V5 Toledo weird engine smell

dvance

Active Member
Mar 23, 2010
273
0
Hey guys,

As some of you're aware, I just got my V5. The check engine light came back after the reset at Autohaus, so the lambda probe & cooling fluit temp sensor do need to be changed. That I am not so worried about, as I'll have the garage that I bought it from do that, however what worries me is that there's also some sort of a burning smell from the engine that I've no idea where it's coming from. Could it be just because the engine is not running quite right with those two sensors out?

Thanks,
Stefan

P.S. The guys at Autohaus are really top notch, took good care of my brakes yesterday and today :)
 
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
The lambda probe might make it run rich, but it shouldn't make a smell per se. And the temperature sensor being faulty may hide the fact that the engine is running hot, but I believe there are two seperate sensors, so even if it was getting too hot either the ECU would know it, or you would see it on the dash.

It really is a shame that smell is one of our most useless senses, it's not exactly like you could record the smell and put it on something like 'yousniff'!

Have the Autohaus guys got any thoughts? You could narrow it down a little. See if the smell appears as soon as you start the car. Does it appear if you keep the car still until it's up to temperature? Does it only appear after it's been driven for a while? Is there any visible signs, for example smoke or heat haze?
 

dvance

Active Member
Mar 23, 2010
273
0
No smoke, haze I cannot really say anything about. I'll check as per your other suggestions tomorrow, will start her up, and give it a smell right away, then wait until it comes up to temp, and repeat the sniff test when I get to the office :D Though I have the feeling it appears shortly after it starts running (even without moving).
 

dvance

Active Member
Mar 23, 2010
273
0
So checked this morning, no smell about 1 minute after turning on. Drove to work (about 4 miles), car just reached 90 degrees as I pulled in the parking lot, could not sniff it out. Had to do a quick dash during the day to home and back to work, this time I could barely notice the smell, but I am pretty sure it was there. I think it depends on the engine being at temp for a while, could be due to the fact that the cooling fluid temp sensor is off, hence the fluid is over regular temp and smelling bad, might need to change it once the sensors are fixed. Or so I theorize.

Called the garage I bought it from, directed me to make a claim with my warranty, and from there I was in turn directed that it was not covered. Currently waiting on the guy who sold it to me to "consult" with his partner. I certainly hope I don't have to lawyer up and see them in small claims court or something like that cuz this is ridiculous. I just love the fact that before I checked with the warranty people, they were like, yeah just come up and leave the car with us, and we'll sort it out, now when they know it's not covered, they're "thinking." Depending on the results of the thinking, I might be disclosing the name of the garage in order to spare anybody else possible troubles if they're looking to buy from them. To be fair the guy did post my lost registration plate in one day, along with the warranty booklet.

P.S. You should patent "yousniff" if you figure out how to make it work, it would certainly make you quite rich ;)
 
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dvance

Active Member
Mar 23, 2010
273
0
Alright, so quick update -- the garage is shipping me the parts free of charge. Funny thing is the light just went off by itself today... ::wondering::

And after changing the brake disks and pads, the smell seems to have gone away. Could be that the car was not driven for a while as well, and there was some sort of deposit that had to get "burned off" or I suppose the pads could have been grinding on the disks or something ...
 

dvance

Active Member
Mar 23, 2010
273
0
Spoke too soon about the light -- an enthusiastic start from the lights today brought it back :(
 
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