Bad or Burnt Exhaust smell in cabin during hard acceleration.

[gypsy321]

I dropped the Explorer off this morning and got a little bit of a different story from a different service person. This guy hadn't heard of this problem before or any TSB about it. In fact he didn't even seem to know the other service guy who told me this 2 days ago! I had to explain what the TSB was all about and the venting in the rear bumper. He said he had never seen any Explorers in with this issue. So they are not going to necessarily perform the TSB until the tech checks it all out.

He was however the same service person who originally told my wife that it was the factory oil that was making this smell. He told me that the oil that ships from the factory is a special "burn in" oil for the engine and that they don't usually recommend even changing it until 7500 miles. He said this oil is known to cause this smell at high RPM. The whole thing seems kinda smelly to me.

Denial is Ford's first line of defence. I am sure they tell all their female customers about the "Special Oil"...........what a load of crap. Don't get your hopes up on the TSB fixing the problem. Some have had it done over three times and still get the smell. I had my 2015 back in for the shop foreman to test ride.........I could not get it to produce a lot of stink but just enough to notice it & he said that was not bad.........but they would contact Ford "hotline" for further guidance on how to proceed............I will never here from them. I don't know if your are aware that a Class Action lawsuit has been filed and is going forward in Florida. The link to the lawyer and class action info Re: exhaust fumes entering cabin ............. The law firm is asking for more participants with this issue to come forward. I believe the link to this was somewhere in and around #1450 . Peter might have a better idea of this link.......so Peter if you are reading can you help with link to class action lawsuit.
Good luck nixhex

 

[peterk9]

From post 1432;

http://www.classaction.org/explorer-exhaust-leaks

Peter

 

[gypsy321]

From post 1432;

http://www.classaction.org/explorer-exhaust-leaks

Peter

Thanks Peter. You are the goto man.

 

[LukerDooker]

Is this a possibility for the Ex? Bad cats? Considering how many parts off the line on these cars, that are all no more than 5 years old, are already bad, this seems to fit as well as any other cause?

This and possibly also - as the tin noise sound over the front driver or passenger area - improper insulation or plating above the cats?

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-d...ardous-conditions/10-causes-of-car-fires6.htmhttp://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/accidents-hazardous-conditions/10-causes-of-car-fires6.htm


An overworked (or clogged) catalytic converter can easily ignite the cabin insulation and carpeting right through the heat shields and metal floor pan.

Overheating catalytic converters are a fire risk that's often overlooked, but think about it: One of the consistently hottest parts of your car runs the entire length of the vehicle -- the exhaust system. Catalytic converters usually overheat because they are working too hard to burn off more exhaust pollutants than they're designed to process. In other words, if the car's engine isn't operating efficiently (due to worn spark plugs or any number of other adverse conditions), it doesn't burn the fuel properly, and a lot of extra stuff ends up in the exhaust system.

The cat then has to work extra hard to do its job, which makes it even hotter than usual. An overworked (or clogged) catalytic converter can easily go from its normal operating temperature range of about 1,200 to 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit (648.9 to 871.1 degrees Celsius) to up over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,093.3 degrees Celsius). This causes long-term damage not only to the cat itself, but to the car's surrounding parts.

The car's designed to withstand the cat's normal temps, but it can't consistently cope with temperatures several hundred degrees higher. If the catalytic converter gets hot enough, it could ignite the cabin insulation and carpeting right through the heat shields and metal floor pan.

...so if it does this consistently on an Ex and singes or heats the interior floor area including the plastic sides & covers, its going to smell inside the car...

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

a bad cat would create the smell on a regular basis vs in my situation solely under hard/heavy acceleration.

 

[peterk9]

.....This and possibly also - as the tin noise sound over the front driver or passenger area - improper insulation or plating above the cats?

There is a thread and a TSB for the 'Tin Roof Noise'. It is caused by improper insulation of a particular area.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=306107

Peter

 

[LukerDooker]

a bad cat would create the smell on a regular basis vs in my situation solely under hard/heavy acceleration.

Im thinking not really,
& hard acceleration is the best circumstance for this to happen.
= repeated high heat "blasts" from cats to car components & floor seams or seals.
Normal driving may be doing it but its not enough heat to begin something cooking. The cats, or plastic, foam and 'carpet' in some spot in the car, or all these could be doing this.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

in theory, you could be right ... but in my post you missed about when mine does this. We do seem to have some similar and different issues as users and as such, probably why Ford hasn't fully come out and said there IS an issue.

