Diesel Fumes In Car And Engine Fan Stays On After Ignition Switch Off.

[pbd1971]

Hi to you all, car specs:

Ford Focus Titanium 1.6 TDCI

2012

32k

I have had the car 8 months

I have had no problems with the car until recently when whilst stationary at lights i became aware of strong diesel exhaust fumes in the car. I was close to home and once arrived after turning the engine off, the engine fan continued to run for approx 5 minutes. The next day the car was fine, no diesel fumes and no fan staying on and everything seemed ok until last night when returning from work, stationary at lights I again became aware of strong diesel exhaust fumes and again had the same problem with the engine fan staying on for 5 minutes after the engine was switched off.

I am no expert but I would say the two are connected, by the way the engine temperature was normal.

I am extremely worried about this, this should not be happening in a car that is under 2 years old. Can anyone shed any light on this situation and what I can do about it?

Many thanks

[jeebowhite]

Take it to the dealer and let it be their problems.

Sounds like a bad gasket or seal somewhere

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[pbd1971]

Do I have to return the car from the dealer I bought it from or can I take it to any Ford Dealer? The problem is I bought this car from a dealer over 150 miles away before i relocated.

Thanks

[exponential]

Sounds like the DPF attempting a regen to me.

When the engine is doing a regen, if you put the instant MPG on your dashboard, you will.see a noticeable drop in.MPG to.what you would normally get.

That is the the extra fuel being used to get the DPF to the correct temperature required to burn the soot.

I.would suggest taking your car out for a 30 min drive on a motorway doing 70 in 4th gear to enable the regen to complete.

[dreadz]

yep agree..this is what mine used to do before dpf removed....more so the more blocked it got

[jeebowhite]

any ford dealer can do the job.

basically its Ford who have the problem, not the dealer, so if your looking to repair under warranty...

[exponential]

Would a DPF come undear warranty jeebo with it being the exhaust??

His symptoms do seem to point towards an engine attempting a regen (although the diesel smell in the cabin does seem odd and a bit of a concern).

I agree with you in that he should take it for a warranty repair but I'm convinced they will prescribe a blocked DPF.

[jeebowhite]

the Diesel smell as you say, there should be no trace of this in the cabin at all... that is the warranty repair, however, the DPF could be seen as a consumable / service item and could result in no warranty fix, it really depends on what is said by the dealer, but for the blocked DPF, it will be very fortunate to be replaced under warranty.

[ChrisCooper]

One thing to clarify, I think I'm right in saying that the original post is refering to "diesel exhaust fumes" as in the sooty smell common with a cold started diesel, not the actual smell of diesel?

In that case it very much sounds like it's to do with the DPF regenerating as this will involve the soot from the filter being burned off and ejected out the exhaust, which I imagine if was happening when stationary or at low speed could easily be smelled inside the car. It fits with the fan running which is also associated with active DPF regeneration.

[jeebowhite]

I read it as diesel smell such as fumes rather than soot, the clarification would be beneficial!

[exponential]

Sounds like the OP may not even know he/she has a DPF?

It isn't exactly advertised by the dealers at purchase!

[pbd1971]

I read it as diesel smell such as fumes rather than soot, the clarification would be beneficial!

Yes sorry, just to clarify. The smell is sooty exhaust fumes not raw diesel.

Thanks

[pbd1971]

Sounds like the OP may not even know he/she has a DPF?

It isn't exactly advertised by the dealers at purchase!

You are quite right, I do not have a clue what a DPF is, could you explain a little about it? To be honest, I don't really know much about car mechanics.

Thanks

[alexp999]

Sounds almost certainly like its trying to regen the dpf.

What sort of journeys do you do?

[exponential]

You are quite right, I do not have a clue what a DPF is, could you explain a little about it? To be honest, I don't really know much about car mechanics.

Thanks

Hi.

Basically, a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) is a large filter designed to trap all of the harmful carbon deposits produced by the diesel engine.

It sits next to your catalytic converter and helps reduce emissions (hence your £30 per year car tax).

The DPF is prone to clogging up if the car is only used for short journeys so in order to clear out the DPF, it needs to "regenerate" in order to clear out the clogged up DPF.

As I suggested, the car needs to be taken on a 20 - 30 min drive at high revs (70 in 4th gear) once or twice a month in order for the exhaust (DPF) to get hot enough to clear out the clogged soot.

If you don't do this, it will eventually clog up so much that it will cease to function efficiently and throw up a warning light and eventually put the car into "limp mode".

I would take it back under warranty and when they say "your DPF is clogged", you then ask why you weren't informed that the car had one in the first place!!

[sambo87]

I could smell fumes in my 1.8 tdci once and the seal had gone on one of the injectors hope you get it sorted !

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[martyntdci]

was just going to suggest injectors.... have a look and see if there is any black gunk on the block surrounding the injectors

[im2009]

Running fan is a sign of DPF regeneration. If you have a OBD2 scanner you can verify it by checking the inlet temperature value. If it is around 20-30°C or lower then it is normal running, but when DPF regeneration starts, this values increases up to 50-60+°C when you put down the accelerator. Regeneration usually last for around 10 miles.

Regarding femmes...check the injectors seats. If there is any carbon around them then you have a leaking injector seal and this can be the cause for fumes in the cabin. You can also hear a hissing sound of leaking injector seal. If this is the case, this can cause collection of carbon in your engine oil which can further cause clogged filters and oil pipes that leads to your turbo and some real problems. Try to fix it as soon as possible.

[pbd1971]

Sounds almost certainly like its trying to regen the dpf.

What sort of journeys do you do?

I bought a diesel due to a 40 miles each way journey to work. Now I have changed jobs and the journey has been reduced to around 10 miles each way, 90% of that is on the motorway. If I can recall correctly, the 2 times this problem has occurred have been after a series of short start, stop local runs visiting family and shopping etc and not getting above 30mph.

Thanks

[pbd1971]

Thank you all for the posts, all very helpful. Regarding the DPF and its potential for getting clogged I was wondering if I have been a little too gentle with the car. I have the onboard display constantly informing me of my fuel economy and I never like to get the revs too high in any gear especially when the engine is cold, this has sometimes lead to the engine labouring a little. Maybe time to switch to trip distance or something and correct my driving style a little.

Thanks

[martyntdci]

always let the car run first before moving off maybe a min or so, and the same once youve finished ur journey let oil serculate. do a few miles not mega on boost, i try and stick to below 2k when its cold... then once the needle get to around quarter, its time to hammer it well around 3-3.5k anyway.... diesels love to be driven hard and not ment for short stop start journeys....

[exponential]

On many occasion I have drove off immediately after turning the key only to be met with what I can only describe as an "empty engine".

It is like there is literally no engine in the car! Car doesn't want to rev (almost as if it is protecting itself from damage) and the timing and sound just doesn't feel right but once I actually get moving, it sorts itself out.

I take it this is what you mean when you say you should let the engine run for a minute after starting because of the above description martyn??

[alexp999]

I don't leave mine that long, but I do tend to start the car as I get in, then put on my seat belt, so it has had a few seconds to idle before I move off.

Always give the car at least 10s from when I pull up to turning the engine off though, longer if I have just given it an Italian tune up, lol.

[martyntdci]

yes as its bad for the turbo and the engine... the 1.6tdci are prone for injector and turbo failure due to neglegence

[exponential]

yes as its bad for the turbo and the engine... the 1.6tdci are prone for injector and turbo failure due to neglegence

It's funny because my car never does what I described first thing in the morning (while it has been freezing) but always does it when I start the car after being in work all day and the outside temperature is obviously much higher.

You would think it would be the other way around??