Bad or Burnt Exhaust smell in cabin during hard acceleration.

[peterk9]

My 2016 sport has the smell.

Exhaust or sulphur (rotten egg)?

Peter

 

[ironman_jon]

My 15 sport has the sulphur smell and it's annoying as all hell and with a newborn I'm questioning the safety part of it.

 

[Mbbrewer]

Exhaust or sulphur (rotten egg)?

Peter

More like exhaust.

 

[JerryC]

More like exhaust.

fwiw...
I can't remember smelling exhaust from the car I was driving in any of the Fords myself or family has bought new since the 80's. Since 2000, 2 Taurus, Edge, F150 EB, 2 Mustang GT's, and a V6 Mustang.

I've had a few loaners/rentals in that time frame including a 2013 EB Escape, ~2010 Fusion V6 (2), ~2009 Explorer, Lincoln version of the Edge and ~2011 Focus. Didn't smell exhaust in those either.

This time when I took the Ex in for the TSB I got a 2016 FusionSE with the 2.5L engine. I did smell exhaust faintly while driving it but that was in traffic and I can't say that it wasn't a car in front of me.

My 2015 Jeep wrangler, never smelled exhaust from it either.

From my limited sample, smelling your own car's exhaust is not normal.

On to my Ex Sport and the TSB...
It's been raining steadily here so I haven't had a good chance to put it to the test. I did get a run on my "for sure" place, a long on ramp onto a highway with a slight uphill grade and that was successful with no stink. This spot would produce eye-watering and coughing from the sulfur smell in the vehicle and needed 30 - 60 seconds of all windows down to clear it.This was in the rain and that may affect the air flow around the vehicle. I am hopeful it is fixed but it needs more testing to be sure.

 

[peterk9]

......... This spot would produce eye-watering and coughing from the sulfur smell in the vehicle and needed 30 - 60 seconds of all windows down to clear it.This was in the rain and that may affect the air flow around the vehicle. I am hopeful it is fixed but it needs more testing to be sure.

The 'exhaust' and 'sulphur' smells are two different things. The exhaust smell is something you shouldn't get in the cabin whereas the sulphur smell is not unusual at times under hard acceleration. Many vehicles will produce this and is caused in part by the catalytic converter. This was particularly noticeable in the year that the catalytic convertor was first introduced.

Peter

 

[JerryC]

The 'exhaust' and 'sulphur' smells are two different things. The exhaust smell is something you shouldn't get in the cabin whereas the sulphur smell is not unusual at times under hard acceleration. Many vehicles will produce this and is caused in part by the catalytic converter. This was particularly noticeable in the year that the catalytic convertor was first introduced.

Peter

I remember when they first came out. You should only smell them when you are behind them Actually not even then because that is a poor implementation of engine management. Easily explained away for cars made decades ago but not now.

I think it is possible that vehicles can get exhaust into the cabin unnoticed with emissions being so tightly controlled. IMHO, being able to smell exhaust at times is a sign of poor engine management letting the emissions rise.

I think that obvious poof is that if it was normal for car exhaust to smell, like rotten eggs or just like "car exhaust", you'd smell it all of the time as all of the cars around you would be putting that smell out.

Old timers will remember what it was like in the days of pre-computer controlled fuel injection. Or if you get behind an older car or truck with a carburetor you can smell that over rich un-burned fuel exhaust smell.

 

[ltjball]

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.

Oh how quickly things can change when dealing with Ford customer care. As soon as they caught wind I was submitting the FL Motor Vehicle Defect Form the customer service manager called to instruct me to return the rental they are providing. She tried to say she was returning my call, I haven't spoke with her in 2 weeks, to pass along this terrific news. I did however call in to confirm the address where I send the notification and spoke with a random person who answered the phone. Big mistake I guess on my part!

The Explorer has been at the dealer since Oct 5th and one other time prior to this for the exhaust problem. Not a good start for a vehicle purchased on September 7th! Ford has acknowledged there is a problem with the exhaust entering the passenger cabin with my Explorer and they still want me to pick it up. They will have one final attempt to correct the problem before the next step in the lemon law.

 

[peterk9]

Oh how quickly things can change when dealing with Ford customer care. As soon as they caught wind I was submitting the FL Motor Vehicle Defect Form the customer service manager called to instruct me to return the rental they are providing. She tried to say she was returning my call, I haven't spoke with her in 2 weeks, to pass along this terrific news. I did however call in to confirm the address where I send the notification and spoke with a random person who answered the phone. Big mistake I guess on my part!

