MAXIE06SE

rotten egg smell in and out of car , the dealer said this is "normal". How can it be? I have 5k miles on the car...
It does not happen all the time.. it seems latly when i go fast and slow down.

mrose120

My company car I drove back in the day had a bad rotten egg smell once. It lasted almost a week and they took it in for inspection and it was somehow related to the battery. I dont know how or why but that is what they said was producing the odor.

spoon787

I have found that to be commng from the catalytic converter in previous cars. i think its because the car is still somewhat new at 5k. and gets very high temps from the exhaust at high rpms under a load.

myer84

iTrader: (1)

IMO u should check under the hood when u get the smell. I would chck the battery cause sometimes the battery gives off a bad smell like rotten eggs, I dont recall anything else givin off that smell.

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

From what I have read, this is indeed a common issue with the Max's. Mine does it as well and I have 6,800 miles on it. I believe that in time it fades. As of now, I don't smell it all the time when I jump on the throttle....it should fade with time.....Enjoy your new car!

jsmithsole

iTrader: (5)

Mine did that too and I simply removed the rotten eggs from inside the car...

But seriously that does suck, my car never had that problem, good luck guys!

dla

First of all read through all the threads. This is well discussed. The smell is coming from your exhaust. There is sulfur in gasoline and when burned it creates sulfur dioxide which smell exactly like a rotten egg. You will notice it the most after heavy acceleration. This happens on all cars, but some more noticeable than others. States have different requirements as to the maximum amount of sulfur that can be contained in gasoline, the higher the content the more likely you will lay a rotten egg.

MAXIE06SE

So does anyone KNOW what the fix it? so i can tell the dealer to fix it?
Thanks

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

^^^ Read the first post of this thread???????????????????

MAXIMA-GHOST

iTrader: (3)

Ok, Nismo, found the thread..thanks....

I am seriously concerned about this... eLMo, are you still around, and are you still having the same problem... I will be taking my car in for a serious check up, but i really hate dealerships because they really do not like to fix anything under warrenty. I hate stealerships, BAD.... If i drop my car up there, and they say they cannot find the problem, i am going to explode.. I had a similiar thing done to me by Ford, and they NEVER touched my car, just got in turned the ignition, reved it, and got out, left it there for the rest of the day, and then called me right before closing (forgot about it being there), and siad there was no problem... YEAH!! MOTHERF'ers.. My friend worked in the dealer dept., and checked on it throughout the day.. They lied.... I really hope if i take it in, they will be able to fix my problem...

So eLMo, or anyone else, what do i need to ask, tell them when i get there.. Is there an actually TSB, or something i can say to spark an investigation... Please help me, i need this to be looked at.. I really dont want this to hurt my car after 60,000 miles, and find there is nothing they can do unless i have mad cash to repair it... Thanks...

jreilly04

iTrader: (1)

When i put my new exaust on my car smelt like eggs for a day of 2, but now its fine, Mayby some little animal crawled into your exaust n dies or something, like a skunk. hehe =)

stepneybluebell

a person i carpooled with had a simular problem with his 05 SE

MAXIMA-GHOST

iTrader: (3)

well guys my car is in the shop now, and hopfully they can spot it too.. it had to stay overnight... Wish me luck.... LAter,,,

MAXIMA-GHOST

iTrader: (3)

Well guys got her back after some altercation with the shop manager about MY CUT ALARM SYSTEM!! WTF!!! I was really pissed about it, and called Nissan Corp. about it.. i dont care about the cost, i am covered, it was the principle of it.. He was telling me that i couldnt prove it happened there in their shop, and what did i want from him!! What a MotherF'er.. Anyways, after i got my car back, and a trans fluid switch-out they said the problem (WITH THE SMELL) is the fuel i am using, and nothing is wrong with it.. took it through some tests, and injectors were clean and o-rings were ok.. What they did was do a RELEARN on my ECU and reset something else i cannot recall, bt other than that we are stuck with the smell. I gunned it and didnt smell it after i left, so we will see if it stays there or it has resolved somewhat... It is just embarassing, when i step on it and it smells like someone took an elephant crap all over the place.. so i know those that i pass smell it too, and say DAMN was that, that MAXIMA that just went past.. ARG!! Oh, well.. LAter guys and i will keep you updated over the next few weeks of the progress....Other than that good luck with your smells... LAter...

coobie

We have the white smoke issue and the rotten egg smell at full throttle also.Talked to service manager yesterday,he tells me this is not normal.On a side note,my stock grill has the fake crome starting to flake off,dealer says he will have to take pictures and send them to Nissan for approval of grill replacement.My 2005 Max has only 8,500 miles on the OD,Hope things get a little better as we love the car.coobie

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

Wow, some dealerships ARE really worse than others. As for your grille, my dealership replaced my grille without a question.

