[johy]

Hi Friends,

My Wagon R is nearly 6 months old and is almost due for its second free service. I have noticed that the smell from the exhaust is rather pungent, more than what I have noticed in other cars. I first started noticing this when I would bring the car to a halt after a drive - initially I thought that the smell was coming from inside the car - but it isn't, it is the exhaust and it is really pungent. Is this normal? I wonder what could be causing this. I have used only Xtra Premium petrol so far and put in mineral oil for the first oil change. My running is pretty low, like around 300 km/month.

Looking forward to your replies.

- johy

[viper]

Hey,

You didnt mix any onions did you. Just kidding man show it to the sevice guys when you go there. Dont think its any reason to worry about. Out of curiosity why do you smell your exhaust or is it that the smell comes int he passenger cabin.

Viper

[johy]

No onions for sure

The smell, it gets sucked into the cabin. Also, when I drive in straight into my garage and disembark -- the smell is pretty strong due to the closed space of the garage. The smell is more like the kind you get when you are on those Mumbai local trains...when the train is passing those dumping/industrial areas.

- johy

[viper]

Hey,

I would then look into the direction of adulterated fuel in your system.


Viper

[johy]

I almost always fill from the same pump that is just next to my house - so yes, you gave me a good pointer there. Is there any way to check the quality of the fuel?

[Ram]

Some sources of crude oil are high in sulphur, so the resulting petrol is also high in sulphur. Your engine isn't oxidizing the sulphur completely. So your catalytic converter is reducing some of this sulphur into H2S (hydrogen sulphide at high temperatures.

Hydrogen sulphide is the same gas exuded by eggs when they rot.

When you start from cold, the ECU forces a rich mixture, to make the engine idle smoothly. The catalytic converter can't handle all the sulphur in the rich mixture, so the odour is more noticeable with a cold engine.

Another thing, it's more noticeable in my carbureted Padmini S1 than in my Baleno with the same fuel.

The smell is also distinctly noticeable when the airconditioner loads the engine at idle, and the ECU enriches the mixture to boost BHP for the compressor.

Ram

[johy]

Hi Ram,

Thanks for the enlightenment. Yes, it is the suphur smell for sure. I guess I will need to change the fuel source (maybe switch to a BP pump from IOL). The smell - it is more noticeable at the end of the journey back home - usually with the AC on. I just hope the engine/catalytic converter is not working at suboptimal levels.

[BMW]

Originally Posted by johy

....Is there any way to check the quality of the fuel?

Hi johy,

Yes you can check the quality of fuel (diesel or petrol) at the fuel station itself.

There is test called "Density Check Test" which is conducted by using a thermometer and a hydrometer. All this equipment is available at each and every fuel station and if you have any doubt with regard to the quality, you can ask the person incharge of the station to perform the test.

If the density of the fuel is not within the prescribed limits, it means that the fuel is adulterated.

I suggest you to ask the station incharge to conduct the test. And yes do let us know the outcome...

[F1amit]

Hi Guys,

I am also facing the similar problem in my Santro. A brief description about the problem :
Last month I got my Santro serviced from the Hyundai A.S.S. Have also done the carbon cleaning (Injector cleaning) during the servicing. After getting back the car, I have noticed a petrol smell coming from the car as soon as I parked the car. (although the smell is not there in the cabin.) This was not the case befor the servicing. I do not think there is any fuel leackage as there is no drop in the petrol level as per the fuel indicator (which I am damn sure is working fine).

Is this normal after the Injector cleaning?
Would appritiate if some BHpian adviced me about the same.

Thanks,
Amit.

[johy]

Hi folks,

Updating on the pungent odor. I changed the petrol pump I used to fill up from, from ExtraPreium (IOC) to Speed (BP) and the smell has reduced pretty much. Well, there is still a trace of the smell, but it is very little.

- johy

[stevie]

hey ive been facing the same problem with my practically new corsa.actually i have not kept a tab on the gas stations i visit but here on i plan to drive down to shell more regularly.so lets see if the same works for me.will try.really learnt some stuff here!

[Absar]

Hey! Mine too! But different case and different car! The car is a Ford Ikon 1.6. Upon smelling the exhaust fumes of the car, it has a very strong foul odour. When cold, its very high, when normal running temperature its not so much strong, like medium. It doesnt enter the cabin or anything, but I dont like the strong smell of it because,

On the other hand, my santro, whether cold or normal temperature, it never gives this strong smell, infact its so odour free that u can stand in the line of the exhaust pipe and continue to be there and breathe normally.

In the Ikon, its so strong, that you won't like to be behind the car in the line of the exhaust..

It isn't a new problem, its there for so long perhaps almost a year, I thought this was normal until I checked on the Santro.

Btw how does a rotten egg smell like? Don't tell me to make an egg rotten and smell it.

Also, bad fuel is out of the question. I fill from good stations only.

A

[Zahir]

My vdi has this pungent odor all of a sudden when you switch on the AC. I had the same smell come in earlier, i thought it probably was a rat that had died(yeah that pungent!) and was going to take it down to MASS but the smell just went away. This evening it came back. Only comes when I switch on the ac.

Few things to consider
1. I almost always keep the ventilation internal.
2. I was driving moderately hard before switching on the ac when the smell came on.
3. I got rid of the smell last time after switching to external ventilation last time in about 15-20 mins.
4. I'm a smoker but the car never really smells of smoke.
5. I normally fill at one specific pump but today refilled at a different pump, cant remember if the problem first occured when i'd filled at this petrol pump earlier too.
6. Engine performance is great, no problem here.

What I'm wondering is
1. Could it be an oil leak, is that the pungent odor?
2. Is it just a patch of stale air?
3. Should I bother wasting my time taking it to mass or can a local garage check the car for maybe an oil or turbo leak?
__________________

[tsk1979]

Is the smell like rotten eggs? If so there is some underlying problem. Sometimes its simple like wrong timing or clogged injectors, or a mismatched fuel-air ratio, but worst case it can be engine compression issue.
So get it checked at a service center.

[filcord]

Originally Posted by Zahir

My vdi has this pungent odor all of a sudden when you switch on the AC. I had the same smell come in earlier, i thought it probably was a rat that had died(yeah that pungent!) and was going to take it down to MASS but the smell just went away. This evening it came back. Only comes when I switch on the ac.
__________________

If the smell comes from the a/c, it's probably nothing to do with the engine or fuel. It must be either a dead animal of some kind (lizard?) or just plain old mould/fungus on the a/c fins or the blower. You will need to investigate under the dash, and it may involve removing the dashboard.