Hoping someone can give me some advice for my problem.

I am experiencing a exhaust smell in the cabin of my armada. The intensity of the smell comes and goes and gets worse the longer the truck is running (duh). The smell is the strongest when turning, for example if I turn to the left as I am pulling through the turn it becomes very strong, same thing on the right except the passenger gets it first.

I have been to the dealership twice and they could not find the source and said they did not smell the exhaust in the cabin. The first time we ended up doing a small number of maintenance items including the cabin filter, but no luck resolving. Took it is a second time and they said they pressure tested the exhaust but found no leaks. It is to the point where the only place I drive it is to work, heck I opened to door to go somewhere today, immediately closed it and said it is not worth it.

My 3/36 warranty just expired so I am leery of spending money at the dealership for something they have not been able to identify on two previous visits.

I am not hearing any popping noises that seem to be consistent with the crack manifold issue, any ideas or suggestions where the problem may lie?

so with the windows rolled up and moonroof closed and no HVAC turned on you still smell exhaust?

I haven't tried it with the HVAC off for a while, will run it that way after work today.

During the winter I was running the HVAC at full blast to keep air moving, there was no exhaust smell coming through the upper vents of the HVAC as I was doing that.

is it more a gas smell or fumes/exhaust smell? to me there is a difference.. am i making sense? :D

After driving home in my stinky truck... not sure much is making sense ;)

Probably more gas than anything else. I turned the HVAC off tonight on the way home and I was still getting the smell. The smell was more evident when cornering than traveling in a straight line. So overall with the HVAC off, no change.

Little about my Armada. I have a S&B CAI and a bully dog, although I am currently running the stock program on the Mada.

If it's a gas smell, then it's not your exhaust, you might have some kind of a fuel leak. Can you smell gas from outside, either under the hood or underneath the truck? Is it stronger in one location inside than others? Try also running the HVAC in different settings, then sticking your head down next to the vent that's blowing and see if the odor is coming from there; that will help to isolate the source.

If it's exhaust smell, you may have an air leak in the rear window / hatch area. I know when I was growing up that if we drove the station wagon with the rear window down, the inside of the car would fill up with exhaust fumes that we're drawn in through the opening.

Good luck, this obviously needs to get fixed fast, or something worse could happen.

Keith

Thanks for the responses guys.

I have been under the hood a handful of time while it has been running and did not notice any real odor, also have looked along the bottom of the truck and I do not see anything that would indicate a leak.

I am a bit perplexed and getting towards my wits end with the issue. My commute is not not long, but I do take my daughter back and forth to day care which is my bigger concern. If they can locate the problem soon, I think I need to get out of it.

Hello,
I just bought a 2010 Armada and I am having the same problem. I took it to the dealer and they said they couldnt find anything wrong. The smell comes and goes. Did you ever fix the problem?

Still has not been resolved, I took it in for a third time last wednesday and drove the tech around. He said he really did not smell anything. They ran the ionizer in case it was something in the cabin or venting. At this point I do not think I have much other choice besides getting out of it. We use the Armada as the family car and I no longer think it is suitable for my daugther to ride in.

If the smell is so strong as you say, why doesn't anyone else smell it?

If the smell is so strong as you say, why doesn't anyone else smell it?

While the smell is in the truck, it does not always present strongly when driving it. I asked tech the other day if he smelled it and he said yes but he said he does not smell it as we were driving around. His response to the odor in the cabin was I can not tell if it is just a smell or if it is something the truck is creating.

Well, I took it to the dealer yesterday and he was saying something about the gas tank sending fumes somewhere, but then he said he didnt have to fix or change anything it was just a computer glitch, and now I should be okay. First I had to deal with the spongy brake pedal, now the smell. I've heard nothing but good things about the Armada before I bought it, but seems as if I got a lemon!