I suggest everyone call in to Nissan to make a report about the smell if it is that strong and consistent. If the dealer mentions gas, tell them you have tried (name atleast 2 high name brands) and ask what they suggest?

Personally, I have only noticed this about 3-5 times. And when I did, the temp was almost at normal.

Coobie's dealer sounds promising. I hope it has only been bad batches of gas, but seems very unlikely.

Sad to see eLMo's fix did not sitick. any updates?

UK-nissan

The deal with the bad egg smell is that if the engine is not bang on stoichiometric and running just a little too rich then all the sulphur containing organics accumulate on the surface of the palladium in the catalyst until the engine flips to lean briefly, when it can suddenly release the previously accumulated sulphur in a puff of rotten egg smell. Just remember that natural gas delivered for cooking has 1 part per BILLION of mercaptan and that smells quite stongly, so it doesnt take much quantity to be noticable.

mike

Mr. Blue Sky

iTrader: (1)

stoichiometric? ........

RHMax

It must be the English thing. IF we can't find a fix, pretty soon the oil companies will fix it for us when they lower the amount of sulfer in our petrol, I mean gas.

MAXIMA-GHOST

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, its back... I really think this is BS.. Everytime i nail it, or it i run over 85 itll start smelling.. Sometimes its constant.. Plus right now, after what my dealer did to me, i really dont belive they did anything to my car.. And on top of that, i wonder if they even changed my trans fluid, and just charged me instead. Corporate hasnt called me back about the cut alarm system, but they did give me a Case #... i will check monday.. Now i have to find a Nissan Dealer near me.. I went to the one in Lewisville (Bankston Nissan).. Really, really pissed at how they treated me..

UK-nissan

Whats wrong with using google if you dont know the word??
Its the theoretical 14.63 for petrol/gasoline that should give complete combustion with no oxygen or fuel left over.

Mike

magicmattkelly

I thought Nissan recommended 91 Octane or higher gas for these Maximas. My 04 SE has a sticker right on the fuel door that says so. How many members are running mid-grade or lower? I thought that was a big no-no.

vexun1337

im having the same smell problem in my 2000 i30 which is basicly a maxima so dont kick me out lol.. anyway i have 124k miles this car has been babied and it recently started happening at like 110k miles. I drive my car alot so that was about 6 months ago, my car also feels slower and my exhaust every once in awhile makes a weird deisal like sound when I accelerate.. Im kind of broke at the moment because i just moved out on my own and started school so I can't really afford to fix anything soon w/ out saving my money for awhile.. Im thinking of putting a free flow cat on there.. anyone think its just the catelytic converter? or what? im thinking its that but i dont want to end up spending a bunch of money to change it and have the same problem because that kind of money is hard to save for me i got mad bills and college is not cheap. Thank you.

Pronto

I've never noticed the smell with my car. I use Sunoco 93. I have noticed the white smoke from the exhaust and the first time I thought OH ****, A HEAD GASKET but nope, coolant is fine and temp is steady. Occasionally get a musty smell from door when the window is down. If the window is down for a while the smell goes away. I should check the weep holes to make sure they are clear.

vexun1337

I honestly don't know what to do about my car sometimes when i take it up to higher rpms then 3000 it smells like sulfer other times it smells like.. i cant even explain the smell when it gets worse then the smell of sulfer it smells like jet fuel exhaust or something like that.... i dont know what to do im saving every extra dollar i have for repairs.. should i take it into a shop? or what? ive tried every type of fuel now i just stick with 85 octane i was reading in the manual that if u live in utah you can use 85 octane and when i open the gas filler thing it says premium unleaded recommended for max performance. Im guessing its my catelytic converter but ive also read about people replacing theirs and the problem still existing. any feedback?

