Bad or Burnt Exhaust smell in cabin during hard acceleration.

[adamantium]

Just thought of something. Does anybody have or know someone with an explorer with aftermarket exhaust that still gets the smell? Just wondering so that we could rule out the exhaust system itself. Maybe it's the black paint on the mufflers heating up releasing the smell.

 

[tazmanken]

Found out today the Ex has drain holes on the bottom front faces of the mufflers pointing towards the front of the car. They seem to drain any moisture or water that makes its way into the muffler. Only problem is they blow out a tiny stream of exhaust forward even at idle. Haven't been able to check how much blows out at higher rpm's yet. This puts an exhaust source a good foot or so forward of the rear bumper. Not sure if this is contributing to the smell but just putting it out there. The black spot is exhaust soot and water.

Mufflers have had drain holes like that for years but they usually point the hole towards the back of the vehicle.

 

[tazmanken]

It is actually quite simple. If the tips of the exhaust pipes do not extend past the bodywork then the vacuum of the car passing thru the air will suck the exhaust fumes back into the car. The same thing happens when you leave the back hatch open on a car while driving the vacuum sucks the fumes into the car. I looked at my car and the tips sit fwd of the lip of the bumper by almost an inch! With the rear AC system fresh air intake under the left rear of the car it is easy to see where the fumes are entering from.

The tips on my Edge are about 1 inch under the back bumper,I told my dealer this might be where my problem is,the edge dont have rear air,When I have a window open just a little and hit the gas to pass or get on the freeway the exhaust fumes are coming in,so I think with the tips not out far enough and the window open just a little its working like a vacuum and coming in around the back hatch.

 

[seawolf]

Just an FYI - I successfully won my lemon law case againt ford last March and got rid of my Explorer. I DID register low levels of CO when utilizing a CO meter - around 30-40ppm.

Not sure what meter others have used - but a household CO detector from Lowe's or Home Depot isn't going to cut it...

I work in commercial HVAC - So I have one of these...

http://www.fluke.com/fluke/usen/ele...easurement-testers/fluke-co-220.htm?PID=56159

What happens when you are successful with a lemon law case? Does Ford buy the vehicle back at the original purchase price? Or do they just buy it less depreciation (eg current fair market value)?

 

[blwnsmoke]

What happens when you are successful with a lemon law case? Does Ford buy the vehicle back at the original purchase price? Or do they just buy it less depreciation (eg current fair market value)?

Each state varies but it generally works like this.

Purchase price minus a mileage fee (there is a formula each state uses) equals refund.

Sometimes your interest is refunded, some states use the mileage at the first appointment of the complaint, some use the last visit.

The manufacturer may offer a new replacement vehicle instead of a refund (replace a 2013 for a 2014). Some cover attorneys fees.


There is a lot of variables but seem to be in the consumers favor.

 

[FlyBoy789]

Each state varies but it generally works like this.

Purchase price minus a mileage fee (there is a formula each state uses) equals refund.

Sometimes your interest is refunded, some states use the mileage at the first appointment of the complaint, some use the last visit.

The manufacturer may offer a new replacement vehicle instead of a refund (replace a 2013 for a 2014). Some cover attorneys fees.


There is a lot of variables but seem to be in the consumers favor.

Yep - Greatly depends on the Lemon Law of your particular state.

 

[FlyBoy789]

So I will say this ... The smell has been reduced by almost 95%. I still get a tiny faint odor but not like before. Clearly it was not a complete fix but enough to make me comfortable again with the family in the truck. Many people have tested for CO2 and have found none. I have not tested it for such things but like I said .. the odor has subsided substantially .

Just because it's not registering CO2 doesn't mean some other noxious gas isn't being cooked off the exhaust and being drawn into the cabin.

Please learn the difference between CO2 and CO. You want to test for CO - and not with some silly household meter from home depot - they wont register anything until you get to ~70ppm

 

[13Sport]

What happens when you are successful with a lemon law case? Does Ford buy the vehicle back at the original purchase price? Or do they just buy it less depreciation (eg current fair market value)?

In California they must make you whole. This includes (but is not limited to) refunding any/all payments you made up to the point of the settlement, minus the mileage offset which is calculated as:

(<purchase price> X miles at first incident) / 120,000

After refunding you your payments they must write a check to your lender paying off the remainder of the loan, and then they must write a check to your lawyer to cover his/her fees associated with the case.

California is perhaps the most consumer friendly lemon law state.

An example:

Say the agreed upon purchase price of the vehicle is 45,500.00
Say I had made 14 payments of 500$ so far
Say I took the vehicle in and reported the smell at 3,200 miles
Say my lawyer charges 1,800.00$ to file, and deal with the case

The mileage offset would be 1,213.33
My payments would be 7,000.00

Ford would write me a check for 5,786.67
Ford would write a check for the payoff to the lender (~40,000.00)
Ford would write a check to my lawyer for his fees (1,800.00)

Alternatively the manufacturer might offer to settle by replacing the vehicle w/ the same or newer model, or even offer a cash settlement to avoid going through a trial (costing them more money in lawyers fees).

 

[anonymous]

I haven't read all 50 pages, but has anyone had any contact with engineers from Ford regarding this issue? Surely they must be looking into this.

 

[tazmanken]

On my Edge yes my dealer has talked to a Ford engineer a week ago and they dont know how to fix it.

 

[rbreding]

Received a call from the dealership manager yesterday re the smell and he "said" after talking with the regional rep and engineer that he got the inference that there was a fix being completed and they were waiting on it to go through "legal" first.

Take that for what you will.

 

[TouchOfEvil]

Just thought of something. Does anybody have or know someone with an explorer with aftermarket exhaust that still gets the smell? Just wondering so that we could rule out the exhaust system itself. Maybe it's the black paint on the mufflers heating up releasing the smell.

