What to check for outside smell entering the car cabin?

[satish_appasani]

I picked up a Cruze LTZ for my Dad two weeks ago. From day 1 when driving behind a truck that is letting out lot of smoke, the smell can felt inside the cabin though air circulation is set to Recycle.

Now the car is due for 1st service (general checkup). I am sure the service center will push this issue off saying there is no issue. I want to have a checklist for them to identify the issue before they push it off.

What should i ask them to check for identifying the cause of smell entering the cabin?

[mgh]

As far as I know, outside smells cannot be completely stopped. Mild smells to a large extent, but strong smells like that will not be eliminated totally.

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by mgh

As far as I know, outside smells cannot be completely stopped. Mild smells to a large extent, but strong smells like that will not be eliminated totally.

This is wrong. in the recirculation mode outside air shouldn't be entering the cabin.Even if you smell smoke slightly there is a leak in our car beading or there is a problem in the functioning of the recirculation unit.

[deepfusion]

Ask them to check the pollen filter and its housing. The foam beading surrounding the housing is leaking somewhere. Not a big issue, but involves labour. So be firm and ask them to do it. Get it done in front of your eyes.

[thoma]

One should not be feeling the outside smells inside the cabin of modern cars.

At least in my Chevy Beat, the outside air is blocked by the re-circulating flap before getting to the pollen filter, so that the pollen filter might not be the culprit. The culprits could be the seating of the re-circulating air flap, the re-circulating air flap itself, the outside air duct, or any other place where the car is not sealed from outside air. Though not sure on the last point, my guess are - the holes for steering rod, clutch pedal, accelerator cable, A/C pipe inlet.

For some cars (all cars of the same name), there can be a very rare possibility of poor design of 'air re-circulation' altogether by the manufacturer itself, but then the best way to confirm it is be checking out other Cruzes.

[revintup]

If they insist on brushing aside the matter, light an agarbati in front of the car and get into the car with a technician and put ac in re-circulation mode. If the problem is persisting you can clearly make out the smell inside.

Dont open the doors/windows in between else he can claim its from opening them.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by thoma

One should not be feeling the outside smells inside the cabin of modern cars.

Agree with thoma here. This just cannot happen in a Cruize. Check if the air intake flap closes shut properly, i cannot think of any other reason for this.

[pach]

I have a Cruze LTZ and I face the same issue. Especially the smell from exhaust of Bangalore autos. I got it checked and verified the flap was opening and closing properly. When I took SA to test drive to show the problem it did not occur. I have asked them to check again thoroughly during the third service next week.
AC works OK in Bangalore climate, but whenever I visit places with high temperatures, AC feels weak and takes long time to cool the cabin.

[amit_mechengg]

in auto climate control ACs there is always a mild outside smell even with recirculation mode.
in my alto there was no outside smell ever. when i bought my linea there always used to be a mild smell from day 1.
then i tried other lineas and puntos. same mild smell was there.
then i was on my road trip in innova. same smell found there too.

and now the same mild smell is there in my vento too.

after researching a bit i have learnt that auto climate control ACs are designed to pull in certain amount of fresh air despite of recirculation mode to avoid humidity and stale air.

[carfreak77]

IMO i believe that the problem has to be that the recirculation flap is not actually completely closed. Even though it shows you thats its set to recirculate, the actual physical flap may not be shut completely hence letting in outside smells. Suggest you take it to the dealer and ask them to check the flap. If it is indeed the flap problem, then a simple adjustment of it will solve the issue for you.
PS - my friends swift automatically opens the flap when set on 'full auto mode' of the ACC after 5 minutes of switching it on. Watch if the flap opens when you use the ACC.

[B.R.S.Rao]

Hi,
I am having 2010 model Maruti 800 AC done about 22000 on odo. I have a peculiar problem. AC is working fine but outside smell seeping inside my car cabin. I always keep the fresh air vent closed. I think door rubber seals must be the culprit. Will some one help me to solve this problem?

[Jaggu]

Check first the flap, sometimes it doesn't close fully with the use of those re-circulation knobs. Second would be to check all the grommets in the firewall and floor. Finally the door beading.

[amk_2009]

Yes, I never felt M800 was adequately insulated during my 7 years of ownership. Need to repeatedly ensure floor and door beading effectiveness - almost every time, in vain.

[veyron-w16]

My Hyundai Verna AC was working fine till yesterday, for a short while I switched to outside air and then back to inside air. The performance of AC went down and we could smell fumes for other cars on the road. AC was not able to cool the cabin even at fan position 4, where as earlier 2 was more than enough.

In a stop go situation (on traffic signals) the AC vents gave warm air when start moving from stand still for initial 5-10 seconds and then not so cold air.

Could you please suggest what could be the issue. Car was services 10 days back at Hyundai Workshop. Is there something which could be DIY job or it needs another workshop visit?
.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by veyron-w16

My Hyundai Verna AC was working fine till yesterday, for a short while I switched to outside air and then back to inside air. The performance of AC went down and we could smell fumes for other cars on the road. AC was not able to cool the cabin even at fan position 4, where as earlier 2 was more than enough.

In a stop go situation (on traffic signals) the AC vents gave warm air when start moving from stand still for initial 5-10 seconds and then not so cold air.

Could you please suggest what could be the issue. Car was services 10 days back at Hyundai Workshop. Is there something which could be DIY job or it needs another workshop visit?
.

Did you switch to the outside air after a long, long time?

It seems your fan, as well as gas needs to be checked.
My advice would be to go to any AC guy outside hyundai.It will be cheaper, and if he cant fix it, you can go to Hyundai.

And yeah, these things do let go this suddenly.