Regen Urine smell + wife ultimatum

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
its been over a week since the gen2 fix, and now the car is in full regen every other night we pull in the garage- has anyone smelled the regen exhaust??? It used to smell like bleach but now it smells strait up like Hot Pee after eating asparagus, i assume its from the increased Urea injection but the wife has given me a hard choice after her coworkers said she is driving a catbox- full delete and skip the extended warranty or buy her a new car! I just shot a email off to Malone for a fix, but man she is right, that exhaust during regen is completely embarrassing to say the least!
 
Last edited:

767wrench

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2012
Location
Ohio
TDI
1981 Rabbit Pickup
A delete will be stinky as well if parking in a garage or standing around the car while it runs. Would hate to see you spend the money on a delete and have her still not like it. Not sure what to do in that situation. Sounds like you should take over the passat and get her something else lol
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
me taking the passat is prob the right thing to do, Malone and rawtec have a tune + cat setup that reduces the raw diesel smell, she doesn't mind the exhaust from my 12v cummins though
 

rustycat

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Location
seattle
TDI
2015 passat sel
me taking the passat is prob the right thing to do, Malone and rawtec have a tune + cat setup that reduces the raw diesel smell, she doesn't mind the exhaust from my 12v cummins though

You sure some cat isn't spraying and marking his territory on your engine? I ask simply because no one else has reported the same issue. I will note, however, women's sense of smell, especially for urine, has much more highly evolved.
 

turbobrick240

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Location
maine
TDI
2011 vw golf tdi(gone to greener pastures), 2001 ford f250 powerstroke
Oh man. I agree with 767wrench that it probably makes sense for you to take over the passat. Then you can decide if you prefer asparagus pee or diesel exhaust fumes.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
How about complaining to the dealer?

For the Gen 2s maybe the SOx trap is kaput, now that you performed the fix, they should be on the hook for fixing the system with the warranty.

I bet VWoA and VWCC would love to track down "teething issues" on these gen 2 cars.

How many miles on the car?
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
its been over a week since the gen2 fix, and now the car is in full regen every other night we pull in the garage- has anyone smelled the regen exhaust??? It used to smell like bleach but now it smells strait up like Hot Pee after eating asparagus, i assume its from the increased Urea injection but the wife has given me a hard choice after her coworkers said she is driving a catbox- full delete and skip the extended warranty or buy her a new car! I just shot a email off to Malone for a fix, but man she is right, that exhaust during regen is completely embarrassing to say the least!
Very interesting report. I actually expected the smell to be more noticeable with the increased dosing and undersized SCR equipment (my own theory). What you're getting is more free ammonia escaping the system.

Before you go down the delete/tune road, address your concerns with Volkswagen, the class council and the EPA. IMO, the EPA should be looking into the ammonia exhaust concern.
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
its only while its in regen, normal driving and idling is just fine- but even I smell it very strong when we had it idling waiting for regen to finish while unloading grocery's
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
wonder if the dosing is ramped up during regen, vs normal consumption regular operation.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
its only while its in regen, normal driving and idling is just fine- but even I smell it very strong when we had it idling waiting for regen to finish while unloading grocery's
Maybe I'm dense, but how in blazes can I tell that my engine is in REGEN mode ?

Last winter while I was in Mexico I used to run the car in " S " or even in manual mode to try and force regen since Mexican Diesel is still LSD and not ULSD. That apparently will change this coming December.
 

unixb0y

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2003
Location
Manitoba, Canada
TDI
2013 Passat Comfortline 6MT Nav
its only while its in regen, normal driving and idling is just fine- but even I smell it very strong when we had it idling waiting for regen to finish while unloading grocery's
Smells like too much def is being burned which is creating ammonia. Maybe it's the injector or maybe it's the DEF line that is damaged and dumping DEF on the hot exhaust when the line is pressurized.

Probably best to get the dealer to look at it as ammonia can be dangerous when inhaled.
 

camper12

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Location
NC
TDI
2011 Golf TDI, 2013 Passat SEL TDI
My G2 fixed Passat just finished a regeneration in the garage and no obnoxious oders noted.
 

Owain@malonetuning

Associate Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 1, 2016
Location
Vancouver
TDI
PD jetta wagon
I've been behind multiple MK6s, Mercedes and BMWs that smelled like they ate asparagus for two days straight while at the beach without drinking a drop of water.

Normally it's not that noticeable, but yeah it's definitely a distinct odor. Not sure if any of those cars were running right as,well, these systems aren't known for their reliability.
 
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