2001 Subaru Outback: exhaust smell out of vent system

I've got a 2001 Outback wagon, manual. Here's my problem:

When I'm stopped and don't have 'air recycle' on, the air the comes
out of the vents smells like exhaust. It's really hard to breathe,
and could be dangerous? When I put recycle on, it goes away. When I
put AC on, the problem is mitigated a bit, but it's still detectable.
Keep in mind this only happens while I'm stopped. Once I get going
(>5mph), it goes away.

It seems to me like the vent system is picking up stray exhaust, and
when I get moving there's enough airflow to blow the stray exhaust
away. When I put it on recycle, it doesn't take air from the outside,
and on AC it's filtering it more(?). There are no obvious leaks in
the engine compartment, and it looks like the air intake is right in
front of the engine, near the opening for the hood. That may be the
intake for the engine though, there are other intakes near the
windshield.

Any ideas as to how to solve this?

PS: I've had it into the dealer multiple times (while it was still
under warranty) and they claim to not be able to smell it! I've also
had the engine steam cleaned thinking that there was oil somewhere,
but it didn't work.

Thanks,
H

i had the same problem too on my 93 hyundai, its cuz i had a hole the size
of a coaster in the front downpipe,
is the car really really loud? alex
"halvey" > wrote in message
m...
> I've got a 2001 Outback wagon, manual. Here's my problem:
>
> When I'm stopped and don't have 'air recycle' on, the air the comes
> out of the vents smells like exhaust. It's really hard to breathe,
> and could be dangerous? When I put recycle on, it goes away. When I
> put AC on, the problem is mitigated a bit, but it's still detectable.
> Keep in mind this only happens while I'm stopped. Once I get going
> (>5mph), it goes away.
>
> It seems to me like the vent system is picking up stray exhaust, and
> when I get moving there's enough airflow to blow the stray exhaust
> away. When I put it on recycle, it doesn't take air from the outside,
> and on AC it's filtering it more(?). There are no obvious leaks in
> the engine compartment, and it looks like the air intake is right in
> front of the engine, near the opening for the hood. That may be the
> intake for the engine though, there are other intakes near the
> windshield.
>
> Any ideas as to how to solve this?
>
> PS: I've had it into the dealer multiple times (while it was still
> under warranty) and they claim to not be able to smell it! I've also
> had the engine steam cleaned thinking that there was oil somewhere,
> but it didn't work.
>
> Thanks,
> H