[swaedo]

Hey guys! Proud new owner of a white EX. Something I noticed when test driving two of these were that it seems like there is a certain level of exhaust smell that can come into the cabin from the hood as rare whiffs.. and was wondering anyone else recall experiencing that as well or if I should be concerned and somehow got unlucky with those 2 cars. Didn't seem like an issue to the car salesmen, but they obviously have incentives to keep a tight lip for a sale

 

[Diversion]

Its possible the dealer is using some kind of auto-shine crap on the engine to make it look prettier and it's burning off from the heat during the test drive. Otherwise, I've test driven 3 and now own 1 and none of them had any sort of smell.. Let alone that the engine doesn't run but maybe 50% or less of the time when you drive these on a normal city-drive day.

 

[insightfully]

I haven't noticed an 'exhaust' smell. I've (maybe) noticed a 'warm plastic' smell when I push the car hard, but any order is pretty rare and/or unnoticeable. As mentioned above, the gas engine doesn't run full time... and it'd be pretty rare/unusual (though I guess possible?) that each car you've driven has an actual exhaust or oil leak already.

If you're concerned about whether it's actual exhaust fumes in the cabin, you could test levels using a carbon monoxide detector. Or if the smell is more like gas (vs exhaust), check that the fuel cap is tightly installed.

 

[Wifey'sInsight]

Only ever noticed a "smell" on long 7-10% grade declines, that resulted in the engine braking, and actual friction brake application. It's not often that I encounter this, so I attribute the smell to the brakes actually being used.

It's actually very common with test drives to smell things to that affect, everything is seating, often over lubricated, and the catalytic converter hasn't gotten a chance to get to operating temperature. Most people just think it's part of that "new car smell", and they aren't wrong. Many components have to go through many heat cycles to actually work they way they are designed.

 

[andrew28]

Maybe it's coming from other cars? That's like the only time I smell fumes from my Insight.

 

[pasei]

I have a Formaldehyde and VOC air detector. So far the air is clean in the cabin. One time the VOC went up a bit but nothing too crazy. For reference, it used to get maxed out in my 12 year old Mazda. Pretty sure the EVAP system was leaking. If you are concerned you can buy this detector on Amazon to be sure and show it to the dealer.

 

[insightfully]

Still no exhaust smell on my side after a few more months of driving. But I do get an occasional "warmed electrics" smell at the height of passive heating (climate control / fan turned off in cabin). Not sure what specific mechanism triggers it, but notice it gets a bit warmer in cabin when the "electrics" smell happens.

 

[pasei]

I do get a small 'burnt' smell when I accelerate to get up to speed on the highway, even though I'm very gentle. The engine has only 200 miles so I assume it's normal. Actually, when I test drove another Insight, it smelled quite bad at the end. I wasn't gentle back then...

 

[andrew28]

I have a Formaldehyde and VOC air detector. So far the air is clean in the cabin. One time the VOC went up a bit but nothing too crazy. For reference, it used to get maxed out in my 12 year old Mazda. Pretty sure the EVAP system was leaking. If you are concerned you can buy this detector on Amazon to be sure and show it to the dealer.

Do you have a link for the air quality detector? I'm curious now about my own Insight even though I don't smell anything out of the ordinary.

 

[insightfully]

I do get a small 'burnt' smell when I accelerate to get up to speed on the highway, even though I'm very gentle. The engine has only 200 miles so I assume it's normal. Actually, when I test drove another Insight, it smelled quite bad at the end. I wasn't gentle back then...

I think the 'burnt' smell is part of normal break-in (semi-ironic, since break-in is something you'd prefer to accelerate?). @Wifey'sInsight mentions above a few things it could be while things are seating, like over lubrication and multiple heat cycles to burn off. Would make sense that acceleration and high engine demand triggers one of those heat cycles.

 

[pasei]

Do you have a link for the air quality detector? I'm curious now about my own Insight even though I don't smell anything out of the ordinary.

It's a little pricey but definitely worth it IMO. I realized how bad cooking is...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074FTVHFN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[pasei]

Hey guys! Proud new owner of a white EX. Something I noticed when test driving two of these were that it seems like there is a certain level of exhaust smell that can come into the cabin from the hood as rare whiffs.. and was wondering anyone else recall experiencing that as well or if I should be concerned and somehow got unlucky with those 2 cars. Didn't seem like an issue to the car salesmen, but they obviously have incentives to keep a tight lip for a sale

Any update?

 

[swaedo]

Never smelled it again. Must've been a weird breaking-in-the-engine side effect or something