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Exhaust fumes/smell in cabin I-CTDI

alnug

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just thought i would let everyone know of a possible fault with high mileage cdti's

we have had several incidents of reported exhaust smells in cabin, we have traced this to cracked exhaust manifolds this can be quite difficult to see but with a mirror you can see a soot mark on the back of the cylinder head on removal of the manifold heatshield one or several cracks can be seen

tends to occur with accords that have done approx 75k miles plus

may be worth checking as normal warrenty expires at 90k and can be a costly repair!!

[edit Honda have extended the warranty on this fault so if it occurs to you may well be worth checking with the dealer]
 
Just to provide further clarification on this matter - if you have a 7th gen Accord i-CTDI, pre facelift or facelift and are experiencing fumes in the cabin then have this checked at your nearest Honda dealership asap.

You can possibly diagnose yourself too if you lift the bonnet, start the engine and smell for fumes at the back of the engine toward the bulkhead (near the brake fluid reservoir). Your engine may also sound leaky/tappety if the crack is bad.

If it is cracked, and it complies with Honda's 7 year or less than 125k mile warranty conditions - they will replace it Free Of Charge, even without service history.

The replacement part is supposedly a revised design. The old manifold is a two part cast which is welded in the middle - and it's the welds that crack. The revised design is a single cast design.

Hope that helps - this is a very common issue.
 
To clarify on service history. Manifold will be replaced only if your car got FSH or been serviced with Honda approved parts. From what I have been told by dealer, claim is sent to honda UK for approval. They have the right to reject the claim if car hasnt been properly serviced. My accord was missing the last service as I bought the parts from Honda and did it myself. Luckly for me they agreed to fix it free of charge. I would advice to keep all receipts from Honda if you DIY.
That my two pence worth of experience :)
dan
 
lads
I do not have service history,but manifold been changed anyway by Honda.Since then smell gone and cabin become much fresher
 
To clarify on service history. Manifold will be replaced only if your car got FSH or been serviced with Honda approved parts. That my two pence worth of experience :blink:
dan


Sorry dan but thats wrong and very bad of the dealer to state this.

Any car that is under 7 years old or under 125k miles will be granted this replacement.
My car does not have FHSH but i still got my car fixed with no quibbles
 
Dan - I think that policy varies from dealer to dealer (they're just trying to protect themselves) but Adam is right.. this is a Health and Safety issue, and if you come across a difficult dealer, just contact Honda GB and politely explain it falls within the 7 year/125k guidelines and they should be honouring this.

It has no bearing on service history - the fault occurs as a result of faulty part manufacturing.
 
i should get mine checked, when it goes in to get its vsa module fixed....
 
because some dealers suck :lol:

do you have another forum member local to you ?

the other thing to do is stick your head just behind the engine on the drivers side ( get your nose right in the gap) and see if you can smell exhaust fumes. I basically had to force my local honda mechanics head down there before he promptly choked and agreed it was leaking!
 
it's a sad but true fact that not all dealers are createed equal..it's a shame that you live so far away from our praised dealership :lol:
 
Well, what a result! Had the car and love it but had the dreaded smell in the car as described. I rang Honda in Salisbury (August Motors, Churchfield Rd) who rang me back and said Bring it on down!

So booked in for next week and more importantly before we go on hols to France.

So big thankyou to you guys for sorting this out and publishing the info on this site :D B)

Crookie
 
Good stuff mate, get it fixed for sure before you take a road trip. The car will feel all the better for it - you're losing power if it's leaking.
 
I had mine replaced last year. I knew mine was gone as I had an advisory note on my MOT saying there was a leak in the front of the exhaust so if you get an advisory like this then definitely take it as a sign to get your manifold checked out.

Simon
 
Had mine replaced too, after seeing postings in an old accord forum. First thing i did was check for fumes, at 102k it was in the fail zone! Honda replaced it no question or hastle.
 
