How strong is the smell usually?

nivek29

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Location
Hartford, CT
TDI
2002 VW Golf TDI GLS
Hello everyone, I've been observing this site for a while as I've looked into buying a TDI. It has been very helpful. Well, I finally got around to purchasing one - a 2002 Golf GLS TDI, 5 spd. I just got it yesterday, and I love it already! However, because I'm a newbie, I'm not sure what to expect from certain things. In particular, the smell inside the car is very strong. Some of the smell appears to be dog smell from the previous owner. But the rest is clearly diesel. It could just be that I'm not used to it, but it seems way too strong for inside the cockpit. In fact, I start to get a headache if I'm in it for a longer drive. Now this could be the dog dander (i'm not known to be allergic), but I'm a bit concerned that there may be diesel fumes (carbon monoxide?) seeping into the cab of the car. Should I be concerned? How could I determine whether this is the normal smell or a sign of a problem?

Any information would be very helpful.

Thanks, and keep up the great work. I am happy to now be among the ranks of TDI ownership.

kevin
 

xmustang

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Location
Emporia, Kansas
TDI
1999.5 tdi Jetta
When was the last time you took a shower :p Just joking. I have a 99.5 jetta and don't ever smell the "diesel" smell. I'm not sure how dog dander smells like "diesel" but from my experience you shouldn't smell anything other than the occasional flatulence expelled from me. My wife always appreciates my donation to the green house effect :D
 

TDICADDGUY

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Location
Blaine, MN
TDI
2012 BMW X5 35D
Could be an exhaust leak...you shouldnt be noticing much if any smell at all. I only smell mine when I'm downwind at cold startup.

Any smoke?
 

nivek29

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Location
Hartford, CT
TDI
2002 VW Golf TDI GLS
I haven't noticed any smoke. But again, I've only had the car two days. Would emissions testers be able to find an exhaust leak? I have to get it tested soon anyway.

kevin
 

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
First off, are you smelling raw diesel or exhaust?

If diesel: take a gander at your injection pump...you're looking for leaks. There are several seals that can go bad.

If exhaust: Look on the backside of the engine. There are several flexpipes leading to your egr cooler. These are a common failure item if someone has serviced your care incorrectly. Also check the weap holes on your egr valve (one of the flexpipes leads into the bottom of the egr valve) - if your weap holes are covering in a black slime, that will also leak an exhaust smell into the cabin. You could have a broken flexpipe on your exhaust downpipe. This one should be an easy one to spot in the winter.

Another possibility is the cabin "vents" in your rear bumper. These can get stuck open and let exhaust enter directly from the tailpipe.
 

catmandoo

Veteran Member
Joined
May 9, 2005
Location
ia
TDI
2000 jetta gls tdi,91 2dr jetta gl n/a diesel
beings your up north and have probably been using the heater could it be the "crayon smell"??
 

nivek29

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Location
Hartford, CT
TDI
2002 VW Golf TDI GLS
greengeeker said:
First off, are you smelling raw diesel or exhaust?
Thanks for the advice.

I'm so new to this - how do I tell the difference between exhaust smell and diesel smell?

What is the "crayon smell?"

kevin
 

Ski in NC

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Location
Wilmington, NC USA
TDI
2001 Jetta ALH 5sp stock
Pull fuel fill cap and sniff the cap. That is fuel smell.

With engine idling sniff the tailpipe. That is exhaust smell.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
Make sure no one is looking then...

Ski in NC said:
...pull fuel fill cap and sniff the cap. That is fuel smell.

With engine idling sniff the tailpipe. That is exhaust smell.
 

nivek29

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Location
Hartford, CT
TDI
2002 VW Golf TDI GLS
Thanks! I'll be sure to do that inside my garage. : )

And I figured out what the crayon smell is. It doesn't seem to be the problem, although it could be mixing in. This smell is distinctly engine-oriented, a heavy carbon smell to it.

kevin
 

dayne66

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Location
The Island,BC
TDI
(TRADED)2006 Jetta TDI Package 3 (Cdn) 5 sp
When I first aquired my car I thought I smelled diesel too. The wife and daughter did not smell anything different than a 'normal' car. I looked a few times for various leaks to no avail. It's been 8 months and I or anyone else notices any smells...but then I had forgotten all about it. If I go out and there are strange smells in my car.....IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!
 

nivek29

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Location
Hartford, CT
TDI
2002 VW Golf TDI GLS
I guess I'm really most nervous that I may be endangering my health and the health of my passengers. After riding around with me for a couple hours yesterday, my girlfriend got really tired and need to take a nap.

I'm going to try out some of the suggestions this afternoon. Thanks again!
 

dayne66

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Location
The Island,BC
TDI
(TRADED)2006 Jetta TDI Package 3 (Cdn) 5 sp
nivek29 said:
I guess I'm really most nervous that I may be endangering my health and the health of my passengers. After riding around with me for a couple hours yesterday, my girlfriend got really tired and need to take a nap.

I'm going to try out some of the suggestions this afternoon. Thanks again!
when you do drive it...at least leave a window or roof open a bit
 

weedeater

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 17, 2001
Location
Reston, VA
TDI
Jetta, 2001, Baltic Green
My guess is going to be that the pipe to the egr is leaking. If it's raw diesel smell, then I'd be looking at the black cloth-like hoses between the injectors. They can leak fuel.
 

thorp

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Location
CA
TDI
2005 Golf TDI, 2010 Jetta TDI
Here's another possibility. Perhaps the previous owner used a fuel additive like PowerService. The cap on the PowerService bottles is notorious for failing. Anyway, it took about 3 or 4 months after cleaning my carpets and leaving the windows down in the garage for the odor to dissipate.
 

nighthawk62

Veteran Member
Joined
May 22, 2008
Location
BANNED
TDI
BANNED
In my opinion headaches and sleepiness equals exhaust coming into the cabin. This is a dangerous problem. Somebody suggested EGR problems and that is a good place to start. Also check the seal around the rear hatch. I believe some people have also had problems with palstic plugs being missing beneath the carpets allowing exhaust in.
 

