Archer Volkswagen Maintenance Tips: 4 Exhaust Smells That Require Service
Archer Volkswagen Maintenance Tips: 4 Exhaust Smells That Require Service
When something isn't running right on your car, there are warning lights in the dashboard to tip you off to problems -- but sight isn't the only sense that can detect problems with your car. You can feel the pull when your alignment is off, you can hear the pinging noise of engine knock and you can even smell variations in your exhaust.
When your car's running properly, you shouldn't be able to smell the exhaust at all as you drive. But if you detect any of the following four odors in your car while driving, that could be a problem with your engine or the exhaust system itself. Remember: the human nose can adapt quickly to its surroundings, so that smell you smelled might not be going away -- you might just be getting used to it. Be sure to have any odd aromas coming from your car investigated by trained technicians at Archer Volkswagen.
4. Inside Of Cabin Smells Like Exhaust
If you notice a musty, smoky smell in your car, but the exhaust doesn't look different or smell particularly odd, you may simply have an exhaust leak.
The exhaust made by the engine up front normally travels through closed exhaust pipes out to the exhaust tip at the back of your car, so you don't smell or breathe in any of the byproducts of your car's combustion. And since carbon monoxide is a toxic byproduct of combustion, you don't want that getting in the cabin. If you have damage to the exhaust pipes or muffler, exhaust gasses may be allowed to escape prematurely. If you smell exhaust in the cabin of your car, swing by our service center to get this fixed.
3. Exhaust Smells Like Rotten Eggs
The catalytic converter is a component that all new cars are required to have. It's an anti-pollution system that uses a catalyst to convert harmful byproducts of combustion into less-harmful compounds -- hence the name. When this component fails, you'll be allowing all sorts of nasties to enter our atmosphere, including hydrogen sulfide that can smell like rotten eggs. A failed catalytic converter can cause your car to perform poorly, smell bad and also fail local emissions testing. It's a good idea to have the catalytic converter looked at by an expert when you smell rotten egg odors coming from the tailpipe.
2. Exhaust Smells Like Gasoline
If you can smell the odor of raw gasoline coming out of the tailpipe of your car, that means your engine isn't running correctly. Usually, this problem is the result of an overly rich air/fuel mixture inside the engine -- too much fuel is being added to the engine, more fuel than can be burned up during combustion. The excess fuel will escape the tailpipe, and you'll be able to smell gas coming out the back of the vehicle. This will cause a noticeable reduction in both performance and fuel economy, so this is an issue you'll want fixed right away.
This problem is usually caused by something like a leaking fuel injector, or a blockage somewhere in the intake, such as a bad throttle, mass airflow sensor or even just a dirty air filter.
1. Exhaust Smells Sweet
Antifreeze or coolant typically has a sweet aroma reminiscent of maple syrup. When you notice this smell coming from your vehicle's exhaust, that may indicate a head gasket leak allowing coolant to be burned up inside the engine. A leaky head gasket can quickly lead to all sorts of problems, including engine overheating, oil consumption, reduced performance and reduced fuel economy.
Because the engine is now burning coolant internally, there may soon not be enough coolant in the system to actually cool the engine. When that happens, the engine is likely to overheat and could quickly damage itself. That's why we recommend having this problem looked at right away by the trained experts at the Archer VW service department.