TGPCanada

A quick Google search and you'll see this topic has been discussed a billion times all over the internet, but there is no consistent answer . There is no way with 10K km on a new car like this there is a major leak in the exhaust piping. So how is the exhaust smell getting in? It's not coming from the engine bay and in through front vents . Don't smell it there.

arentz07

True - and to be clear I still am almost certain it's not an issue - but on the other hand, I do want to do due diligence.
Regarding the engine bay: after I drove yesterday, I walked around the car to see if I could smell it near the hood/front grille. No smell there.

wthrman2

^^ I hear ya...I feel the same way. I feel that the car is way too new (at 4000 km or 2500 miles) that my exhaust system is too old, especially since it's never seen any rain and the pipes are like brand new. I will ask my dealer just out of curiosity and see what they report but I doubt it is anything that I should worry about at this point...If you hear anything from your dealer, let us know too.

EDIT - For what it's worth - I just called my dealer and the Service guy told me that when the vehicle is brand new, it can take a bit of time for the catalytic converter to burn off all teh chemicals and such. He asked me if I used the gas from the same location and always put premium and I answered yes to both questions. He said if the issue lingers past a year or something, then I should maybe have it looked at but given my low mileage and such, he said to not worry about it for now.

TGPCanada

It is not coming from the engine bay. I can't tell you how many times over the last several months I've gunned the car, then pulled over quickly and sniffed around the front of the car /engine bay like a German Sheppard looking for drugs at an airport . People walking by thinking I'm a lunatic . Human beings can detect very low levels of H2S (ppm and probably pbb levels ) so it doesn't take much much exhaust gas to be in the air for us to smell it . I only smell it when I have a window open . Never smell it with the windows closed . I'm almost convincing myself it is just a small amount of exhaust seeping out of the cat under heavy load/ acceleration . The cat is located closer to the front of the car, and so this exhaust passes up around the vehicle and into the cabin. But who the ****** knows for sure .

arentz07

Just wanted to share that I experienced this smell in our 330i today for the first time. I don't get on it too often in that car, as my wife is normally the driver in it. It was the same - I had the front windows slightly open, and the smell was gone in a few seconds. So anyway, if anyone thought this smell was a Lexus thing, it seems like it's not. I suspected it wasn't but had never smelled it in another vehicle.