BFB

2006 Max. I bought it with 18,000 miles, now has 28,000 miles. I have run premium gas through it since I bought it.

Problem is, when driving with the sunroof open, after moderate acceleration, the cabin fills with a noxious rotten egg/sulfery smell.

Been to the stealership not long after purchased and told them about it. They of course drove it and came back "sorry, we can't duplicate the problem". After they saw how pissed I was, they let me take a tech for a ride. Yup, not 3- miles later he says..."man, that does smell". Took him back and he told the service manager. They checked it for error codes etc. found nothing. Basically said they couldn't do anything.

Fast forward to today, took it in for another oil change and to complain about smell (3rd time). They basically told me that they won't/can't do anyhting til the car falshes a code or check engine light comes on telling them where to look.

I'm going to an independant, reputable shop later this week for their opinion. I will not tell them about trips to the stealership so as to get an honest opinion.

I think the catalytic converter is plugged with stuff from previous owner, maybe poor fuel, maybe all city driving, never been cleared out/floored etc.

Any thoughts?

BFB

gcxandrew

i get that smelll when i floor it hard for a while

Mack

iTrader: (1)

Typically when you smell rotten eggs that means the catalytic converter is going through it's "break-in" period. It's nothing and it should fade in a few weeks tops.

Fly Max

My car has been doing that for a while as well, i have been trying to find an answer to the problem myself. I used a fuel injector cleaner and it helped for about 4000 miles and then came back. I dont know what to tell you besides trying the fuel injctor cleaner.

Mack

iTrader: (1)

I also found this on a ASK search and it sounds fairly accurate.

"This can sometimes happen when trace elements of sulphur in petrol form minute quantities of hydrogen sulphide on the catalyst. This generally only occurs when there is a rapid change of engine speed and load. It is a phenomena of new units and should reduce with age. "

RHMax

The rotten egg or sulfur smell is because the A/F mixture is too rich, generally occurs during a quick accel or WOT. You can either find low sulfur gasoline, go higher octane, or get tuned.

madmik

iTrader: (1)

Had the same smell. Got a Y-pipe without a cat. No more smell and more power.

maximadave

iTrader: (10)

take it to the dealer if your Max is still under warranty.

lightonthehill

I first noticed 'the smell' a month or so after I bought my '04 SL new. It happens only when I accellerate very sharply. This has been ongoing for three and a half years, neither getting better nor worse. I normally accellerate smoothly rather than sharply, so I only get 'the smell' a dozen times a year or less.

It doesn't appear to have any effect on performance or gas mileage, so I'd rather keep the dealer's hands away from something they won't understand.

!PrjctMax!

iTrader: (38)

BFB

Well, been there three times so far. Like I said, they aren't touching it until it brings up a code to point them to what to fix.

I understand the gas/sulfur thing.

But really, if that were the problem, why in the heck doesn't every vehicle on the road smell like that after acceleration?

Mack

iTrader: (1)

A lot of them do. Most cars that I've owned have smelled like rotten eggs at one time or another. Much more noticeable in some though. I don't recall if you mentioned but you are running high test right?

BFB

Yeah, I'm running 93 octane.

I picked up a bottle of what is supposed to be some bad *** injector cleaner last night (it better be good at $15.00 a bottle!) I'll run that through and see if I can get some improvement, even if it is temporary.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

I suppose it may have something to do with a bad batch of gas here or there but,

my car has only ever had 93

have noticed the smell several times with different brands

still only happens if engine is coldish or almost at normal temp and i gun it.



I wonder if Ethanol has anything to do with it since it has become more common?
oh and high sulfur makes the most sense, but i've tried to only use Top Tier gas. Texaco (when it was around here) and Shell are the only Top Tier suppliers here. Been on Shell for a while, tho only noticed the smell faintly maybe twice.

cklamer

The smell is probably from your catalytic convertor since I have had the same smell in just about every car I have owned. I was told this many years ago by a mechanic.

Sometimes it is telling you that your Cat is not working the way it is supposed to and may be breaking down. Just have someone check it and make sure you have no rattles or leaks.

Yes it smells like someone just farted in your car.