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03 CTS - Exaust smell from heater


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80K on an 03 CTS .. After first starting car and when heater kicks in there is a strong exaust / burning smell when the car is not in motion .. When in motion it is not noticeable but as soon as car is idleing at a stop it is almost overpowering. After a while the smell goes away or if I turn off the heater it will go away. Any ideas before I take it to the dealer?

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80K on an 03 CTS .. After first starting car and when heater kicks in there is a strong exaust / burning smell when the car is not in motion .. When in motion it is not noticeable but as soon as car is idleing at a stop it is almost overpowering. After a while the smell goes away or if I turn off the heater it will go away. Any ideas before I take it to the dealer?

Something is happening under the hood that is being sucked into the cowl air intakes or your HVAC box is cracked and its sucking in from there but I doubt that.

Do you hear exhaust noise, is the car louder?

Have you been using any oil? Any oil on the ground? At 80K you might be leaking from a CAM cover seal, oil cooler etc and that is being sucked into the air intake.

I'd lift the hood and look around, it could be a damage EGR flexible tube, etc

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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80K on an 03 CTS .. After first starting car and when heater kicks in there is a strong exaust / burning smell when the car is not in motion .. When in motion it is not noticeable but as soon as car is idleing at a stop it is almost overpowering. After a while the smell goes away or if I turn off the heater it will go away. Any ideas before I take it to the dealer?

Something is happening under the hood that is being sucked into the cowl air intakes or your HVAC box is cracked and its sucking in from there but I doubt that.

Do you hear exhaust noise, is the car louder?

Have you been using any oil? Any oil on the ground? At 80K you might be leaking from a CAM cover seal, oil cooler etc and that is being sucked into the air intake.

I'd lift the hood and look around, it could be a damage EGR flexible tube, etc

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Checked the oil and it is fine --- not losing any. Popped the hood and the burning smell went away in about 10 seconds or less. I put the heater in the circulation mode and the odor disapated but kicked right back in when I took it off circulation. Can't see any type of smoke or indicagtion of something burning. I tried to sniff around before opening the hood an caught the oder near my right front tire. Doesn't mean that I couldn't have smelled it somewhere else before it disapated. In November the CTS engine died in the middle of a 65mph interstate. They replance the crank positioning sensor, muffler gasket and muffler seal. Do you think this could have has something to do with the situation now? thank you for your assistance in this matter.

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Checked the oil and it is fine --- not losing any. Popped the hood and the burning smell went away in about 10 seconds or less. I put the heater in the circulation mode and the odor disapated but kicked right back in when I took it off circulation. Can't see any type of smoke or indicagtion of something burning. I tried to sniff around before opening the hood an caught the oder near my right front tire. Doesn't mean that I couldn't have smelled it somewhere else before it disapated. In November the CTS engine died in the middle of a 65mph interstate. They replance the crank positioning sensor, muffler gasket and muffler seal. Do you think this could have has something to do with the situation now? thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Oh I see, get that car back to that mechanic immediately and ride with your windows cracked so you are not overcome with carbon monoxide. If he messed with the muffler system something is wrong....

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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I agree with BBF! CO can KILL you! Get it back to the tech who worked on it ASAP!

Do NOT drive the car without the windows down enough to rid the car of exhaust fumes. Keep the heater control in recirculate or better yet, OFF.

Bottom line.

Do not put this off! If you can't get it to a shop tomorrow, use and alternate means of transportation until you can.

Britt

Britt
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Got it to an independent shop and they found a failed valve cover gasket. It is dripping oil onto the manifold. They looked for the part and no one has any including the surrounding dealers and it is on factory backorder. There must be a run on them now which leads me to wonder--- Is it possible there is a recall or service advisory on this. If there is a recall I will drive the distance to the dealer but if not I will let the independent shop work on it.

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Got it to an independent shop and they found a failed valve cover gasket. It is dripping oil onto the manifold. They looked for the part and no one has any including the surrounding dealers and it is on factory backorder. There must be a run on them now which leads me to wonder--- Is it possible there is a recall or service advisory on this. If there is a recall I will drive the distance to the dealer but if not I will let the independent shop work on it.

Hmm I suspected this in my first post. I highly doubt that there is a recall on this. This is a seal, they go bad, it COULD be that it is NOT a common part and that is why you can't find it. Common parts are always in based on my discussions with the parts counter (like the coolant tanks, they are always in....)..

Glad you figured it out, see how oil burning can smell like an exhaust smell?

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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