A friend once said that every car is a brand new experience. The feel of the seats, the bounce and flow of the car, and even the smell. Cars smell differently, right? Doesn’t matter if they have the same air freshener – they always have a distinct smell in them that makes them unique. But what if your car smells like rotten eggs?

Now that’s something nobody wants to smell inside a car – or anyplace else, for that matter. When a car smells like rotten eggs, there is no amount of air freshener that can make it smell better. On top of that, it is proof that there is something wrong with your car (unless you do have real rotten eggs inside your car, which is a different problem altogether).

Bad Smells Inside Your Car

To any car owner, smelling different things from inside your car spells trouble. For example, if you smell something musty like used socks, then it’s probably mold and mildew within your air conditioning vents. If you don’t address that right away, you might endanger the very people riding your car.

If you smell rubber then something is probably burning or heating up. It could be your clutch plate or a slipping drive belt.

Simply put, these weird smells help you recognize if there is something wrong with your car. But what about smelling rotting eggs while your car is running?

Smelling Rotten Eggs Inside Your Car

Assuming you have ruled out the presence of actual rotten eggs inside your car, this smell should tell you that there’s something wrong with your car. This could mean a few things.

First, this could mean that there is something wrong with your car’s catalytic converter. The catalytic converter is the part of your car that converts harmful gasses into safer ones. One such harmful gas is hydrogen sulfide and this is the cause for the smell. If the catalytic converter is faulty, it cannot effectively convert the hydrogen sulfide into the harmless and odorless sulfur dioxide. If this is the case, you really need to replace the catalytic converter because this can lead to a car fire if not addressed right away.

One of the more common issues with catalytic converters is when their fuel pressure sensor fails. If it fails, the catalytic converter gets filled with oil and it affects the whole emission system, which leads to the harmful gasses to leak.

Another less common cause of a rotten egg smell inside your car is old transmission fluid. For manual cars, transmission fluid is expected to be replaced regularly. If you haven’t done that lately, the transmission liquid might have leaked into other parts of your car and stagnate – causing it to smell.

What Should I Do If My Car Smells Like Rotten Eggs?

The good news here is that smelling rotten eggs inside your car won’t mean it’s going to explode anytime soon. This gives you enough time to have an expert check your car. As a rule of thumb, if you feel something is off in your car, then you should let a mechanic check it.

If you have a Lexus, Infiniti, Toyota, and Nissan in Atlanta, then you can trust T3 Atlanta to take care of all your maintenance and repair needs. We have expert technicians ready to service your car. Call us today and have your appointments set. Our garage practices physical distancing and proper disinfection practices to comply with recommended COVID-19 guidelines.