Portland Auto Repair

That rotten-egg exhaust smell is hard to ignore. It can drift into the cabin when you park, hang around the back of the car, and make you worry something is about to fail. Some drivers notice it only once in a while, and others notice it every time they drive. Either way, it’s a smell that usually means your emissions system is dealing with something it does not like. The smell most people describe comes from sulfur compounds in the exhaust. Modern fuel contains small amounts of sulfur, and the catalytic converter is supposed to process those compounds. When the process is not happening correctly, you can get that sharp odor. Why That Smell Shows Up in the First Place The catalytic converter converts harmful gases into less harmful ones. When everything is working, sulfur compounds are handled without creating a strong odor. When the converter is overw ... read more