The Explorer has been at the dealer since Oct 5th and one other time prior to this for the exhaust problem. Not a good start for a vehicle purchased on September 7th! Ford has acknowledged there is a problem with the exhaust entering the passenger cabin with my Explorer and they still want me to pick it up. They will have one final attempt to correct the problem before the next step in the lemon law.

Good luck with the repair attempt.
Please add the 'model' of your Ex to your profile so it shows in the margin. Thanks.

 

[JerryC]

Today we test drove three Ecoboost vehicles.
2.0 EB Escape and Fusion
2.7 EB Edge Sport

All three had the sulfur smell when you exited the car, we were running them to test how much power they had compared to our Ex Sport. Interesting to me is that the smell with all three was stronger at the front doors than the back bumper.

In answer to the power question, our Ex Sport can curb stomp all of them. Not a surprise for the 2.0 EB's but I expected more from the 2.7 Edge Sport.

No stink from the Ex Sport today

 

[Dale01]

Same story different day

I've had my Explorer 2013 for 2years. It's been in the shop countless times and still no answer to the stinky exhaust in the cab problem.
The Ford rep from Denver has been involved twice and still no fix.
I'm getting a little worried after reading about the 2016 with people having the same problem. I have one ordered and it will be here at the end of the month.

I have a call into Ford asking for some compensation on another car. I am hoping they can buy this one back or start the procedure for the lemon law.
Has anyone had any success with Ford helping with this?

 

[rvlyssup]

Curious if the rear liftgate being slightly misaligned would have anything to do with the sulfur smell inside the cab. Our 15 EXSport has 1900 miles and the smell is intermittent; it does not happen every spirited driving.

I just noticed yesterday that the entire liftgate gap on the drivers side was about 2mm wider than the passenger side. That being said, the rear door seal may not be keeping the smell out 100% of the time. So this morning, I adjusted the liftgate so both sides are even. Took her out for a few spirited runs and I experienced zero sulfur smell. Sadly, the rear glass itself is also off by about 1mm. Can't really tell unless one was glaring at it. At the very least, the liftgate itself is now perfectly aligned. Hopefully no more smell.

 

[Jsilva56]

So I came across this forum after my expecting wife and I purchased our 2011 Ford Explorer Limited about 2 weeks ago. While I was driving and merging onto the freeway I noticed the smell of burning oil\ exhaust like a lot of other owners have. So since the vehicle i going to be primarily used by my wife to transport our child, this became an issue for me since my wife is expecting our first child. So I talked to her about it and has not really noticed it too much but has noticed the smell and has had minor headaches. I took the vehicle into the dealership that we purchased it from and we'll talking to the service advisor as he was writing up the paperwork stated that it could just be a cabin air filter. So I questioned him on how the filter would have anythung to do with the smell of exhaust or burning oil coming into the cabin. He paused and said "oh well I don't know that for sure but the mechanics would be able to confirm that". So hopefully they are able to find the issue and fix it. Has anyone on here had the issue fixed if so what was it and how was it repaired?

 

[peterk9]

So I came across this forum after my expecting wife and I purchased our 2011 Ford Explorer Limited about 2 weeks ago. While I was driving and merging onto the freeway I noticed the smell of burning oil\ exhaust like a lot of other owners have. So since the vehicle i going to be primarily used by my wife to transport our child, this became an issue for me since my wife is expecting our first child. So I talked to her about it and has not really noticed it too much but has noticed the smell and has had minor headaches. I took the vehicle into the dealership that we purchased it from and we'll talking to the service advisor as he was writing up the paperwork stated that it could just be a cabin air filter. So I questioned him on how the filter would have anythung to do with the smell of exhaust or burning oil coming into the cabin. He paused and said "oh well I don't know that for sure but the mechanics would be able to confirm that". So hopefully they are able to find the issue and fix it. Has anyone on here had the issue fixed if so what was it and how was it repaired?

It isn't uncommon when under hard acceleration to get a rotten egg or Sulphur smell, but it should dissipate fairly quickly. It is caused by a sudden and hard push of exhaust through the catalytic converter.

Peter

 

[Jsilva56]

Peterk9 I just received a call from the dealership stating that they found the problem. It had to do with a vent in the rear of the vehicle in the bumper area. I guess it was defective so they are ordering in a new one and install it tomorrow. The one thing that kind of gets me is how is it not covered by ford since it was a certified pre owned vehicle I purchased and they did there extensive point check on it. And I have barely owned the vehicle for 2 weeks. It is covered under my extended warranty which has a deductible of $100 but I will have to talk with them when I go in tomorrow.

