before but the one we might be looking at is the new 2.3 L ecoboost and I was wondering if that would maybe make a difference.

Thanks

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
I don't believe any member with a 2016 has reported here about the exhaust smell in the cabin. There is a member with a 2016 who has noticed a short term sulphur smell under hard acceleration but that isn't unusual. You can always check through the posts and looks at the margin for model year to see if a 2016 owner has had the exhaust smell in the cabin. I only went back about 5 pages.

Peter

 

[JMP10]

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
I don't believe any member with a 2016 has reported here about the exhaust smell in the cabin. There is a member with a 2016 who has noticed a short term sulphur smell under hard acceleration but that isn't unusual. You can always check through the posts and looks at the margin for model year to see if a 2016 owner has had the exhaust smell in the cabin. I only went back about 5 pages.

Peter

Thanks for the quick reply. I am really concerned that I will be going through this whole nightmare again if we purchase the 2016. I did find this one post on car complaints.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/2016/accessories-interior/odor_in_cabin.shtml

 

[613GT500]

Thanks for the quick reply. I am really concerned that I will be going through this whole nightmare again if we purchase the 2016. I did find this one post on car complaints.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/2016/accessories-interior/odor_in_cabin.shtml

Soon to be an owner of a new 2016 Sport here myself and reading all of these underlying issues and delays are definitely not reassuring.
But I'm content because it's only a small fraction versus a million vehicle recall.

I had the pleasure of receiving a loaner a few weekends ago, when I brought up the concern about in cabin exhaust smell (have a young kid that I have to haul to daycare 5 days a week) and can report that the vehicle I had, had no lingering exhaust smell in the cabin.

 

[JMP10]

Soon to be an owner of a new 2016 Sport here myself and reading all of these underlying issues and delays are definitely not reassuring.
But I'm content because it's only a small fraction versus a million vehicle recall.

I had the pleasure of receiving a loaner a few weekends ago, when I brought up the concern about in cabin exhaust smell (have a young kid that I have to haul to daycare 5 days a week) and can report that the vehicle I had, had no lingering exhaust smell in the cabin.

I actually have a weekend test drive with the 16 limited with the 2.3 ecoboost right now and will see today if i can smell anything. I am just worried that it will come up later and therefore am leaning towards not buying. Our experience with the 2013 has been awful and It doesnt look like any of the exhaust has been changed on the 16's but I am not sure. I also think that this problem is on many more explorers but people just either dont notice or think it is normal. Last new years I went out of town and our family rented 2 2015 explorers and both had the same issue of the exhaust smell.

 

[Mbbrewer]

My 2016 sport has the smell.