OhioLion, if it smells like gas, I'd have them check the fuel lines and fuel sending unit for any leaks. I'd also take it to other dealerships getting more opinions. I'm sorry, but it's BS that your Service is poor enough to make you want to sell the vehicle for something that's very easy to fix if they'll just take the time to locate the source.

If ms6one's was really fixed by just reprogramming, that has me wondering if the AFR running too rich might cause a foul odor like that. A bad O2 sensor "should" trigger the Check Engine Light but doesn't always if it's not bad enough yet. If the MAF is going bad, it can also cause the AFR to to run too rich or too lean. So if they don't find any fuel line leaks, I'd have the MAF and O2 sensors all thoroughly tested or replaced as well, if it were me. The MAF is super easy to replace yourself, it's mounted on your CAI's tube. The O2 sensors are on your Exhaust Manifolds and a bit trickier to get to, I'm not sure how tough or easy they are to change.

Thanks Pops. Will have the O2 sensors and MAF checked, probably will try another dealership in town too.

I could not agree more about the reason to get rid of it is sad. I can honestly say that one of the biggest reasons I have not traded it in is that I love the Armada and my time with her is not done (shhh... don't tell the wife!) so it has been worth the headache of taking it in multiple times.

Does anyone know if when they perform the fuel sending unit recall if they drop the gas tank?

I was talking with my father in law this weekend and we were speculating if there is a gasket at the filler neck and the gas tank. Which if it was going bad might explain why I get the strongest smell of gas after turning, which would cause the gas to splash in the tank. Since I am out of warranty was hoping that if they had to drop the tank to perform the recall that might be able to get it looked at.

Hoping someone can give me some advice for my problem.

I am experiencing a exhaust smell in the cabin of my armada. The intensity of the smell comes and goes and gets worse the longer the truck is running (duh). The smell is the strongest when turning, for example if I turn to the left as I am pulling through the turn it becomes very strong, same thing on the right except the passenger gets it first.

I have been to the dealership twice and they could not find the source and said they did not smell the exhaust in the cabin. The first time we ended up doing a small number of maintenance items including the cabin filter, but no luck resolving. Took it is a second time and they said they pressure tested the exhaust but found no leaks. It is to the point where the only place I drive it is to work, heck I opened to door to go somewhere today, immediately closed it and said it is not worth it.

My 3/36 warranty just expired so I am leery of spending money at the dealership for something they have not been able to identify on two previous visits.

I am not hearing any popping noises that seem to be consistent with the crack manifold issue, any ideas or suggestions where the problem may lie?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this problem. I have a 2004 Armada and never had this problem before. There do not appear to be any exhaust leaks.
I thought perhaps a cracked exhaust manifold gasket would be doing this, but I think you would have loud sound with that. Maybe I'm wrong.

I have come to the conclusion that it also has to do with the very poorly refined gasoline we are getting in this country....especially from Russia, which is known to have smelly gas. Just ask any former East German about how smelly the Trabant cars were running on Russian gasoline, which was only about 76 octane.

The 10% ethanol which they now put in gas could also be causing it. You may also notice a decrease in power with ethanol which burns more incompletely that regular gas.

If anyone else comes up with a mechanical answer for this, let me know also please. It is a very annoying problem. I'm always opening and closing the windows.

Okay, since I raised my issue here I figure I might as well open myself to ridcule over it too.

Was cleaning out the Armada this weekend and opened up the third row (usually keep it closed to carry soccer balls for my kids team) I look under the seat and I see a bottle of fuel injector cleaner that is cracked and now empty. :o

I sniff the bottle and smells just like the smell that I am getting in the armada and it would explain why the tech could not find it. I think it also explains why it would get stronger the longer in the car with the heat running. Although I feel like a dumb a**, glad that I found the problem.

Now on to the search for the best product to use to get the smell out of the carpet. Any detailers here with suggestions?

Glad you found it! Try and find someone with a steam extractor to get that smell out. And keep that 3rd row seat up to let it air out for a while.