It seems that when i am really rough on my malibu, the car emits a rotten egg sort of smell from the cats. Is that normal? i just busted 3k on the car so it not like it is just off the showroom floor.

generally means one of two things...

you are running pig rich

or cat

Does it do it everytime

not every single time

should i bring it in?

I would personally

If the check engine light isn't lit there isn't anything wrong with your fuel mixture or the cats. The current federal regulations require O2 sensors ahead of and behind the cats. The ones in front of the cats feedback fuel mixture info to the PCM and the ones behind the cats tell the PCM whether or not the cats are doing their job. If either one of those sensors indicate an out of tolerance condition the PCM will set the CEL. Pretty standard OBD II stuff. If the CEL isn't lit the dealer can't fix it because it isn't broken.

Bill

If you're under warranty, bring it in.

Quit abusing the Bu' :eek: :D:D

Quit abusing the Bu' :eek: :D:D

x2!!

If my car started to smell like that, I'd have it in the shop first thing.

Let us know what happens!

are you sure it isnt just burning/really warm rubber?

Quit abusing the Bu' :eek: :D:D

Make sense to me...:rolleyes:

I tend to do a lot of short trip driving with my 04 Cavalier [18k original miles], and often get the same smell. I have a feeling it's due to the engine burning rich in order to warm up...but it never does, so it just saturates the system.

Back to the bu' though, Perhaps you have a similar situation going on?

The last vehicle I had in my posession to make that particular smell was my mother's 88 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 4.0L I6. It was pushing 170k mi though!

If this smell is during WOT there is nothing you can do to get rid of it, unless you stay out of WOT. The emissions controls don't do anything during WOT operation so the exhaust will smell odd.

My LTZ (3.6V6) does the same, mostly when it is cold, very noticeable when sitting still in traffic. Gets a bit better when she is warm. Dont beat on her so I cant answer if that would make it worse. I just put it down to emission controls doing their thing.

BTW, 14000 miles, 2008.

Cheers

Richard

Generally speaking, a rotten egg smell is your catalytic converter. Good or bad? On older cars it was usually a good sign that it was time to replace the cat, but I cannot imagine that a new cat would go bad THIS fast... Might be a good idea to ask a GM certified mechanic.

i know i get a piss smell when i turn the a/c on sometimes still cant fiquer that 1 out

i know i get a piss smell when i turn the a/c on sometimes still cant figure that 1 out

That's usually built up condensation in the air ducts from running the AC on hot days and then just shutting off. Condensation builds and may cause mold / mildew. Or it may just be out-gassing from cheap plastics. Our cars are nice, no one ever said the parts were high end ;)

lol like the trim around the shifter starting to come up!

My Malibu just smells like crap inside, and it's clearly just the smell of the cheap plastics, also the A/C tends to smell. Sometime it gets so pungent I can't take it. The interior is a step in the right direction for GM, but the the materials still need a major upgrading. Some plastics can be toxic, I saw a chart rating how "toxic" some cars plastics/interiors were a while back, I wonder where the Malibu would be on that? Hopefully not high at all!

Mine cat has that rotten egg smell too and I am not worried too much about it. I googled and many said they came from Ethanol gas. The only time I can smell it if I stand behind the muffler when the car is idle; otherwise, it is unnoticed

Take your car to the mechanics. I think it is the smell of burning of some wire.

Mine cat has that rotten egg smell too and I am not worried too much about it. I googled and many said they came from Ethanol gas. The only time I can smell it if I stand behind the muffler when the car is idle; otherwise, it is unnoticed

No it's not from Ethanol, sulfur in gasoline would cause this, but since the requirements for gasoline have taken out sulfur this smell woud be best off having a technician look at to find the actual cause.