Expert: Jesse Moser - 3/16/2002

Question
My car is starting to emit a strong sulfur (rotten egg) smell when it's running!  Do you have any idea what might be causing that?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer!

Answer
This is typically far too new of a vehicle for me to comment on, but it's also something that's very common regardless of the vehicle year.

What you are smelling is something called the catalytic convertor.  The purpose of the catalytic convertor is to remove harmful gasses that are normally produced by a gasoline engine when it runs.  I'm not sure exactly how they work, or why they produce various odd smells, but my guess is that an exhaust shop would tell you that it's normal.  I would recommend that you take it to Midas or another exhaust/muffler shop and tell then what it's doing to make sure that this smell is not a problem.  Many will examine the car at no charge.  A 2000 car, to me, shouldn't produce an odor already.

Hope this helps  :)