Exhaust smell from outside air when stopped

[jmaynard]

OK, I am hoping someone else has experienced this and/or can point me in the right direction. I am in a new, 3 week old, 2012 SS2 coupe and when I come to a stop I get an odor coming in from the AC system that smells a little like exhaust, but not really stong enough to be direct exhaust fumes. Perhaps it is some kind of engine fume, ???. When I put the system on recirculate I do not have this problem, only on fresh air.

ANyone else experience this? Any ideas from you experts on what I can check before I take it to the the dealer (I really hate to take my car in)?

I know there is a filter on the passenger side in front of the firewall. I have not removed the cover but it looks sealed. Any idea where the fresh air source for this is??

[LimaCharlie]

I have not experienced something like this. My guess is you have a slight exhaust leak before the cats. Since the HVAC intake is on passenger side, I'd check your passenger side exhaust manifold. If you have a leak, it's probably at the manifold flange (where it meets the exhaust mid-pipes).

[ssummit camaro]

I got a 2011 and it does the same thing, but I think it is still the newness of the car s since I have only 2100 miles on it. When I go to the front of the car, I can smell the same smell coming from the front grill.

[Parag]

an exhaust smell is neutralized by the cats, if it is obvious smell you most likely have a header gasket leak. open the hood and start up the engine and listen for a tick. dont touch anything, they get very hot. if it is quiet you are probably fine. header gasket leaks do sometimes go away by themselves.
if the smell is really minor and you are just noticing every little thing about your new nice car, it is just new parts breaking in getting the heat cycles. it goes away after break in period

[jmaynard]

Originally Posted by Parag

an exhaust smell is neutralized by the cats, if it is obvious smell you most likely have a header gasket leak. open the hood and start up the engine and listen for a tick. dont touch anything, they get very hot. if it is quiet you are probably fine. header gasket leaks do sometimes go away by themselves.
if the smell is really minor and you are just noticing every little thing about your new nice car, it is just new parts breaking in getting the heat cycles. it goes away after break in period

Not minor and even though I am a little sensitive to the 'new' car', it is NOT my first new car and I have never had any problem even close to this. When I picked up the car and drove it home it literally smelled like the sales guy lit up when bringing it to the showroom. I thought that maybe he had had one before getting into the car so I disregarded it, but at 1000 miles it comes and goes depending on if the car is stopped or moving. My wife commented, my friends commented. It is very appearant.

Dealership has already come back with the same old excuse ;cannot replicate'. They have the car until they CAN replicate it and explain. I wont take the car back until then. If they cannot find/fix they can buy me another one.

[ssummit camaro]

I would get a smell, not antifreeze, not oil. But like you said only when you stop. Put it in recirc and goes away. No leaks or anything and only happens on fresh air. I did notice it alot more when I had 100 miles, thought i had a leak of some kind. It is not as bad now as when I first got it, but seems to have gone away some since i am at 2100 miles but still there. I know the air inlet is on the passenger side. But right now it was not worth me taking to the dealer just to hear them tell me its normal. Keep us posted on what your dealer finds

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

jmaynard, I'm sorry to hear about the issues you're having. One thing that you might want to try is driving the vehicle and letting the dealer tech know just exactly what smell you're looking for. It could help them in diagnosing the vehicle and if all goes well should speed up the process for you. I hope this helps. Keep us updated on what they find!

Jeff Morris, Chevrolet Customer Service

[jmaynard]

Thanks for chiming in. I allowed the SM to take the car home last night and he did indeed smell the same thing I have been smelling. He said he only smelled it when the wind blew the exhaust to the front of the car (wind from the rear) when he stopped. This is similiar to what I have experienced. He informed me that there was nothing wrong and this was normal.

Now, i know that this is NOT normal but I picked up the car and will drive it until the next service, or until I cannot take the smell anymore, and then take it back in for the 2nd report. Here in Texas they only get a few chances to fix it or they buy it. Hopefully it will stop in a K or 2, but if it does not, I have it well documented. It would break my heart to trade it as it is IBM and I doubt I could get another one, but I dont pay for things that dont work. Silly me.

Again, I am hoping it goes away. I do plan to replace the filter with something better than stock. Looking for anyon with a 2 stage filter or carbon based one. Anyone that happens to know of one I would be grateful.

[ssummit camaro]

I ordered a cabin filter for mine today, hope to have it buy friday and we will see.
I havnt checked yet but there might not even be one in there. On my toyota i went to replace the cabin filter and there was not one in there and that was a new car. Go figure.

[jmaynard]

Originally Posted by ssummit camaro

I ordered a cabin filter for mine today, hope to have it buy friday and we will see.
I havnt checked yet but there might not even be one in there. On my toyota i went to replace the cabin filter and there was not one in there and that was a new car. Go figure.

Any luck finding a new cabin air filter? I have been searching for a carbon activated one for my 2012 camaro and I cannot find one anywhere. I think this is the way to fix a lot of my problems. It just sucks to have a nice new car and not really be able to enjoy it completely.

[ssummit camaro]

I did get a new filter, but will not be able to install it till this weekend. Hopefully it will help.

[sacloud]

I just bought a 45th Anniversary 2SS. It has 300 miles on it. I am also noticing exhaust fumes in the cabin of the vehicle, mostly when I am backing out of the driveway, whether the recirc is on or not. I am taking it in to the dealership tomorrow to have the GMPP Exhaust installed, I will also have them check this out as well.

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

sacloud, I hope everything comes out all right and all is well with your Camaro. It is very young and I hope you enjoy it's childhood. They grow up so fast!!

Jeff Morris, Chevrolet Customer Service

[kfm237]

I have been going through the same problem with a 2012 45th Anniversary Camaro SS since day One. I first purchased the car in December, I thought it assembly oils or something they used to detail the engine. I could only smell it when stopped and with the Heater/blower on fresh air (recirculation off). Once I was moving the smell was gone. Took it to the dealer at 500 miles and they acknowledged the smell but attributed it to being a new car and assembly oils burning off. They looked at it with me present on and off the lift checking for leaks. nothing found. They documented it and told me to bring it back in 500-1000 miles if it didn't go away.

Today at 1760 miles I took the car back to the dealer. They had it for 2 hours and again acknowledged the smell. They researched it through GM and showed me a print out of the possible problem. According to GM they have had similar complaints on Camaro's. The rubber coolant hoses give off a smell that can take a few months to go away.. The fix, if the smell does not go away is to flush the system several times and replace all the hoses..

They ordered the hoses today and I hope this cures the problem...