I can smell exhaust (not egg/sulfur scented, but exhaust from the tailpipe-type) when I turn on the air (using the fan from outside) the heat, or the A/C.
When I first bought my car I thought it was sucking in fumes from cars in front of it because I never really noticed it other than when I was at a stop light but it’s gotten progressively worse and now it’s practically asphyxiating me.
The car is not any louder and has the same amount of pickup/power it always has. It is just spewing fumes in the front.
Has the exhaust come loose? Does it have a hole? I got the car in November of last year and now it’s barely tolerable.
Get this fixed immediately before you kill yourself or someone else. It could any of the your listed reasons or others. It needs a qualified mechanic looking at it as exhaust, brakes and tires are nothing to ever to mickey mouse with as they all are critical to vehicle safety.
I brought it in this morning. I have a warranty at CarMax and I brought it there. I have found them to have difficulty making diagnoses at times but I am hoping they will fix it today.
There are a few possibilities, including the chance that what you are interpreting as exhaust fumes could actually be the smell of oil that is dripping on hot engine or exhaust parts and is being burned. The more likely possibilites also include a cracked exhaust manifold or a separated/broken exhaust pipe.
The bottom line, however, is that nobody in this forum can examine the car in order to figure out the exact cause, and as a result you need to get this car to a mechanic a.s.a.p.
Aside from the obvious carbon monoxide deaths that you have heard about, there is the more insidious long-term effect of continued exposure to smaller concentrations of carbon monoxide. This includes brain damage.
Apparently, you have experienced this problem–albeit less severely–for over six months. It is not going to repair itself, and you admit that the problem is getting worse. Is it really worth it to further delay the repair of this car in order to save a few bucks? Get it to a mechanic or a muffler shop before you suffer some very serious health problems.
I need every neuron I’ve got! Last Thursday was when I really noticed it was the fumes from my own car as it started to occur when the car was in motion. I brought it in this morning.
I’m hoping CarMax will not do everything possible to avoid invoking the warranty but I am at their mercy. All and all it’s better than CO poisoning.