Bad or Burnt Exhaust smell in cabin during hard acceleration.

[14explorer]

So, I taped off the seam of the rear hatch and ran it hard all day yesterday - smell almost entirely gone! I studied the hatch weatherstripping a bit and noticed that there are areas where it appears the seal is not evenly distributed. I believe this to be related to the curvature of the rear hatch. As you can see in the pic, there is a line on the paint where the seal is lying. Around the hatch catch area the line seems to fade out. I pulled the weatherstripping away from frame - it is very wedged in there, it will take some effort. This is good though, as I repositioned outward and believe it should maintain its pressure against the hatch. When I closed the hatch it's feel "softer" than before. I would always have trouble getting the hatch to close (would not catch), and believe this to be related to the lack of pressure being exerted from the weatherstripping. I drove into work this morning (driving very hard on the interstate) and the smell is 90-95% gone. Only a small reminence remains, but that could just be in my head lol. I advise everyone to try this, or maybe apply a second make-shift weatherstripping on the hatch side.

 

[peterk9]

Your photo was too large. Scrolling L/R is required to read the post. Try and keep pictures to a max size of 800X600.

Peter

 

[JCat]

I put a few drops of citrus oil on the exhaust tips, and guess what I smell when I accelerate????? Oranges!

Made me laugh.

 

[14explorer]

Your photo was too large. Scrolling L/R is required to read the post. Try and keep pictures to a max size of 800X600.

Peter

Sorry using my phone so I don't have the ability to change pic sizes. You were able to see it tho right? Lol

 

[14explorer]

Made me laugh.

Haha, yes I've learned that if u want to find a leak, citrus oil is very potent!

 

[LukerDooker]

...dont know if this has been covered here, but what about the vents in the cargo area, which are below the speakers, and below the 3rd row seat deck when stowed?
Any possibiity there?

 

[LukerDooker]

So, I taped off the seam of the rear hatch and ran it hard all day yesterday - smell almost entirely gone! I studied the hatch weatherstripping a bit and noticed that there are areas where it appears the seal is not evenly distributed. I believe this to be related to the curvature of the rear hatch. As you can see in the pic, there is a line on the paint where the seal is lying. Around the hatch catch area the line seems to fade out. I pulled the weatherstripping away from frame - it is very wedged in there, it will take some effort. This is good though, as I repositioned outward and believe it should maintain its pressure against the hatch. When I closed the hatch it's feel "softer" than before. I would always have trouble getting the hatch to close (would not catch), and believe this to be related to the lack of pressure being exerted from the weatherstripping. I drove into work this morning (driving very hard on the interstate) and the smell is 90-95% gone. Only a small reminence remains, but that could just be in my head lol. I advise everyone to try this, or maybe apply a second make-shift weatherstripping on the hatch side.

You can try Silicone friction tape from HomeDepot, its like thin electrical tape that will really grab if you overlap onto itself. Works best when wrapping around things and overlapping-it sticks to itself, rubbery stretch tape.

Very smooth, thin, easy to use with easy to peel backing.
Great for electrical or small areas of water - like tiny seams or curved areas.

May not stick well to Ex interior plastic or fabric unless you can stretch it around the area and overlap.

Doesnt work great to tape a long line without overlap or flat surface, or wide seam/valley that you want to tape over, unless you overlap/layer it.

Doesnt hold 2 areas together, not really a strong tape to use as a bridge.

Comes off clean, no glue residue, no mess, no gunk.
In Black, red, yellow, white, clear, green, blue.

 

[peterk9]

...dont know if this has been covered here, but what about the vents in the cargo area, which are below the speakers, and below the 3rd row seat deck when stowed?
Any possibiity there?

I believe that is what the TSB addressed.

Peter

 

[14explorer]

I contacted my service manager and he is ordering a new hatch seal for me. Apparently there is a new revision out there. Will report back when it gets replaced. Just an FYI I had the latest tsb done and the hatch seal is not on it.

 

[JohnSmith2014]

My 2014 Video of Carbon Monoxide

My 2014 Ford Explorer with 5000 miles allows Carbon Monoxide CO to enter the cabin when the rpm's go over 4000. This happens on somewhat aggressive acceleration and even when the cruise control was set at 60 mph and I had to climb a long hill with 3 adults in the vehicle. The vehicle has the additional rear AC / Heat Option.

This is easily repeatable by setting the main AC to MAX AC, recirculate, set digital thermostat to 70 degrees and set rear auxiliary AC to cold and medium fan speed. Start out with an aggressive acceleration until you reach about 60 and then let off the gas & coast a little. You don't even have to floor the accelerator. Then let vehicle slow down to 40 mph or so and hit the accelerator so it kicks down a gear or two to allow the rpm's to go up to at 4,000 rpm's & you will find yourself smelling a pretty strong odor of exhaust.

I am just driving the vehicle the way someone might if they have to merge into traffic on the interstate and/or if they have to pass someone on the highway. I am not abusing the vehicle as I do these tests. If you're smelling exhaust, logic & physics tell us there is also CO in the air. I notice that the smell of exhaust goes down over time (or I get used to it), but the CO stays present on the meter until I roll down the windows.

The professional grade CO Sensor I borrowed from a friend that owns a HVAC company confirms the presence of Carbon Monoxide. Ford sent their own Technician and stated they could not replicate. This video was taken after the Ford Technician checked out the vehicle and they denied my claim. Yes, I understand my daughter was with me, but I wanted to get this video made and have someone hold the sensor in the mid cabin to get a good middle reading of air. I now have to drive my vehicle with the windows down and do not let the rpm's get over 3,000 nor do I use the cruise control.