Did some exhaust work on mine. The tips are extended about an inch past the bumper now. Of course i swapped mufflers as well.
I still get the smell but it's reduced by at least 80%

 

[alphalucid]

I felt it was important enough to register and post my experience from test driving an EX Sport '14. I read every post here hoping there was a solution because my wife loves this car.

My son said he was sick to his stomach today after we test drove the sport. This was the first 7 seater we tried and the poor little guy was so excited to have a seat all to himself and away from his sister that he parked his whole body all the way in the back row right up against that vent.

We are trying to find an SUV that has decent pick up and acceleration so the point of this drive was to push the car hard. On and off the highway and some WOT hits as well.

Now I feel like an ass. He got out of the car and said he wanted to throw up and that he also had a headache. My son is not a very tough kid so we got him some water and told him to relax.

Now I know why he was so upset and quiet on the way home. I asked him about the test drive and he said, "Dad.....I really hope we don't buy that car."

After reading all these posts I think its simply a design flaw. The rear isn't sealed right and there are too many holes for Ford to ever really plug it right.

Reminds me of when my Dad owned an old 72 VW Bug. It was a two door, and when my Dad was the last to get in and slammed the door closed, the bug was so freakin' air tight my ears would "POP". It was a sealed unit, German tight with exacting tolerances. I just don't think FORD is capable of this kind of engineering.

I feel horrible for anyone who just bought this car. Had I not researched "reviews" for the Sport I would have not found this forum. Best thing I can see though is that TSB's don't seem like the kinds of things that have to get LAWYERS in involved so maybe Ford is going to come clear on this and take the hit?

 

[AERO5151]

Exhaust smell

I wanted to post my experience with my 2013 Ford Explorer. I bought this vehicle 8 months ago and have noticed an exhaust gas smell inside my vehicle even with the AC on recirculate. Took it to the dealer, they told me it is a known issue and that there is a fix for it. I got it back after 4 days and the smell did reduce but still present sometimes when i accelerate to get on the ramp. I called the dealer to complain and he asked me to bring it back and that's when a buddy of mine sent me a link to this forum. Shocked to learn there's so many customers out there having this same issue and ford still not doing anything about this. I decided not to wait any longer since I have a 2 year old kid who i suspect has been getting sick due to this smell. Went to the acura dealership, traded in this piece of junk for the RDX. I ended up losing some money but its only because i didn't want my family to breathe in the exhaust each time we get in the car. I decided to buy the Ford because first and foremost, i wanted to buy local and american made products. (never again !!)....

I expected better from Ford engineers.

 

[thestumper]

We are trying to find an SUV that has decent pick up and acceleration so the point of this drive was to push the car hard. On and off the highway and some WOT hits as well.

Now I feel like an ass. He got out of the car and said he wanted to throw up and that he also had a headache. My son is not a very tough kid so we got him some water and told him to relax.

It's actually a shame that more people don't discover this on test drives. Of course, even if they do, the salesman would likely just just dismiss it as a "new car thing" and that "they all do that for a few hundred miles". I suspect you are one of a handful that actually did the research and weren't afraid to actually work the car hard on the test drive. If the dealers couldn't move these things because of the smell, you can be sure they would be jumping up and down on Ford collectively to find a solution fast.

We don't ALL have this problem but it does seem pretty common. I was getting it occasionally but it seems to have abated somewhat and none of my 4 kids are complaining. Mine started to subside when I put premium gas in it - I don't know that it has anything to do with it, but I noticed a difference and stuck with it. I still get it occasionally, and it is irritating, but I'm not in the position to take the hit on trading it early. If the kids start complaining/getting sick, you can bet I'll take the hit and move into something else regardless. I have 7 year old triplet boys and none of them are tough - they won't hesitate to complain I love everything else about the vehicle, so I'm hanging on as long as I can.

Take a look at the Acura MDX if you get a chance - it's not as fast as the Sport but it handles as well. I came close to buying one; it was a compelling package. It's also not quite as large as the Sport, but the third row will be plenty to accommodate your son.

 

[MizzouMan_2000]

...so maybe Ford is going to come clear on this and take the hit?

Don't hold your breath..... Unless you actually own and drive an explorer, then you may want to....

 

[alphalucid]

This really sucks but we went back to the drawing board and hated what we saw today. Tried the Acadia and the Toyota Highlander and the Honda Pilot.

Out of all three , the Honda made me want to punch the sales rep in the face. Why? Because the car was so boring and plain punching him or anything was the only way to make that drive fun. I told my wife I would never end up in that car.

Acadia not as bad as I thought. I still feel like a dolt driving it.

Anyway, back to the EX. From reading every post last night, please correct me if I'm wrong but if I suck it up and give away any hopes for a decent acceleration and go with the 2.0L Ecoboost.....that engine doesn't have this issue or does it?

 

[182RG]

This really sucks but we went back to the drawing board and hated what we saw today.

Try the Q7, Touareg, and the X5. All available in Diesel (I get 32 MPG hwy with the '13 Touareg TDI). Q7 has 3rd row. Build quality is much, much better. I like my wife's '11 Explorer, but I'm glad It's hers. Once you go German, you'll never go back.

 

[anonymous]

Out of all three , the Honda made me want to punch the sales rep in the face. Why? Because the car was so boring and plain punching him or anything was the only way to make that drive fun. I told my wife I would never end up in that car.

LOL. I feel the same way. CAN NOT stand that vehicle. I think they are nothing more than an appliance on wheels.

 

[anonymous]

^ Q7 is very nice, but also 18K more starting price than an Explorer. Not a trivial amount by any means.