Evening all,

New member here. Picked up my new Monte Carlo Tdi 3 weeks ago. All been find apart from a few dashboard rattles (top glove box) driving me mental.. Tonight tho as I was approaching home there was a burning plastic type smell in the cabin and smoke coming in from air vents.. I checked for any leaks under car, checked oil level and coolant level, all ok. The area behind the engine block in drivers side was absolutely roasting, turbo wasn't overly hot as it was just a short journey.. Is that the dpf behind there? I locked the car up and the alarm went off aswell, went out and no obvious reason for this.. Ie: cat on car etc. Car was in the drive in a quiet street so no passing traffic.. Any ideas what the smell and smoke was all about? Any help greatly appreciated.

Was the radiator cooling fan running after you turned the engine off. If so it might be a dpf regen and the smoke a result of it being new. If the smoke persists I'd see the dealer or get Skoda assist to come have a look.

 

Alarms can go off for a number of reasons; had a moth trigger it. Again though if  it becomes a regular thing the dealer can adjust its sensitivity.

 

 

TP

Thanks mate, don't remember the cooling fan being on.. I'm away to take it for a run anyway and see if it does it again. Was smelling again when I stopped there for 2 minutes to check it. I do mostly short journeys so maybe just needs a run. I'll keep an eye on the alarm issue aswell. Thanks mate.

I think the clues are two fold. First it's a new car and they make all sorts of smells as they burn off coatings and all sorts of parfinallia from the engine and exhaust system (both inside and outside of the system). Secondly, you do mostly short journeys. The short journeys will cause regens on a new car even more often than when it has covered many more miles as the engine doesn't run efficiently to start with due to many factor: ie car runs in learning mode for the ecu for 3k miles, very tight engine not yet run in etc etc. Exhaust will be a little oily inside at this time if doing short runs. Without doubt it's all this put together giving you the smells and probably the smoke as it burns off labels etc from the engine and exhaust/manifold etc. It's also most likely the car was going through a regen when you turned off like The Plumber was saying above. This can be very very smelly on a new car. I've seen this many times. But be vigilant. If it keeps happening go to your dealer for a check up.

Edited 20 July, 201411 yr by Estate Man

New cars might smoke and give strong smells but smoke pouring through cabin vents?

As above, if it repeats book it in.

Yeah...but it's still not too uncommon. Smoke created in the engine bay can find it's way into the air vents quite easily under the right circumstances. There are several ways it can get in. When the car is regenerating it gets really hot under the hood and smoke does happen for the all reasons above. If you have the fan on inside the car it will often find it's way in. Seen it myself a few times on customer cars that were new over the years. But as we both say, get it checked if it keeps happening. 

Edited 20 July, 201411 yr by Estate Man

Probably a dpf regen.

Things get super heated for a regen

Not being rude but Defo smoke?

Sure it was not aircon / cold air pouring in like you see at the fresh section in supermarkets.

I have had that before.

As others have said get it checked if not sure

Edited 20 July, 201411 yr by Defenderben

I do mostly short journeys so maybe just needs a run. 

 

Short journeys will kill the DPF very quickly but at least this gives you an excuse for a weekly thrash around the lanes!

So the car could have been doing dpf regen and there's smoke coming through vents?

Sounds healthy

Not!

Keep an eye on it

You note you only do short journeys and I just hope the dpf doesn't ruin the whole experience for you

Chopped mine in after just 1 year for that very reason.and I could smell a regen when occurring (but no smoke)

Were Skoda aware you only did short runs upon purchase,and did they warn you about the dpf/short journey issue?

Dealers realy should be telling customers that modern DPF diesel cars need a long run to allow a successful dpf regen. If a customer only does short runs they should be advised a petrol is a better option. Come on dealers and skoda uk, look after your customers and give them all the information.

Edited 20 July, 201411 yr by bobjob49

Dealers realy should be telling customers that modern DPF diesel cars need a long run to allow a successful dpf regen. If a customer only does short runs they should be advised a petrol is a better option. Come on dealers and skoda uk, look after your customers and give them all the information.

I would go one further than that

Many people not in the know will be buying new cars unaware of a dpf even exists

To a short journey customer these cars are not even fit for purpose

If a Skoda (or any car) salesman knows you have a low mileage and doesnt tell you about dpf then I would go as far as to say they are mis-selling people

Edited 20 July, 201411 yr by dazz600

Even long trips are often not enough for a DPF, as both the previous Yeti and the Current Octy III regularly perform a regen, even though my run to work is 36 miles of free flowing rural A road; doing around 300 miles a week in total.

 

More than likely going back to petrol next time, despite a diesel probably being slightly cheaper to run overall.

 

 

TP

Thanks for all the info folks, nice to see another helpful forum for car enthusiasts. I took it for a blast today and no further problems, it was defo smoke coming in to the cabin. I had the rear window de mister on for the first time, also had the fans on but no Aircon. I am putting it down to dpf regeneration.. For now! I'll keep an eye on it though. I prefer the power delivery on diesels, I did consider a petrol but I like my oil burners... For now. Already eyeing up my next car! Octavia VRS or a Golf Gti...

Much appreciated though folks. Gave it a clean again today.. Looks great in the red when all cleaned up.

A DPF regen will certainly not cause smoke to enter the cabin, firstly a regen doesn't produce any smoke, secondly the regen takes place inside the exhaust system. Smoke from the vents isn't normal, even on a new car.

Neil, the regen doesn't directly make the smoke the op is referring to here. A regen can cause grey/black sooty smoke which is fairly harmless, to come out of the exhaust when the engine is under load.  However, it's the enormous heat generated by the dpf/cat unit in the engine bay that is likely causing what the op is talking about here. On a new car there are loads of labels, waxes, oils and other substances in the engine bay that can actually burn and give off smoke during a regen. It's common, and not too uncommon for small amounts of smoke to find it's way into the air vent intake for the car ventilation system if the conditions are right. I have seen this many times over the years when worried customers have brought their cars in for a check. But as we all keep saying, keep an eye on it and get it checked if it keeps happening.