Afternoon all,

Not been on this forum for a while but the octy seems to have developed an issue.

It seems that when the fans are on (usually on auto) i can smell strong exhaust fumes in the cabin of the car. I have ignored it really until now. I sat in the traffic for 6 hours because of the snow the other day and my head was killing me and my throat was hurting. I had to resort to only having the heater on to demist the screen then turn it off and use it in short amounts. Seems to be more when the car is moving slowly or stationary.

Anyone have this issue or know what it may be. Perhaps a split breather pipe in engine bay or blowing exhuast mani?

Its an 07 octy vrs tdi.

Thanks in advance. I have it booked in the garage but i don't want them to feed me just any rubbish. I wanted to know roughly what may be causing it before taking it down there?

Thank again.

did you have the recirculate air button pressed?

Normally exhaust in the cabin is a sign of a leaking exhaust pipe. The symptoms you describe are the early signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.

I tried the settings on just about everything in a vain attempt to get some fresh air. Everytime i opened the window i got a blizzard in my face.

Normally have it on either auto or on winscreen demist and it seems to get quite bad, by which time the recirc doesn't help as its just pushing the fumes around. I did stick the carbon monoxide meter in the car yesterday but i couldn't realy test it, i was doing a short journey with no stopping really. It seems to get worse when not moving. At first i thought it was other fumes from traffic but it does the same thing sitting on my drive warming it up in the morning?

I get the same from my recently purchased 170PD, it's not overpowering but definitely noticeable. I usually hit the recirculate button if I start to notice fumes, no problem at all when the car is moving.

Perhaps mine is just noticable normally but the 6 hours in it the other day was a joke. Perhaps this would happen in any 170 pd for that amount of time. But it shouldn't be the case. Just hope they don't do a aircon clean or something silly to fix it and charge me about £80 to stick a 10 quid can of aircon cleaner through the AC.

If anyone else has this issue please post just so i know if its to be expected with this car or more likely a fault that needs fixing.

I have had it for 3 years now and part of me wants to change it for something newer but up until now i haven't been able to fault it. Except for the water going in the boot everytime you open it after it rains, and the rattle i get from the passenger door/glovebox area!

Thanks again.

BUYER BEWARE!

I have been having the exact same problem for about 3 months now with my 2001 octy TDI and its been driving me nuts trying to find a fault as well as giving me a pounding headache on long journeys. I checked the exhaust for leaks, checked for diesel dripping on exhaust or engine and checked TDI timing, no problems. Well today I found my problem, I pulled up at the petrol station I have been buying diesel from for the last few months or so because they were the cheapest around and customs and excise were in the process of shutting them down for selling washed diesel!.I got talking to one of the officers and he advised me to drain the fuel system immediatly as I could be prosecuted. I feel like giving them back the contents of my tank along with a match! I am going to drain and flush the tank tomorrow and I will report back and let ye know if this cures the problem. The petrol station in question is the EMO station in Loughrea, Co.Galway.

By "Washed diesel" I take it you mean red, duty-free diesel that is suppose to be for agricultural purposes only?

That shouldn't make any difference as they fuel/exhaust system is effectively sealed with only one way in and one way out. If fumes are getting in, there must be a leak somewhere.

By "Washed diesel" I take it you mean red, duty-free diesel that is suppose to be for agricultural purposes only?

That shouldn't make any difference as they fuel/exhaust system is effectively sealed with only one way in and one way out. If fumes are getting in, there must be a leak somewhere.

Its green diesel nowdays, so yes washed or laundered diesel that has been treated to take the dye out. I did some searching on google and there is a difference between the two, there is more sulphur in laundered diesel and it is often contaminated with the chemicals used to wash the green dye out. Laundered or contaminated diesel will give more fumes and because the lubricating qualitys of normal diesel have been contaminated or washed out it will damage diesel injectors and possibly the pump and is supposed be lethal to PD and common rail diesels. Maybe its the same coming into the country but who knows what it ends up as when these assholes mess with it. Its a serious problem in this country (not sure if its the same in England) and one thats not advertised very much, it makes the news when a laundering plant is found but the guys selling the stuff get a fine and are back in bussiness the next day . I was shocked to find how many have been caught and even the Peugeot main dealer here in galway has been fined for it!

I understand what your saying about exhaust or fuel leaks and it was the first thing I checked as there was fumes coming from the engine bay and there definitly weren't any leaks,I cleaned out my tank today and changed fuel filter and left the car running for about 10 mins to warm up as I have been doing during the cold weather and there were no fumes in the cabin or engine bay when I checked it again! If you are reading this bestyuk I would suggest that you call a diesel specialist and ask if they have heard (or smelt!) of this problem before and get your fuel system flushed asap before you end up with big bills.

Edited 10 December, 201015 yr by Sir_Stiggy

If you where stuck in traffic the fumes could have come from the car in front I get this sometimes when there is a Ford donkey in front with its engine running on the rank

If you where stuck in traffic the fumes could have come from the car in front I get this sometimes when there is a Ford donkey in front with its engine running on the rank

I don't know, what are the chance's of being stuck behind a diesel car every time you stop? It definitly was a smell like burning diesel and for me the fume's were there from start up. We had a cold snap here and I would start the car with the heater on about 10 mins before leaving and I would get the smell when I sat in and also every time I was stopped for a bit or was moving slowly. I have done about 1.5 hours driving since flushing the laundered diesel and the fume's are gone. This is of course assuming the fume's in bestyuk's case have a diesel tinge to them.

Edited 10 December, 201015 yr by Sir_Stiggy

Thanks for the replies,

Took the car in the garage yesterday and it looks like the dpf is covered in soot so they reckon it may have a crack in it etc. Lovely seeing as the car is only 5 months out of warranty.

They are going to put in a skoda good will claim and see if they will pay some towards it but i reckon even if they pay 50% that will still leave me with a 500-600 bill perhaps. If i remember correctly i don't even need the dpf?

Also its on 55k so is due its 3rd service and a cambelt soon. Not sure i really want to spend that lump of cash on it. Now may be the time to look at getting rid of it for a newer one. I will wait and see what skoda say though. I am not expecting great news.

Thanks

Stu