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hydrogen sulfide "rotten egg" odor
'98 LE, 4cyl, 38K miles
I bought the car used, and have had intermittent hydrogen sulfide odor from the exhaust sine I have been driving it. Performance and mileage are good. I now have new platinum plugs which were installed by a shop in a failed attempt/ripoff to solve the problem. It is still in emissions warranty, I have since learned.
The Toyota shop sent it right back and said the problem is 87 octane gas, and that it is common in Toyotas. I should burn higher octane. They did no checking at all. They said to bring it back if changing gas doesn't help. I have researched and found that sulfur content of gas, which is not tied to octane, could play a part. I have also learned that the gas in this area at this time has 85ppm sulfur, which is pretty low. Changing gas has not helped, but I have purged a lot of the odor out by accelerating up hills.
I want to have this remedied under the emissions warranty, and am looking for advice on what to ask them to do or look for. I think it may be the O2 sensor and over-fueling. If all engine checks are in spec, should I press them to install a new converter?
Is Toyota supplying the exact same converter, from the same vendor, or a better one than the original?
Is this really a common problem on Toyotas?
If I get no satisfaction from Toyota, would an aftermarket converter such as Catco brand be more likely to solve the problem than the Toyota one?
Is this likely a faulty converter or engine or fueling maladjustment. A chemist at the Citgo refinery said that blaming in on the gas is just a lie, but I can't figure out why the dealership would blame the gas when they had an opportunity to do warranty work and send in a claim for payment.
Any experience or advice would be appreciated.
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