Smell/Smoke inside?!

Hi all,

I've got a 99 Passat V6. From time to time, esp in city driving when stopping at traffic lights, I get an ugly smell/smoke coming from my vents. I checked whether it's coming from the brakes, but I don't think so. Could it be an air filter problem? Any tips/thoughts?

Thanks a lot!
S.

Does this smoke smell kinda sweet? (burn your throat) and does it fog the bottom of the windshield slightly? If so, you have a clogged or leaking heater core. Anti-freeze is seaping into your vents and misting out.
6 hours plus of labor to replace if need be + parts & most shops charge around $50hr labor

Does it smell smoggie and like exhaust? Then you have a hole in your manifold and it is getting into your vents... not sure how long this takes to replace if needed... but i would say 3+ hr???

If you have to get some parts, just in case... ask a shop to evaluate it... probly cost round $38 to look at. Then when they tell you what you need go to www.thepartsbin.com and look up what you need. Just follow the screen instructions. They are a wholesale prince site, and you will get everything at cost. Yes that is you will pay what a shop pays before they rape you on the mark-up. This site gives free shipping to anything $50 and over. Good luck.

Hi termitesgraffix,

Yes, it does smell like exhaust. I just bought this Passat in Nov'03, it has only 55,000KM. I'm not sure if you know about the VW Certified program, they offer 2yr or 40,000KM warranty on certain 112points of the car. I believe this could be one of them, but I'm not sure. And I just didn't have time to visit the dealership yet. I have to go there for the 60,000KM revision, anyway.

Thanks buddy!
S.

I haven't figured it out yet; but I have a smoke smell in our 2001 passat 1.8 turbo.
In our case it is definatley a burning oil smell. Most obvious just after an oil change when oil spills onto the engine from removing the filter. Other times we get teh smell and I check for leaks or residual oil without a solution. It's been like this almost since it was new and I tell my wife its a quirk of the car.

Oil leaks from the valve cover, runs down a piece of sheet meal & drips directly onto the exhaust & is vaporized w/o a trace.

Oil leaks from the valve cover, runs down a piece of sheet meal & drips directly onto the exhaust & is vaporized w/o a trace.

Sounds like your suggesting this is a typical passat quirk, i'll look into it. Thanks