Hi I've got a 96k focus tdci and recently noticed that only on start up when the engine is cold that I get a smell of exhaust in the car for a couple of minutes. After a few days I decided to lift the bonnet before I started the car up early one morning and as it started a small plume of smoke appeared from the nearside of the plastic engine cover. It looked like exhaust? I've only had the car 2 months and still under warranty so I took it back to the garage who suspected it was a leaky injector seal. Seals all dry and they said it appeared to be coming from around the air filter. Finally after they'd had it for 2 days they said the dpf was blocked so they had done a force regen and changed the air filter. This apparently was the reason for the smoke as the back pressure from the blocked dpf was forcing the initial exhaust from the engine back through a series of pipes and into the air filter. Got the car back and returned home confused. They said it was sorted but I still think I can smell exhaust after it was sat for 3 hours whilst at work. I'm not convinced their explanation is true and suspect it something else and possibly as my 3 months warranty expires in 10 days time they either don't really know what's causing it or they don't want to shell out for whatever it really is. My question is has anyone else ever experienced anything similar?

Sure enough this morning the exhaust smoke is still there at start up. I cant beleive that ford would allow a car to start leaking fumes into the cabin before the dpf engine management light came on which it didnt?

Check the egr cooler is not cracked I had that happen on mine and was getting an awful exhaust smell through the vents. Think I might have a picture somewhere showing where mine cracked but it was right on the joint of the EGR valve.

Hi Simon, thanks for the response and I will take a look in the light at the weekend. If you've got a pic could you post it so I know what I'm looking for please. I've seen a couple of pics of the cooler on the net and it appears to have a pipe coming out of it made of metal like an elephants trunk leading to a manifold. Is that what was cracked? Mine only does it on start up. Was yours the same or was it constant. Ive got it booked back in with the garage who thought they'd sorted it under the warranty so if I can spot a crack I can point it out

cheers

I can't find the picture I must have deleted it, but if I remember I have got the old cooler I think sat in my other car so will try and remember to check and take a picture when I have the time. But if it is the EGR cooler then this is cheapest supplier for the part http://www.catherinestreetmotors.co.uk/ford-citroen-peugeot-1-6-tdci-2004-11-egr-cooler-3m5q-9f464-bc.html £24 and £6 postage, they buy in complete new engines and sell them for parts, so it may have some sign of use for example bolt marks and light scratches but was as new and a stupidly low price, £30 all in.

Pretty easy to fit once you work out how to wangle it in place around everything else unless you prefer to take every offending part off to gain access. Hardest bit is ding the v band clamps without a proper tool, something I really must invest in along with a proper hose clip tool as well lol

If you follow the braided pipe round the back of the block to the right hand side of the engine bay it is literally where it joins onto the EGR Valve just where the flange starts. Mine was leaking all the time and there was quite a whoosing sound when accelerating from behind the dashboard, but the longer you sat still the much stronger the exhaust fumes entered the air vents on mine.

Might not be the be the case on yours but sounds similar and in the right area ish.

Picture nicked from the web with the location marked with the red line, that is where mine had cracked, thin metal and pretty rusty after a good few years, I would have thought this was a common fault on older cars to be honest as this part rusts.