Guys I am getting a bad feeling that my manifold may have started to crack. Fitted the new frequency solenoid valve about 20 mins ago and had disconnected the ecu fuse then reconnected it like someone suggested. Then ran the car on tickover for about 5 mins and it smelt pretty bad in the cabin of fumes. :)

How bigger job is it to diagnose? I know my car is being plugged in at the HH meet to see if it comes up with any faults due to my hessitation issues, but do you think someone be able to diagnose the manifold issue with a quick look at the meet as well? If so and it has gone, I may have to get it booked in HH one day in Nov as I aint to keen on my local dealer!

:p
 
Nick, the manifold is right behind the block and is easy to diagnose yourself. Just start the engine and have a good sniff between the bulkhead and rear of the block (just between the brake and clutch fluid reservoirs).

If you smell fumes, it's a gonner.
 
Bit worried about mine as of the weekend - will be investigating on Saturday. When stationary for any period I do get a whiff in the cabin - it is fine when moving though.
 
Same here Dan. Cant smell it when moving. Will give it a go tomorrow Fahad, but I fear the worst :(
 
How much is a new manifold out of warranty I wonder? Will run a search...

CARP - Lings says £352 - I hope it is only an hour or so labour?
 
What mileage has yours done then Dan?
 
Coming up to 143K... wondering about any belt and chains now too...
 
:( bummer!
 
Tell me about it... just had the great news from my accountant demolished by some bad news from the same accountant, so could do without any extra expense - wanna be spending my hard earn cash on fun things.. and CO poisoning is not a fun thing :(.
 
Guys - A huge thanks. It hasn't exactly been fresh in my Tourer CDTi cabin for a couple of years, but put it down to vans and old oil burners on the slow drive into Cardiff each morning and eve. Decided to use the advice on the forum, head under bonnet, big inhalahation of exhaust gas - hmmm not good. Dropped the car in to Honda dealer in Cardiff Monday 8am, was ready lunchtime Tuesday (possibly slightly accelerated by the fact that one of the Honda techs managed to snap off the radiator expansion tank ;) - what was he doing at the front anyway?). The exhaust manifold was completely mullered. Got the service tech to show me - about half of the weld that runs around the entire lip of the manifold showed signs of leakage plus a clear 2cm crack in casting. And it's fixed the smoky engine problem that I've had for the past 3 years (despite Honda techs repeatedly telling me nothing wrong at every service!). Tourer has done 106K and is 6.5 years old. My advice is don't hesitate to check for fumes under the bonnet (but don't take too big a breath) :lol:

If you want a laugh, under warranty, I've now had a new engine block, engine ***embly, two turbos, EGR, boot motor and now exhaust manifold - that's a lot of money - thankfully not mine :lol: . I don't think there's anything else I can have under warranty!!!

Thanks again.

Phil
 
Hell's teeth Phil that is a lot of warranty work - what do you use? red Diesel and chip oil? ;)

Think a call to HH in the morning warning them of a possible manifold add on...:lol:.
 
That is a fair bit Phil!!!

Well I will hopefully get it confirmed either way at the HH meet, then try and book mine in at HH for the work if it needs it. Dont really trust any other dealer now.
 
one of the Honda techs managed to snap off the radiator expansion tank :lol: - what was he doing at the front anyway?)

Phil they need to drain the coolant when doing the manifold so that's probably got something to do with it.
 
Not looking good for my manifold - any ideas how long it takes to change? Need to run a test in the daylight and possibly with a CO detector, but I got a whiff of fumes form the engine bay this evening.

Would a cracked manifold cause extra smoking?

At 142K I doubt I will get any joy from Honda with regards the warranty :p Man I am gutted! Could really do without this right now.
 
Would a cracked manifold cause extra smoking?
Definitely did in my case. Black smoke used to billow out at about 3000RPM, and a fairly constant haze even at low revs (visible when driving in the dark with a car behind with it's lights on). The haze has completely disappeared although I managed to get a small cloud of smoke out at about 4500RPM. Would the drop in pressure with a cracked exhaust manifold result in overfueling? Would be really interested if someone could explain.
 
Phil they need to drain the coolant when doing the manifold so that's probably got something to do with it.
Thanks F6HAD - I'll check with them exactly what they did. The impression their service manager gave me was that they just topped up the new expansion tank. Unfortunately there was no paperwork with a breakdown of the parts/fluid as it was a warranty job, so don't know whether they did a complete drain - but it sounds like they should have.
 
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