mre1974

This morning on my commute to work (94 miles one way) I was getting a strong sulfur/rotten egg smell coming out my vents with the HVAC system was running. Pulled in and got gas and coffee, popped the hood, nothing on or in the vent cover screen at the top of the hood area where it pulls in the fresh air. Wasn't doing this when I drove her Friday so literally something changed/happened over the weekend. Any suggestions on things to check? The commute home is gonna STINK...

bobs77vet

usually its the car in front of you. i doubt its your car that you are smelling at speed.

'Shifter

If you're certain that it's your car, when the compressor goes, it doesn't smell great, more musty, but not sulphury.

mre1974

I left my windows open a bit to "vent" out the cabin so when I go out to lunch I'll see if the odor is still happening. It was very strange and distinctly a sulfur/rotten egg odor...not a musty smell. The AC was still blowing very cold and constant so I doubt that it is the compressor going out.

jcgunn

Rotten egg smell can also indicate that a cat is going bad. Do you have any codes?

mre1974

No Error Codes at the moment. I do have a set of Breathless Racing long tube headers running into the factory cats and H-pipe with a tune on it. I suppose 4 years of running like that might have 'aged'/clogged the cats a bit...I don't know. Maybe it's time to get some "off road" pipes to remove the kitties and free up some power and noise if that is the cause of the rotten egg smell.

narlee

Also possibly a battery issue.

whalepirot

HVAC "Recirc" is a good tool. The worst stinkers seem to be poorly maintained Asian cars.

Ronbo1786

Had a pickup that had the same odor after I jump started another vehicle. Ended up that the battery was the culprit.

tdogg21

Ironically, I noticed the same thing this morning when I pulled my car out. Like you, my AC was still strong and cold, so I don't think (and hope) it's not the compressor. I'm hard on batteries, so that could be a possibility. CATs going bad won't be fun, but give me an excuse to modify/replace/eliminate them. I'll be curious as to what you find.

friou

mre1974

Did not get it figured out yet. It still has that rotten egg/sulfur smell but not as strong as it was the other day. Still trying to figure it out.

mre1974

Still having the sulfur/rotten egg smell at hit and miss times. Was really annoying this morning for the last 5 or 6 miles of my 94 mile commute. Didn't matter if I had the HVAC on the 'fresh draw' or 're-circulation' setting...both modes car stunk.

I have a set of breathless racing long tube headers installed running into the factory cats and H-pipe. Starting to wonder if maybe the cats are clogged or on their last legs? Is there away to check the cats? If the cats are bad not sure what I'll do...replace or remove.

bigcypress

i THINK if the cats were clogged very much you would find your car lacking ''pep'' . 94 mile commute??? i don't drive that far in a month . . peace

bikeriderga

Make sure the battery is not leaking. Cats will definitely produce that type of odor as well.

mre1974

It's an optima red top...I inspected it and did not see any signs of leaking or gassing.

mre1974

I get an occasional stumble sometimes when driving but still plenty of 'pep'. Yes, 94 mile commute...one way...188 miles round trip.. 4-5 days a week. Doesn't that sound like fun?

the kid C6

I would pay attention to where you are when you get the smell. Are you driving near agriculture? Factories? New construction of any kind? Mining?

Clancy209

Catalytic converter probably going bad.

jcgunn

Did your tuner delete the O2 sensors? If so, that could mask a code which would be thrown from a bad cat.