Bad or Burnt Exhaust smell in cabin during hard acceleration. | Page 120 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Has anyone heard of, found, or experienced a solution to the Ford Explorer exhaust issue?


  • Total voters
    14
They stated specifically grill shutters and stated there are 4 of them.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





They stated specifically grill shutters and stated there are 5 of them.
While taking a closer look at mine in trying to answer another post, I did notice 4 black plastic shutters/louvers. They are just in front of the oil dipstick and a bit to the left when facing the front of the engine bay. They can be opened by hand and just fall back into the closed position when you let them go.

shutters.JPG


shutters2.JPG
 






While taking a closer look at mine in trying to answer another post, I did notice 4 black plastic shutters/louvers. They are just in front of the oil dipstick and a bit to the left when facing the front of the engine bay. They can be opened by hand and just fall back into the closed position when you let them go.

View attachment 150606

View attachment 150607

I guess this is what they are talking about. Not sure why they would need to seal these????
 






While taking a closer look at mine in trying to answer another post, I did notice 4 black plastic shutters/louvers. They are just in front of the oil dipstick and a bit to the left when facing the front of the engine bay. They can be opened by hand and just fall back into the closed position when you let them go.
My 2016 Platinum has 5 shutters in that same place, 2 plus 2 with the smaller 5th nearer the center of the radiator. These are part of the molded electric fan housing. All are freely hinged at the top to allow them to open under air pressure from the front of the car (or the fans). Part # 8C607 in the diagram below:
Screen Shot 2017-08-29 at 8.04.06 PM.png
 






My 2016 Platinum has 5 shutters in that same place, 2 plus 2 with the smaller 5th nearer the center of the radiator. These are part of the molded electric fan housing. All are freely hinged at the top to allow them to open under air pressure from the front of the car (or the fans). Part # 8C607 in the diagram below:
View attachment 150608
Edited my post above to indicate 5 shutters as shown in the top picture.
 






This discovery still leaves the question about what 4 shutters is TinMan's dealer referring to? Could they mean the rear air extractor's?

Screen Shot 2017-08-30 at 7.55.18 AM.png
 






I guess we'll have to wait until the repair is done to find out. :dunno:
 






Dealer is now telling me one part is back ordered with no ETA. Also stated they have another who has been waiting for months on this part. They will not do any part of the TSB until the part comes in. I have filed a complaint with NHTSA and will be calling Ford also. If they can't fix it then they need to buy it back.
 






Got my Explorer Limited on Tuesday. I like the ride and the feel of it after having a pickup for the last 30 years. Went on the highway for the first time and had the need to accelerate at WOT to merge into the traffic. I smelled the 'rotten eggs' smell immediately! Now I guess the fun begins. Seeing the dealer next week. ....to be continued.
 






Got my Explorer Limited on Tuesday. I like the ride and the feel of it after having a pickup for the last 30 years. Went on the highway for the first time and had the need to accelerate at WOT to merge into the traffic. I smelled the 'rotten eggs' smell immediately! Now I guess the fun begins. Seeing the dealer next week. ....to be continued.
Did it linger or dissipate quickly? That smell is not totally unheard of in many vehicles. Normally caused by a sudden burst of exhaust forced through the catalytic converter. It is a separate issue from the burned exhaust smell and there is a thread on it.
 






I've had many new vehicles over the years, and never had a smell like this that filled the cabin. Had to open all the windows to dissipate it. Normal throttle usage does not produce the smell. Only when WOT was used for quick acceleration.
Appointment is for Wednesday. They expect to have the vehicle for two days. No details as to what they will be doing.
 






Got my Explorer Limited on Tuesday. I like the ride and the feel of it after having a pickup for the last 30 years. Went on the highway for the first time and had the need to accelerate at WOT to merge into the traffic. I smelled the 'rotten eggs' smell immediately! Now I guess the fun begins. Seeing the dealer next week. ....to be continued.

Didn't you test drive before you signed and took delivery?
 






With all I have read about this, I should have, but because the numbers who actually had the problem were low by comparison to the numbers sold, I rolled the dice. And lost. Now I have to deal with it.
 






With all I have read about this, I should have, but because the numbers who actually had the problem were low by comparison to the numbers sold, I rolled the dice. And lost. Now I have to deal with it.

Unfortunately I don't think this statement holds water "because the numbers who actually had the problem were low by comparison to the numbers sold", reason being is that there are way too many variables to really know the number of Explorers with this problem. According to the class action settlement "https://eclaim.kccllc.net/caclaimforms/fsk/home.aspx", the all owners must drive their Explorer at WOT with the internal ventilation on recirculate to experience this problem. I fully understand that many owners have experienced this problem without the internal ventilation on recirculate. So, owners who do not drive their Explorer at WOT may never know if this problem exist or not, which may be the vast majority of owners. Also keep in mind that it appeared that post cards related to the Florida settlement were sent out to all 2011-2015 owners, so I'm not sure Ford has a good handle on which Explorers have the problem or not.

In summary the first post on this thread was written on July 24, 2011, which was over six years ago and it appears that the problem still has not been solved. Since that time the Ford Rep's no longer post in the forum and Ford has replaced it's CEO, not saying it's related but significant changes none the less. If not for police departments having this same problem exacerbated by carbon monoxide, I'm not sure just how much attention this problem would be getting today.
 






Dealer is now telling me one part is back ordered with no ETA. Also stated they have another who has been waiting for months on this part. They will not do any part of the TSB until the part comes in. I have filed a complaint with NHTSA and will be calling Ford also. If they can't fix it then they need to buy it back.

