Now that it is getting to be cold out I am warming my car up in the mornings and before I head home from work. When I turn the heater on and just let the car sit idling it always smells very strongly of gas/exhaust in the inside of the acr I have to drive with the windows open for a minute (thus defeating the purpose) to get rid of it. The only plus side is a few seconds of artificial utopia, j/k :P

Any idea?

 

for me its a HUGE leak at the downpipe vband!
open the hood and see if you can hear a leak

 

check if you smell gas under the hood while idling and if you smell it under boost. if so search on fuel smell to see all the people who have had to replace a leaky fuel pulsation dampener.

 

You may also want to check the check valve on the brake booster line (depending on whether you've had the recall done, it may be on the driver or passenger side). If it sticks open, fuel vapor gets into the booster and leaks inside the car - a lot of people have reported that replacing the check valve solves this problem.