 

[ArthurWeasley]

I have been looking all over for this!! I have a 2014 Mustang V6 with the burnt smell under hard acceleration. It has 25,000 miles on it in 2.5 years driving. The first time, it was in the hot Texas summer and the car was about a year old (11,000-12,000 miles on it). I did some hard acceleration on the interstate, then suddenly for the first time came this hair-dryer-on-fire smell. (I had driven the car hard when new with no smell. ) So instantly I thought I had murdered the torque converter (Well, I was thinking friction, not chemical or petroleum fumes, and definitely not rotten eggs! But I've never smelled blow by gasses directly that I know of.) I had not been hard at all on the brakes so that wasn't it. Smell lingered five minutes as I waited for the car to burst into flames at a long traffic light. It faded, and I left the car outside the garage that day just in case. These days the smell after hard acceleration comes and goes faster, without nearly as much intensity. (Maybe my PCV system or AC vacuum line don't breathe as well as they used to?)
Your descriptions (in 96 pages) match my experience. I didn't realize that it would be more reproducible with the AC recirculate on. I've been trying to reproduce it today in preparation to go to the dealer. Someone in my area mentioned catalytic converters self destructing and I got motivated: My warranty is out next May. Today with windows down and vent open I only got a faint aroma after many attempts to wring it out. The idea of a vacuum hose from the intake to the AC system is the first logical explanation I've heard! How else would combustion products enter a recirculating AC environment so quickly when I am blocking out the grey oil smoke from the guy in front of me at the same time? I was wondering if there might be a hole in the floor near the cats... No, this explanation is really good.
I've also (separate issue - my idle has begun dragging) cleaned my MAF and throttle body lately (special spray cleaner) and noticed after only two years the throttle valve was...not filthy like one you'd see on YouTube, but definitely sooty. So there's definitely been some fiery processes belching back up the intake as far as the throttle blade. Soot goes very well with what I imagine the burned material in "the smell" to be.
The smell was *worse* for a few days after I sprayed and scrubbed the throttle body clean. fwiw. (It didn't really fix my idle, but it's not serious - I just noticed the change.)

If that is the cause, is there a cure? I've found no loose or even particularly messy vacuum hoses around the intake...

 

[willej]

burning sulfure smell under hard acceleration

I have a 2015 explorer. Under hard acceleration from 40 to 60mph with the rpms above 3000 and under 5000 you get a horrible smell inside the vehicle. One dealer confirmed it and performed a tsb to fix it. It still does it. On my way to the dealer for the 5th time so the dealer can confirm it. .again. I opened a case with the national guy. Now he says he cant help. I have a 40k vehicle that chokes people out of it. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[ThreeJs]

It would seem the obvious answer is a problem with the catalytic converters not burning off the sulfides in the fuel. Possibly try a different brand of fuel that has a different combo of aditives?
Another area that causes a sulphur smell is an over-charging battery.

 

[blwnsmoke]

I have a 2015 explorer. Under hard acceleration from 40 to 60mph with the rpms above 3000 and under 5000 you get a horrible smell inside the vehicle. One dealer confirmed it and performed a tsb to fix it. It still does it. On my way to the dealer for the 5th time so the dealer can confirm it. .again. I opened a case with the national guy. Now he says he cant help. I have a 40k vehicle that chokes people out of it. Anyone else have this problem?

Welcome to the forum!! There is a ton of information on this subject on here which I have merged your thread into it. There is a "search" function at the top of the forum that I highly recommend using. Just about any topic you can think of has been discussed on here in regards to the 5th Gen Explorer.

 

[dave80]

We picked up a new 2015 Ford Edge Sport few weeks ago, and the the burnt oil smell is the same just like in our 2014 Explorer after pushing the car to higher rpm.

 

[edge2219]

2016 Explorer exhaust smell in cabin

New here but wanted share some info.
Bought my wife a new 2016 Ford Explorer XLT a few weeks ago. We really like the vehicle but noticed a exhaust/engine heat odor in the cab under acceleration. Done some research and it appears that this is a ongoing issue that has not been fixed.
I have not took it too the dealer yet but we will soon. I really hope this is a small issue because I dont want to go through all the lemon law and atty stuff along with the dozen or so trips to the dealer that I read some of you have.
Does anyone that has had this issue have any suggestions?
Thanks