WyldRice

'04 Automatic with 85K miles. Bought it 2,500 miles ago (2 weeks). I may be a Noob here- but not to Honda's! This TL is our 12TH car powered by Honda!

I have searched the past 4 hours, reading posts from mostly New 3G owners, but some from higher mileage TL's. Not much help from a mechanical point of view, so here's my thoughts...

The 9-10 times I've opened it up, I have had the rotten egg smell. Catalytic converters usually smell like this when Brand new!

I've owned over 40 cars- I've had this smell before in about 1/3 of them... Our '05 Civic Sedan did it for a few thousand miles, but then stopped.
This smell from the TL is STRONGER, and at 85K miles- it should be gone!

-----There seems to be 3 common reasons------
Some of the time, the cause is High sulfur content in gas.
Fix = Switch fuel stations. For some this worked, others it did not.
And other times, it was the O2 sensor failing.
Fix = Replace O2 sensor. (Not very common)

But most of the time- The Catalytic Converter is working fine, but a drastic change in fuel mixture (WOT to coasting) changes the rate of sulfides (runs Rich/Lean depending on pedal position) leaving you with a short burst of rotten egg smell, as you sit and enjoy it at the next light...

Fix = Removed the cats (which is illegal here) or decided to live with it.

live with it??? No, I want to keep it as stock as possible, and keep the stock cats, but have no smell... So what can I do?

After searching for a while- I was thinking of getting an engine management system upgrade if possible. Like Hondata and having the computer fix the lean-rich throttle positions for me! Anybody tried this yet? (and Did it Work?)

We shouldn't have to lose our stock cats to make it smell the way most cars do... Sulfur free!
Any Help or guidance appreciated!

( In some cultures burning Sulfur brings Good Luck! ...but not mine! )

218TL

didn't read it..but its normal

daneo

i don't think the smell is worth the money.

Inaccurate

Can you take it to the dealer? The emission components should still be under warranty.

lusid

I suggest changing fuels. I had this rotten egg smell. Changed to a different gas station and the smell went away.

PS - didnt read your whole thread just the topic

Bearcat94

Bad O2 sensor is not that unusual, but it should throw a code. So if there is no code, it's probably not a failed/failing O2 sensor.

I still get that smell on rare occasions at 30+k miles.

WyldRice

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not throwing a code. It runs perfect!
I have always used the same BP (Amoco) Gas station, still do with my '93 Integra and there is no smell. There was no smell with my Corvette using their premium, or the civic Si.

Again- I was trying to Fix the fuel ratios, to avoid the smell. It seems to be a very common problem that nobody seems to be addressing.

I personally don't enjoy the smell, so I'm trying to fix it. It should be like any other car out on the road; Running on ANY gas- with no rotten egg smell!

God Speed!

CometVR4

My car did this about 3 weeks before I got a CEL of a failed O2 sensor.

I have 172,000 miles

1fsthatch

my gf's moms cars smells like that after WOT my tl-s does not just nice gas fumes lol not rotten egg like at all i actually like the smell of gas lol

csmeance

Do you have any other modifications to the car?

WyldRice

Mine? It is completely stock.
Lease/bought/traded in by original owner.

I have been driving very "nice" in it lately, with no smell.
So to test it out, I did race/rev it to WOT last night... It still smells bad.

Nothing else is giving any indication of problems, so I guess I just won't hit 6800 rpm as often as I normally would.
(I had a Corvette before this, so I'm very addicted to quick take-offs )