V-dub-Dude

New member
Joined
Dec 4, 2008
Location
Cincinnati
TDI
2003 Jetta
Try switching your vent control to recirculate, this will keep the outside air outside. I did this when I had a fuel leak under the hood and it helped tremendously untill I got it fixed. For what it's worth my money is on a fuel leak in the injector pump seal or one of its lines.
 

AndyBees

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Southeast Kentucky
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
A very slight diesel leak at the injectors (metal line connections, the braded rubber return lines, etc.) will smell pretty strong, especially when the engine warms up to temp.

I would check the cabin filter. Under the hood, facing the rear of the car, it is located underneath the coweling on the right side of the car (your left facing the engine). While checking, notice that the rubber seal going from one side of the top of the fire wall to the other is in place as well as the little rubber blocks on either end. The Cabin filter is something that is commonly overlooked /neglected by previous owners. It will not cause the diesel smell, but a clean filter will allow fresh air to enter faster/better and flush out the diesel fumes/odor and FARTS too!...

Diesel exhaust before the CAT will most likely smell pretty much like a truck diesel engine exhaust. After the CAT (tail pipe) will smell much different, especially when the engine is up to operating temp.

Lastly, if the previous owner wasn't mindful of the "diesel spills" at filling stations, etc., and stepped in the stuff....... well, you get my drift. The carpet could have a good "dose" of diesel accumulation. The warm/hot air from the heater will give your olfactory a wonderful aroma of fresh diesel fuel on a daily basis.

Dog Pee.......... well, if the previous owner allowed his pooch to ride in the car, mostly like the odor is in the carpet and on the seats (more seats than carpet, that's where dogs like to ride)....... maybe a good shampooing will help out there! Been there and done that with my "used" purchase!
 

Keli_OR

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2003
Location
West Linn, Oregon
TDI
'15 black Sportwagen SE, '01 silver Jetta GLS, '00 green Beetle
I noticed a really strong diesel odor when my injector pump failed. I have a gravel driveway and I run a skidplate, so I didn't notice puddles or anything.

But I had diesel fuel leaking in the engine compartment and the odor definitely seeps into the cabin. Even running B99 to B50 it was a headache inducing condition.

Just another possibility........

-Keli
 

nivek29

Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2008
Location
Hartford, CT
TDI
2002 VW Golf TDI GLS
I'm starting to think that the smell is/was a mixture of the dog and the oil based air freshener. I smelled the fuel cap and the exhaust pipe and neither smell was really the same as the inside. I took the air freshener out two days ago just to isolate the smell, and now the dog smell really seems to dominate. The air freshener had been placed on the heating vent by the previous owner. Perhaps it was getting heated up too much? It's hard to tell, but I am starting to think that it is responsible for the oily smell that I was sensing. I'm giving it a couple more days to see. Also, the headaches have not persisted, so I may have just been sensitive to the freshener.

kevin
 

NorthernMage

Veteran Member
Joined
May 5, 2005
Location
Victoria, BC
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI, 6MT, Platinum Grey
Sounds like the PO wanted to cover up the dog smell and was too cheap to shampoo the interior and stuck in an overly fragrant air freshener.... You might want to get your interior done with some sort of de-odorizer....
 

JettaJake

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2002
Location
CT TDI Corral
TDI
'03 GLS 5spd
You might try buying some activated charcoal/carbon-laced cat litter and spread it all the hell over the place -- trunk, seats, floorboards -- let it sit in there a week(?) or more, then vacuum it all out. Then maybe a bottle of Fabreze?

I managed to spill ~3 gallons of bioD in the trunk one time and some of it seeped behind the back seats and into the rear carpeting....3 years later no one (me included) seems to notice.

Either way, I'd rather smell diesel than dog.
 

JettaJake

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2002
Location
CT TDI Corral
TDI
'03 GLS 5spd
NorthernMage said:
...the PO wanted to cover up the dog smell and was too cheap to shampoo the interior and stuck in an overly fragrant air freshener...
a cheapskate TDI owner?! :eek: unheard of!! :D
 

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
nivek29 said:
Also, the headaches have not persisted, so I may have just been sensitive to the freshener.
Kev, let's ensure you do NOT have an exhaust leak. That could clearly be dangerous. A diesel exhaust leak is typically e-z to find cuz the soot leaves an obvious tracer.

If our focus is going to shift back to the dog
, I'd like you to get a fresh cabin filter installed. I'd consider that a starting point. Also, if this condition is as severe as you describe, how could you NOT have noticed it during your test drive(s) :confused:

You might want to visit Keith, he's over in Enfield and would quickly offer a 2nd opinion on what's doin' ;)
 

SyntorX9000

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 17, 2008
Location
Indianapolis
TDI
2002 JETTA GLS TDI
When I bought my 2002 Jetta it smelled like the innards of a 2 week dead mule.

The stink was in EVERYTHING!!! I thought ahhh... I'll shampoo it. I shampooed it twice and used an entire bottle of febreez.....Well, I ended up replacing all of the interior, and am much happier since the urge to vomit went away....thanks previous owner!!!



Good luck!!!
 
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