I've had an ongoing problem and wonder if anyone can offer suggestions or has experienced anything similar. A few months ago, I began getting a smoke smell in the passenger compartment of my 2002 Passat whenever I ran the heat or AC. The repair place said I had an oil leak and also needed a new radiator cap. They repaired both and charged me $700. The smell went away but returned to a much lesser extent a week or so later. I left the car in again and they repaired it for free. I believe they said something about "a burnoff still being there". Whatever they did failed to solve the problem again. When I left it in the third time, they basically said "we know it's there, we can smell it, but we don't know where it's coming from or how to repair it."

So the problem persists. It is worse when the car has been sitting or a day or two, and usually only persists for the first 10 minutes or so of driving. Not a big problem, but an annoying one. I'd like to figure out what's going on - any ideas?

 

HI , THIS SOUNDS LIKE A HEATERCORE PROBLEM. FIRST GET IT CHECKED OUT.