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First of all let me say I apparently have no exhaust leak.

For a long time I've been asking myself how was it possible that the exhaust of my car smells so bad. It does it when in the morning, I start my car, drive out of my garage, and go to close it - and in the evening when I come back home, I drive my car into the garage and then get out of it.

Of course those are just the 2 moments when I actually get to smell the stuff, but I am positive that it is always so smelly (otherwise it wouldn't be the same when I start the car as well as when I come back home after a drive).

I cannot describe the smell. It is stronger than I thought the exhaust of a car would be and I guess it would be similar to burnt diesel, but I don't really know.

I do live in Germany, where a percentage of bio-diesel is mandatory in all the diesels and in every gas station.

What could be the cause of the smell?

Am I too sensitive to the diesel, or am I right to say that the exhaust shouldn't have a strong smell?

If it is helpful I have a VW Golf VI (2009) 2.0 with more or less 150.000km life.

DucatiKiller
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Noldor130884
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  • Does it happen to smell like rotten eggs? – I have no idea what I'm doing Mar 02 '16 at 08:37
  • No, a lot like burnt oil/diesel, but rotten eggs never. I would have noticed it, since I know that smell very well – Noldor130884 Mar 02 '16 at 09:41
  • Well, I don't find it surprising that burnt diesel smells like burnt diesel. Diesel engine exhausts have a different smell than petrol's, it's certainly less pleasant. It's difficult to tell how strong the smell is without smelling it. Does your car emit a lot of black smoke when driving, especially more aggressively? – I have no idea what I'm doing Mar 02 '16 at 09:52
  • Well tbh I never compared the smell of diesels, but I am positive to have not smelled this stuff before. No, my car doesn't emit black smoke at all. – Noldor130884 Mar 02 '16 at 11:51
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    You should have a friend follow you and see if they can see any puffs of smoke for your car. A cracked DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) can cause a bad smell as well as bursts of smoke. – JPhi1618 Mar 02 '16 at 13:00
  • I'm wondering if there might be a problem with the turbo which may be causing the engine to run rich. – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Mar 02 '16 at 15:30
  • Should I not be seeing that if the car is still and simply on, while being outside? @ᴘᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Can you elaborate? I don't understand well what you said – Noldor130884 Mar 03 '16 at 06:29
  • With a turbo diesel engine, if the turbo charger is going out, you'll most likely be running rich (more fuel than needed). Due to this, you could be smelling a more prevalent diesel smell while its running. Since it's hard to diagnose smell over the internet, it's really hard to tell what the real issue is. Are you hearing a lot of turbo whine when the engine is running (revving the engine or driving)? – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 Mar 03 '16 at 21:53
  • I will pay attention to it next times I drive. In that case what should I do? – Noldor130884 Mar 04 '16 at 06:26
  • I might have low knowledge of my turbo, but it seems working normally to me... I drove in the city and my computer says that more or less the average is 10km/liter while outside the city (120 to 160 km/h speed) it said 20km/liter... – Noldor130884 Mar 08 '16 at 06:24
  • If the engine seems to be running cleanly (e.g., no visible smoke or haze when it is idling), the first thing I would suspect is the catalytic converter. If there is some haze or smoke it could be a failing turbo or injectors. – dlu Jul 23 '16 at 04:36

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I suspect you've already answered your question. I assume that the garage is largely un-ventilated and that you promptly close the doors upon leaving for work.

I'd be very tempted to, next time the weather is slightly windy, leave the doors open for a few hours to let the garage air out.

Out of interest, do you reverse into the garage so the cars exhaust pipe faces the back wall?

Steve Matthews
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  • No, I enter my garage frontally, the exhaust if faced towards the door. When I go out of the car I smell it even if I'm standing outside... – Noldor130884 Apr 07 '16 at 07:56