njtls

when ever i first start driving my car or after i drive it pretty hard...i start to smell something that smells like ass...smells like something burning with allittle sulfur and gas mixed in...what could it be?...i was thinking the cat was bad...car only has 8k miles tho

yield2s

ya look at your tranny fluid, If it's brown and stinks you found it.

njtls

you think the it'd be the fluid at 8k?...i'd check now but its late and cold..thanx

yield2s

the fluid wouldnt be the prob the tranny would be on it's last leg if the fluid is brown.

BTW if those are "city miles" 8k is = to about 15-20k of my open freeway miles.

njtls

damn i had no idea...those miles are mostly local like i nthe suburbs..but its still pretty stop and go alot...

fsttyms1

you wouldnt be able to smell your tranny fluid like that. if its a sulfur smell it has something to do with the emisions. most likely the cat

pianoman41

Driving a new car hard will heat up the cat pretty hot, causing that sulfer smell. It will get less over time as the chemicals wear off.

njtls

how long do you think it'll take so i can know if the cats the problem or not?

john32

well my car does it with 107,000 miles on it?

Vijay TL

Take it to the dealer, 8k miles is too little for the car to smell. I've got 85k on mine and now I notice a little smell...you're under warranty..so go and let them check it.

sc354

Well if you're driving the car hard, then I would assume you're being hard on the brakes too. I had this also. If you drive the car really hard, you are basically burning a glaze off the rotors, which make it smell like a burning smell. after a while of really hard driving, you will lose that burning smell, until of course you replace the rotors because of warping, then back at square 1.

Aydin

My car usually has a burning smell when i drive up hills. I live pretty high, so i normally smell the burning when i come home at night, no matter if i drive hard or not. No clue what the smell is from. Maybe you have the same issue has me.

crazym0nkey

I would think its the smell coming from you brakes... seeing as you drive your car hard your gonna be braking hard as well...... i get that wierd smell when i drive pretty hard but when i drive normal......no smells at all.......unless i fart

larryr20

What kind of gas are you putting in the car? I used to get this with my Integra and I switched gas and it went away. Just a thought....

njtls

you guys all make really good points...im thinking its something other then the brakes...cause i've smelt burning brake pads before...its not the smell....im thinkin gits somthing to do with either the exhaust or maybne the fuel system...cause my gas milage is pretty bad too..even when i try...i guess i'll ask the dealewr to look it over...not that they'll find anything....

also..if i have them check my cat or like throtlebodie...do you think they'll bother me about some exhasut work or my lack of intake resonator?

neil

Hi
I have that same burning smell on a 03 A-spec. I live up a steep climb so I put it down to that.I notice it more if it has been driven hard.I am not too worried about it.

2007AcuraRL

You are probably smelling sulfur burning out of your catalytic converter, but its very unlikely that its defective. Instead, try filling up your car with another brand of gas for the next few fillups and see if its better. My TL has that problem when the car is driven hard up a load, like a steep hill, and the smell is most noticable as I am cresting the top and coming off the throttle. I had Acura check my car long ago and they confirmed the "problem" but could find nothing wrong ( typical Acura answer...)

Since my last car, which was not an Acura product, also did the same thing, I realized the link common to both is that I always use Mobil brand gas, and thats because I have a Mobil corporate gas card. I'd have to pay for fuel myself if I fill up with another brand, and with gas being so expensive nowadays, I just live with it. Do you happen to use Mobil (or Exxon?)?

njtls

i use shell

neil

I think you are correct in your assumption of it being mobil gas.I fill up here in Canada with Esso(Exxon down your way)So that must be the common thread.I use a corporate card as well so I will live with the smell.

nemesis

My car just started this last night at 9800 miles. It's definitely coming from mid-cabin (meaning near the cat) - the back seat smells to high heaven this morning when I stopped the car. I use 76 (ethanol blend, not MTBE) gas. You can smell it a bit at idle but it totally fills the car (and the air around the car for a 25-30 foot radius) when you stop.

Car is 100 miles overdue for an oil change (3100 miles - no biggie). Even mix of highway and around town driving (about 1/3 of the miles are 5-7 hour road trips) and I never had this with my other cars.

I've been reading about the sludge build up on the Toyota V6... wonder if we have something similar??

john32

well i dont drive hard and i use a variety of different gases only premium tho

madehtsobi

my car has like 2700 miles and when i drive hard i get that smell and it goes away otherwise regular driving = no smell...so i believe its just like the engine burning off fumes or whatever....

oh yeh i use shell 93 octane vpower if that helps...

might change to chevron on the next fill up to see if it matters....i only get 340 miles from F to the light

seattle dale

damn this threads old enought to vote?