 

[Little Bill]

TSB 14-0130 Exhaust in cabin during hard acceleration

Today I got a look at the action related to TSB 14-0130 when the service rep let me see their computer instructions on the TSB
Several folks have posed questions about why the rear wheel trim is removed during this proceedure. To my amazement, there is an opening behind the left rear quarter panel which provides intake/exhaust flow to an A/C coil for the rear A/C system. I'm guessing condenser coil.
The TSB calls for removing the rear bumper skin, cleaning the grill/door (not sure if it is a system controlled door but since since part of the TSB calls for loading a program change in the climate control system, I suspect there is a damper control issue that is allowing exhaust gas into the A/C system during hard acceleration conditions.
I didn't get to read the entire proceedure. Old school control would use a vac motor which could possibly change position during acceleration due to lower manifold vacuum conditions. Just speculation on that part.
The other part of the TSB is inspection and/or replacement of a couple of valves in the same assembly behind the quarter panel. Not sure what they do. The service rep called them drain valves.
I was told that the total cost is around $250 and takes two hours if the valves must be replaced.
Hope this little tidbit will shed some light on the cabin fumes issue

 

[jonvanhorn]

As of Friday 4/24, our 2013 Explorer XLT has officially been repurchased by Ford through the Lemon Law process.

Do yourself a favor, if you have this problem, call your state attorney office and start the paperwork. We waited much longer than we should have and ended up with an $8,044 usage back charge for mileage. The sooner you go through the process, the lower the usage charge will be.

Good luck
Jon

 

[F150EB]

Mine has the same terrible smell on hard acceleration. The dealer sounded clueless on the issue. Has anyone had this successfully fixed by the TSB mentioned above or would I just be wasting my time?

 

[peterk9]

Mine has the same terrible smell on hard acceleration. The dealer sounded clueless on the issue. Has anyone had this successfully fixed by the TSB mentioned above or would I just be wasting my time?

I don't think that TSB applies to an F-150.

Peter

 

[F150EB]

I don't think that TSB applies to an F-150.

Peter

This is for an Explorer Sport.

 

[peterk9]

This is for an Explorer Sport.

Okay thanks. Perhaps it might help if you added the year and model to either your profile or 'Signature' so there won't be any confusion about the type of vehicle in future posts.

Peter

 

[FordService]

Mine has the same terrible smell on hard acceleration. The dealer sounded clueless on the issue...

Hi F150EB,

Let's get this on the radar of your regional customer service manager; they'll work with your dealership on freshening up your Explorer. PM me your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, current mileage, and servicing dealership. I'll do the rest.

Crystal

 

[F150EB]

Pm sent, thanks

 

[JerryC]

On my 2011 GT the system had cat over temp protection. Extra fuel was dumped into the system to cool the catalytic converters. I think this would come on during a long full throttle run or just after.

That would make the exhaust stink. One of the tuning reps could tell us if that exists for the Explorers.

 

[sdburdick]

Looks like you can add me to the list of people with the problem. Took it in last year, dealer said they couldn't recreate. Problem didn't seem to show up again over winter, though it didn't run much on the freeway.

Took it in this week and dealer said over the phone that they replaced a manifold that had a leak. There was no information on the invoice of doing anything (part numbers, labor hours) so I suspect nothing was in fact done.

Took it out for a drive tonight and very easily recreated the problem. I'll be taking it back in to the dealer for try #3 . I'm not sure how to convince them that this is a serious problem.

2013 Explorer Sport, roughly 32k miles.

 

[F150EB]

Looks like you can add me to the list of people with the problem. Took it in last year, dealer said they couldn't recreate. Problem didn't seem to show up again over winter, though it didn't run much on the freeway.

Took it in this week and dealer said over the phone that they replaced a manifold that had a leak. There was no information on the invoice of doing anything (part numbers, labor hours) so I suspect nothing was in fact done.

Took it out for a drive tonight and very easily recreated the problem. I'll be taking it back in to the dealer for try #3 . I'm not sure how to convince them that this is a serious problem.

2013 Explorer Sport, roughly 32k miles.

This is really ridiculous, I would change dealers. I'm bringing in mine next week, we'll see how this goes.

 

[mkx]

***Problem Solved***Bad smell during hard acceleration

Hi every one,

My ride= Lincoln MKX 2011
Problem= bad smell during hard acceleration since 2011
Dealers Location = BAHRAIN and UAE-Dubai

Problem Solved , There are no smell now, The dealer have done the TSB

1.removing rear bumper and sealing some areas they mentioned adding a flapper also.

Now this is the additional fix done by the dealer:
2.changing exhaust tip with another one(looks exactly like the original) that has a hole under the tip instead of the hole being at the end of the tip as normal exhaust (there is normal hole at the end but its blocked from inside).

Now when I tested the car after the fix still smell was coming, took it back to the dealer and the maintenance manager came with me for the test drive He did one last thing while driving (switching the MAX A/C button on) which will make a/c fan to the max but then you can reduce the fan but don't switch of the MAX A/C button and also keep the recirculation button on also.

I think my mistake was that I usually keep MAX A/C button off but I keep the recirculation on which seems to be not right.

In conclusion do the TSB for the rear sealing with the flapper + new exhaust tip + MAX A/C button on and recirculation on. Hopefully this will solve the problem.

Note: doesn't matter which car model (Explorer,Edge,MKX) all have the same problem.