The first time the vehicle went into Ford service, they applied the TSB 14-0130.

The second time they had a Ford Technician brought in to test the vehicle. He said they did not find anything. In fact, they loaned me a 2015 Ford Explorer in the identical setup with 80 miles, and IT DID THE SAME THING. They then gave me an Edge to drive for the 3 weeks it took for the Ford Technician to come into town.

Almost 10 minute video, but I wanted it to be one contiguous video clip with no interruptions. If you want to skip the countdown & clearing of the sensor, skip in one minute.

You may notice me hit the Green Enter key some times. This is to keep the unit from shutting down, which would require me to do another 60 seconds of startup time that is supposed to be using outside, ambient air.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1KIBl6iX-E

 

[14explorer]

Discovered something else that may be of relevance. Take a look at your hatch latch. You'll need to take off the interior handle and pull away the trim cover to reveal where the latch is secured to the tailgate with three bolts. Two on one side and one on the other. I noticed that my latch was not centered. It was slightly off to the right where the two bolts were. It should be straight across so that when it's closed the latch is securing the tailgate evenly with pressure distributed evenly across the seal/hatch. I loosened the bolts and noticed some significant "play". In other words it's easy to get it off centered when tightening the bolts. I noticed that when I tightened one of the two bolts on the right - it would result in the latch being pulled to one side, resulting in the original ****-eyed orientation I originally had. When I start with the single bolt on the left side and hold the latch while it's tightened, it will bolt down nice and straight. Here's my theory...some explorers have the exhaust issues and some do not....could it all depend on how this latch was tightened on the line??? I'm sure they are using air tools and not cranking in any real sequence. I will ride around for a few days and see if this makes a difference. Ive already narrowed it down to fumes getting past the rear hatch (previous posts), so I am getting really close. Pics to follow, if I can make them smaller!

 

[Father2be]

I contacted my service manager and he is ordering a new hatch seal for me. Apparently there is a new revision out there. Will report back when it gets replaced. Just an FYI I had the latest tsb done and the hatch seal is not on it.

I'm looking forward to seeing if this fixes the problem. Keep us posted.

 

[14explorer]

Thrilled to report that I had a nice "smoke free" drive into work this morning. Drove the ex hard and not one hint of the sulfur/exhaust smell. Had rear ac on full blast and recirculate the entire time. So folks.....I think that's it. Reposition/replace your rear hatch weatherstripping and make sure your latch is centered. Interested to see if others have success! If so, Ford can send me a check lol.

 

[odyssey24]

can you post a pic of what it should look like? Pretty sure I know what you did, but a pic would help. great detective work!

 

[14explorer]

Sure.... Will take me a day or two as all I have is my phone and apparently it only uploads extra large photos.

 

[Father2be]

Sure.... Will take me a day or two as all I have is my phone and apparently it only uploads extra large photos.

Great news. I think you're okay with posting the pictures from your phone. Just to be clear, you took this to the dealership and this was the fix they did, or was it from you re-centering your latch and pulling out the stripping? If the former, can you provide exactly what the dealership did so I can notify mine?

 

[corpflyboy]

Pics of 14Explorer's Remedy

I am off work pretty much til January so I took the time today to take a look for myself on my 14' Sport.

Just so everyone knows where the work needs to be performed:

Top part of tailgate:

NOT THIS SIDE!:

These tools help in partially removing the plastic interior of the tailgate:

Right Side Tailgate with handle removed:

With handle partially broken down:use a soft screwdriver type wedge to remove the outer piece:

8MM socket will remove the two screws:

After wedging the interior plastic away from the latch area:

Use This T27 Torx socket/wrench to loosen the three bolts:

As you can see from the close up pics of the latch, mine was straight to begin with. I tried very hard to see any discrepancy of the OEM install and I couldn't find any so I did not take mine apart.

Hope this helps others. By The way, take note on how the main part of that tailgate handle is installed. It will only fit one way.

I occasionally get that smell. If it is not due to the fact my latch is straight, it might be due to how the electric tailgate captures the lock when closed which might vary each time it is used. Or it could be when I manually close the tailgate I press from left-right or center to close and it throws off a perfect fit to the molding. I'm still baffled.

Buzz

PS
EDIT: For some reason photobucket/forum decided to flip the image on a few. The only way I could make them right side up is using the IMG Thumbnail instead. Hence the smaller pics on some. Should be able to click on those smaller pics to see em in full size.

 

[corpflyboy]

Deleted

 

[14explorer]

Great pics! Exactly what I did, however, my latch was not as straight across as yours. Did you try and pull out your weatherstripping a little? btw, mine got the smell EVERYTIME I ran it over 3.5k. It would be so unbearable after a long wot that it would make my eyes water.

 

[corpflyboy]

Great pics! Exactly what I did, however, my latch was not as straight across as yours. Did you try and pull out your weatherstripping a little? btw, mine got the smell EVERYTIME I ran it over 3.5k. It would be so bearable after a long wot that it would make my eyes water.

Thank You!

I did not pull on the weatherstripping/moulding-Britsh?/Molding...I will give it a try.

Yes I had horrible smells on occasion when I hammered it, which I do often.

The rear end/vacuum/tailpipe location/not a perfect seal sounds logical to me.

I am gonna try to close the tailgate without the powered function and consistently, with two hands, evenly close the tailgate. I will report back when I feel it helps or not.

Buzz