Dealer got in parts yesterday and expects to have work completed tomorrow. When I get it back i will post if TSB fixes issue.
 






I am toxicologist who joined this forum so I can share information on how to measure carbon monoxide (CO) levels in Ford Explorers and the drivers of Ford Explorers.

#1. If you can smell an exhaust odor, odorless CO is also present, but CO may be present even if you do not smell exhaust, or after the smell fades. The only way to know the level of CO in a vehicle is with a professional CO detector that displays from 1ppm, and preferably one that records CO measurements automatically (called a data-logger) or at least one that records the peak CO level (which you can then recall by pressing a button). Any CO level above 0 in a vehicle is abnormal unless in heavy traffic or a tunnel, and healthy non-smokers absorb CO whenever the air has more than the 1-2ppm they normally exhale. If you can afford 2 detectors, I recommend putting one in the front seat and one in the rear, so you can determine from which end exhaust gases are entering (it could be either end or both).

#2. Do not test vehicles with home CO alarms built to UL2034 or UL2075 standards. These are worse than worthless for use in vehicles because they give a false sense of security. They do not display any CO levels below 30ppm in real time, nor do they give any CO warning below 70ppm, even though EPA average limit for public is just 9ppm. Worse still, these kind of alarms don't provide any warning until CO has been continuously over 70ppm for 1 - 4 hours at the low end or over 400ppm for 4 -15 minutes at the high end. By the time they alarm, you have already been poisoned for anywhere from 4 minutes to 4 hours.

#3. To get your Ford dealer to take you seriously, ask a passenger to use a smartphone to video the CO level your detector displays while you accelerate WOT over 45 mph with both the front and rear AC on high, all windows closed, and recirculate ON. From my testing of 2015 and 2016 Explorers, this is consistently the worst case scenario and so the only condition you need to test. To quickly lower the CO level in the cabin after testing, leave the AC on and turn recirculate OFF (or open at least 2 windows). Since Ford dealers do not have CO detectors, I recommend you test your vehicle again after anyone attempts any repairs. As long as you can detect CO entering the cabin under these conditions, the vehicle is not safe to drive.

#4. If you want to know how much CO you absorbed from your exposures while driving, you can use any professional CO detector to measure the level of CO in your tissues. You just need to hold your breath for 35 seconds before exhaling into the detector. This method is faster, more accurate and less painful than measuring COHb in blood, which is most hospitals can't even do in-house. If you do get your COHb tested, make sure they take both arterial and venous samples. Both are needed to determine if CO is being absorbed (a>v), excreted (v>a) or in equilibrium (a=v).

During CO exposure, you inhale more CO than you exhale, but afterwards, once back in fresh air, you exhale more than you inhale, until the level of CO in your blood and tissues tissues returns to healthy equilibrium. This can take days to years, depending on how much CO you absorbed, or until you are exposed to a higher level and start absorbing CO again. Symptoms like recurring headaches, chronic fatigue, brain fog, muscle pain and multi-sensory sensitivity can last as long as you have more CO in your tissues than your blood.
 






Thanks for this informative post. I am curious of how many Ford Explorers that you have tested, and of that number, how many did you find CO levels inside of the cabin? Are there any specific brands of CO detectors that you can recommend to take these measurements in our own cars, without breaking the bank? Thanks again...
 






#3. To get your Ford dealer to take you seriously, ask a passenger to use a smartphone to video the CO level your detector displays while you accelerate WOT over 45 mph with both the front and rear AC on high, all windows closed, and recirculate ON. From my testing of 2015 and 2016 Explorers, this is consistently the worst case scenario and so the only condition you need to test. To quickly lower the CO level in the cabin after testing, leave the AC on and turn recirculate OFF (or open at least 2 windows). Since Ford dealers do not have CO detectors, I recommend you test your vehicle again after anyone attempts any repairs. As long as you can detect CO entering the cabin under these conditions, the vehicle is not safe to drive.
Can you clarify this test? Are you saying to accelerate WOT from a stop and get to a speed over 45MPH or to accelerate at WOT while already driving over 45MPH?

WOT acceleration (from stop or while moving) and having both front and rear HVAC units on high with recric on is an extremely rare set of circumstances for me (can't think of a time I have ever done this in any car ever). If this set of conditions detects some CO, but my more normal driving conditions do not, than does that really mean the vehicle is not safe to drive at all?
 






Can you clarify this test? Are you saying to accelerate WOT from a stop and get to a speed over 45MPH or to accelerate at WOT while already driving over 45MPH?

WOT acceleration (from stop or while moving) and having both front and rear HVAC units on high with recric on is an extremely rare set of circumstances for me (can't think of a time I have ever done this in any car ever). If this set of conditions detects some CO, but my more normal driving conditions do not, than does that really mean the vehicle is not safe to drive at all?

Sorry this wasn't clear. The worst case of CO intrusion that is consistently reproducible occurs when already over 45mph and then accelerating with WOT, as when merging onto a highway, or when accelerating to pass. There is no need to test WOT from zero.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Sorry this wasn't clear. The worst case of CO intrusion that is consistently reproducible occurs when already over 45mph and then accelerating with WOT, as when merging onto a highway, or when accelerating to pass. There is no need to test WOT from zero.

Albert, In the case above what happens to the CO concentration when the internal ventilation is on recirculate vs introducing outside ambient fresh air into the cabin, therefore no dilution?
 






Back
Top