Gas Recirculation Valve (egr Valve) problems of the 2013 Ford Explorer

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 75 mph, the contact started to smell an abnormal gasoline and exhaust odor inside the vehicle. The contact started to feel a burning sensation in her eyes and chest. Additionally, the contact developed a headache and rolled down the windows, turned off the air conditioner to eliminate the odor inside the vehicle. The contact decided to drive back to the residence because of the fumes. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vacuum pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The local dealer was contacted to have the vehicle diagnosed a second time however, the contact was informed that there was an out of pocket cost for the inspection. The contact declined the inspection due to the cost. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,500.

Car has auxiliary a/c system and cabin will fill with exhaust smell after merging into traffic. This is to say after heavy acceleration and then backing off to traffic speed you can smell exhaust in the car and when I do I open a back window to get rid of the odor. Have personally gotten headaches after longer drives and now suspect exhaust. A/c settings are in recirculation with the auxiliary system on also. Dealership had a tech ride with me and we went for a drive in the car, he did not smell the exhaust to the same degree as I did but said there was a TSB to seal the rear area of the car and the rear valance would have to be taken off. (rather long job) dealership told me it would cost about $669 and is not covered by my extended warranty or by a safety recall. This is something I think the manufacture should take care of since it is a safety issue.