Catalytic Converter Smell

[nmsail]

I recently purchased an 03' T4R, and had heard about problems with the cat. converter and generating a nasty sulfer smell. A friend of mine who owns an 04 said that Toyota replaced it for free, but that was several years ago. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Mine only stinks up when I have the back window down and accelerate moderate/heavy on the highway.

The carfax had 4 owners shown, so i'm figuring none of them had it fixed and that is why I got a pretty good deal on it. I was just wondering if anyone has experience with this issue. I was thinking of trying to get in touch with Toyota usa to see about it, but figured I might need to either deal with it or get my own replacement since the vehicle is an 03' w/ 87k.

any ideas...

 

[Will_4R]

There is TSB on it (see sticky at top of this forum). Since you are out of warrenty, I doubt they will do it for free, but you can always try. Did you get it from a dealer by any change? Maybe the replacement part can be found from a junk yard.

 

[sr1982]

I recently purchased an 03' T4R, and had heard about problems with the cat. converter and generating a nasty sulfer smell. A friend of mine who owns an 04 said that Toyota replaced it for free, but that was several years ago. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Mine only stinks up when I have the back window down and accelerate moderate/heavy on the highway.

The carfax had 4 owners shown, so i'm figuring none of them had it fixed and that is why I got a pretty good deal on it. I was just wondering if anyone has experience with this issue. I was thinking of trying to get in touch with Toyota usa to see about it, but figured I might need to either deal with it or get my own replacement since the vehicle is an 03' w/ 87k.

any ideas...

I just purchased a 2007 SE5 a week ago. I noticed that smell as well and just figured it was some old truck or something around me. It smells like rotten eggs right?

Mine is a 2007 with 50,000 miles on it. Wonder if I can get this fixed under warranty.

 

[810moto]

some say that re-routing the exhaust out to the side will get rid of the smell or atleast send it else where. Don't know if the dealer will replace the cat or not, it would be great to find out because I have 83000 on mine and only 17000 left before the repairs come out of my pocket.

 

[BROOKLYN]

i had the tsb done THREE TIMES (last time was oct 2009) still get that rotten egg smell, i learned to deal with it. i dont open my rear window.

 

[jpless]

I got this done a few months after I bought my 06 last summer. They ended up only replacing one of them and they never put the heat shield back on. I was going to go have them do it again since it's getting warm and I like having my back window open.

 

[810moto]

i had the tsb done THREE TIMES (last time was oct 2009) still get that rotten egg smell, i learned to deal with it. i dont open my rear window.

do you have a link to the TSB by chance??

 

[BROOKLYN]

do you have a link to the TSB by chance??

i used to but not no. the parts are very expensive so if you cant warrenty them don't bother.

 

[ofcbarbrady]

I had the TSB done also.........and then put the Borla dual exhaust on. No more crappy egg smell!! I believe it was a very minor fix.........but hopefully your dealer won't try and drain your pockets for the fix.

 

[nmsail]

The back window is awesome to open up though. I'm going to make a call and check it out. My vehicle was a cert. pre-owned and I have the warrenty card from the last owner that says good till 4/3/10 or 100k so I've got a week to find out. I'll let you know how it goes. Otherwise when I decide to upgrade the muffler I'll have to re-route the exhaust out the side. That was a good idea.

Thanks

The TSB is like page 5, pretty easy to find.

 

[nmsail]

The certified used warrenty was not transferable to new owners. Looks like I'm just gonna deal with it.

 

[TalonTsi13]

Tsb

I had the TSB done... not worth the trouble.... came back a month or so later. Do not worry about it.

The TSB says 80,000 miles or 96 months which ever comes first. IF you want the TSB for some reason I have it in PDF form. Just PM and I will get it to you.

 

[Mtn.Rush]

I also had the TSB done, and it still stinks. Dont even bother, if your rear window is open while you drive just dont mash the gas and you wont get the smell. I am not doing the TSB again, and I LOVE driving with the rear window down, just going to live with it.

 

[Acidmeld]

Try going to a different gas station. The smell is directly related to the amount of sulfur in the fuel. Higher quality fuel= less sulfur= no more stink. It worked after i put the new cats on my 07 SE.

 

[RIrunner]

getting mine done for free under the tsb..hey its free so why not

 

[toto]

The reason not to do it is if the dealer doesn't put it back together properly. Reference the post above about the missing heat shield, or I remember another thread a long time a go where someone had MAJOR problems because the job wasn't done right.

I have also noticed that the gas formula has something to do with it.

BTW, if you're smelling the exhaust inside the truck, then carbon monoxide is also getting inside the truck. Personally, I'd think twice about driving with the rear window open. At least make sure other windows are open as well.