Help with Exhaust Smell/Exhaust Leak

[Highwaylizard]

Mods if this is in the wrong place please move to the correct forum.

New-to-me 2014 SportWagon TDI. Have had it about a day now after driving it home from Cincinnati to Indianapolis. At a stoplight here in town I noticed the smell of exhaust while the car was pointed into the wind. Normally I might expect to smell the exhaust if the wind were coming from behind the car. Got home and lifted the hood with the engine running and started sniffing around. As best as I can tell the smell is coming from where I am pointing in the picture.



Any advice on what to look for would be graciously appreciated.

 

[Zawurah]

The dieselgate warranty should cover exhaust issues, if the warranty is still in effect.

Check your vin here. Use all capital letters otherwise it'll reject your vin.

 

[Highwaylizard]

The dieselgate warranty should cover exhaust issues, if the warranty is still in effect.

Check your vin here. Use all capital letters otherwise it'll reject your vin.

Thanks. If I am reading this correctly I am within the warranty?

From the dieselgate warranty website:

The vehicle has an Extended Emissions Warranty that runs for 10 years 6 months or 126,000 miles from the original in-service date. Please see your VW dealership for additional information including the vehicle's in-service date.

In addition, and concurrently, the Extended Emissions Warranty runs for 4 years 6 months or 54,000 miles (whichever occurs first) from the date of modification or first dealer resale post-modification. Your vehicle was modified on Sep 19, 2018 and 34,188 miles. Please see your VW dealership for additional information on the vehicle's post-modification dealer re-sale date.

I currently have 159,312 miles on the car. The vehicle had 34,188 miles at the time of service plus the 126,000 mile warranty equals 160,188 miles thereby placing me within the warranty period?

 

[Zawurah]

No, the warranty on your car expired a while ago.

Warranty covers 126k miles since it was first purchased (now expired). Plus an additional coverage period of 54k miles since the emission modification (also now expired)

 

[Highwaylizard]

No, the warranty on your car expired a while ago.

Warranty covers 126k miles since it was first purchased (now expired). Plus an additional coverage period of 54k miles since the emission modification (also now expired)

Hmmm. The use of the language "Original in-service date" rather than "date of purchase" seems inappropriate then. Either way it places me back at square one.

 

[Zawurah]

It's slightly more complex than just the original purchase date. If I remember correctly, miles driven on demonstrator cars use up the the warranty. But miles added during test drives for non demo cars do not use up the warranty.

 

[JELLOWSUBMARINE]

Are you smelling strange things due to it being in an active regeneration?

 

[Highwaylizard]

It's slightly more complex than just the original purchase date. If I remember correctly, miles driven on demonstrator cars use up the the warranty. But miles added during test drives for non demo cars do not use up the warranty.

What is a demonstrator car?

 

[Highwaylizard]

Are you smelling strange things due to it being in an active regeneration?

I don't believe so but I really couldn't tell you. Would the engine be running at a higher RPM if it were in active regeneration? If so the engine has not been running at a higher RPM at idle while sitting at stoplights. Also, would active regeneration be something that would cause a strong odor of diesel exhaust in the engine bay?

Another question for the forum at large - would an exhaust leak also have an impact on fuel economy?

One last comment for the forum at large - thank you for your patience and input with this newbie.

 

[Lightflyer1]

Hmmm. The use of the language "Original in-service date" rather than "date of purchase" seems inappropriate then. Either way it places me back at square one.

Original in service date is when the car was first sold to the first owner. It can have only one of these. Seems exactly appropriate to me.

 

[Highwaylizard]

Original in service date is when the car was first sold to the first owner. It can have only one of these. Seems exactly appropriate to me.

Ahhh . . . . I missed the "IN" portion of "in-service" - makes a rather large difference. I was reading it as "original service date" Makes sense now.

As I said above - puts me back at square one in figuring out the source/cause of the diesel exhaust smell coming from the engine.

 

[JELLOWSUBMARINE]

I don't believe so but I really couldn't tell you. Would the engine be running at a higher RPM if it were in active regeneration? If so the engine has not been running at a higher RPM at idle while sitting at stoplights. Also, would active regeneration be something that would cause a strong odor of diesel exhaust in the engine bay?

Another question for the forum at large - would an exhaust leak also have an impact on fuel economy?

If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you've not experienced many regens yet. They have different tell tale signs one of which is the DPF getting hot "smell". It is possible your DPF is cracked and hence heavier than normal smell. A good indicator is soot of ANY amount in the tailpipe.
Your 14 may still be covered, my 11 just dropped emmision coverage due to age. Was your car a dealer bought CPO? There is a number out there that will tell you what warranty coverage and experations you have remaining, maybe someone here has it?

 

[Zawurah]

What is a demonstrator car?

A demonstrator is a car used by the dealership for its own purposes before the vehicle is sold. It can be for employees to drive around as their own personal vehicle (and to also show off to other people and what not, hence demonstrate the vehicle). Also includes cars that are parked inside malls and other places to show off to the public. And lastly it sometimes includes cars dedicated for customer test drives and/or loaners for the service department.

Demonstrator cars are eventually sold to the public, but their "first in service date" is when the dealer first started using it and that date is also way before the first sale. They are also sold as "new" cars with no prior owner, despite some being 2+ years old and milage well over 20k. Sometimes these are a good deal if bought by another company, as new car purchases get many extra tax deductions and perks (all while the car is priced similar to a used car).

Demonstrator cars are not common, so for most vehicles the "first in service" date is when they are first sold.

 

[DivineChaos]

Mods if this is in the wrong place please move to the correct forum.

New-to-me 2014 SportWagon TDI. Have had it about a day now after driving it home from Cincinnati to Indianapolis. At a stoplight here in town I noticed the smell of exhaust while the car was pointed into the wind. Normally I might expect to smell the exhaust if the wind were coming from behind the car. Got home and lifted the hood with the engine running and started sniffing around. As best as I can tell the smell is coming from where I am pointing in the picture.



Any advice on what to look for would be graciously appreciated.

Fairly common for it to leak between turbo and dpf. New steel crush and vbamd

 

[Highwaylizard]

Fairly common for it to leak between turbo and dpf. New steel crush and vbamd

Thank you for your input - I will check into that.

 

[DivineChaos]

Thank you for your input - I will check into that.

Manifolds don't leak commonly. But that gasket does. Especially if it's been off and not replaced. Dealor loves doing that.

 

[DivineChaos]

Pulled to get to some of the sensors. Both mine and my dad's leaked.

 

[holeintheice]

Smoke it.