Strange smell

[Silver09]

Every now and then I smell a sulfur/rotten eggs type of odour while driving in my car and no, it's not coming from me!

I thought maybe it's engine oil burning but it's not quite that kind of smell. At least not the smell I associate with that condition. Unless 0w20 engine oil smells different than 5w30.
I've checked my engine oil level a few times and it doesn't appear to be down.

I've smelled this odour after driving at highway speeds for a short period of time on different occasions but strangley enough, I smell it most often when i'm backing up.
I'm moving at a low speed when backing up.
The smell does go away after a little bit of time.

I passed(no pun intended) this smell off at first as part of the new car break in process but now I'm wondering if that's what it is as the car is over 4 months old and has a little over 5000k's on it.

Has anyone had the same experience or have any suggestions as to what might be causing the smell?
I drive an automatic S.

[LeanBurn]

Have you switched gasoline brands and still had the smell follow?

[straightclownin35]

i drive an auto S and i had a very weird smell when i first got my car. it was my antifreeze supposedly. thats what the dealer said...i stuck my head under the hood w the car on idle and smelled around the radiator hoses and it smelled like what i was smelling. i think its the plastic getting hot and smelling for the first few thousand miles...anyway my smell went away after about a month..

[Impelled]

Most all get it from time to time....something about the catalytic converter burning dirty or unspent fuel. At least that's the word on the street. I usually get it when de-accellerating from a fast start

[PhatRoyale]

yep, it's the catalytic converter... the same usually happens on mine when i'm driving during a cold day

it's normal don't worry

[qwertytheasdf]

i have the same problem. but coolant's full, oil level is full, i wouldnt worry about it.

[REN69]

Especially when cold, I swear my car stinks more in the winter than summer... summer I usually get more of a gassy smell, like a small fuel leak almost.

[DreDay]

I went through this exact same thing. I noticed a similar smell. Especially the eggy aspect of it.

I also saw that you mentioned that the smell comes during cold days. I'm assuming that it was also snowing during that time frame and there was a bunch of Magnesium Chloride (I think this is typically the salt that cities use to melt the ice on the roads). I've also heard that they may use a mixture of Calcuim Chloride with some type of sand involved.

Anyhow, you may have some salt smelling issues...

Nasty.

[Honda city]

The Honda Civic I had in 1992 smelled like sulfer often when it was new, the last 2 cars I had did not smell at all. I have not detected any strange smells from the Corolla I have now. I suspect that it is the unburned gas in the catalytic converter. As the car ages the platimum pellets get coated with soot and carbon. It will start to work better at burning the unused fuel. I suspect the smell will go away eventualy.

[buddy97]

i just saw the original willie wonka last night, so my vote issome oompa loompa's have been cooking breakfast in your tailpipe.

[Silver09]

Originally Posted by buddy97

i just saw the original willie wonka last night, so my vote issome oompa loompa's have been cooking breakfast in your tailpipe.

Ahhh, that's what I suspected all along!

It appears that the catalytic converter is the prime suspect for the cause of the smell.

Didn't consider that as I've had three previous vehicles over the years and this is the first time I've noticed this odour problem.

Thanks for the replies.

[bimmerman86]

Has anyone gotten a humidity-like smell when turning on the A/C?

[distant]

the toyota dealers told me the bad smell is related to the quality of gas, getting shell premium for awhile should fix the odour problem. from what you all have said, this seems to be a problem for corollas in places that snow

[bimmerman86]

actually, I live in Miami, FL. Not much snow here. I seriously doubt its about gas. The smell of humidity actually comes after the A/C is shut off.

[distant]

sorry, i was referring to the bad egg odour this thread was titled for. i have yet to experience any sort of humidity since its generally dry and anything thats left out gets frozen