Rotten egg (sulphur) smell when accelerating

[RTexasF]

Having the A/C on and not on recirculate is not even possible in hot humid climates. A/C on and outside air coming in is fine during the winter but you'll roast your ass off during the summer here. It just won't get cold enough to be effective with outside air "on".

[aymanf]

I performed the sulfur smell test after acceleration and mine does the exact same thing. The smell is strong and ido not know if it comesfrom tailpipe or from engin area . kindly tellme what to do and how to fix it

regards
aymanf

[JuneBug]

Originally Posted by aymanf

I performed the sulfur smell test after acceleration and mine does the exact same thing. The smell is strong and ido not know if it comesfrom tailpipe or from engin area . kindly tellme what to do and how to fix it

regards
aymanf

The smell comes from the tailpipe. It enters the cabin through 2 vents in the rear quarter panels. You can see these vents if you remove the louvered panels in the cargo area. I stuffed a rag into the one just behind the jack (right above the tailpipe) and it seems to cut the smell 80-90%.

[Rav408]

Why didn't you just duct tape them shut? You can also see these vents from under the car looking between the bumper and body panels. They look like little louvers.

[rav4two]

I think they provide pressure relief for when you close the doors, so taping them shut might make the doors hard to shut, and the tape might blow off eventually since it's probably subject to a fair amount of force.

[Rav408]

You have a good point and that may take a little adjusting to get it just right, but another way to release cabin pressure is to leave your A/C ducts set to outside air. I had a cabin pressure problem in another vehicle where the vents don't work so well due to design reasons. Once I left my A/C vents open to outside air, problem solved, no more slamming doors go get them to close.

[kpadget]

Originally Posted by rav4two

I think they provide pressure relief for when you close the doors, so taping them shut might make the doors hard to shut, and the tape might blow off eventually since it's probably subject to a fair amount of force.

Exactly! I "discovered" these vents when someone nailed my left rear bumper area (where it wraps around the side of the car). Perhaps duct taping just the right side vent might work as this is nearest the tailpipe. The vent louvers are simply lightweight plastic flaps - three total I think. Wouldn't hurt to try it.

[aymanf]

hi concerning the odor . i did some internet resurch and i found a bullieten by toyota cars ststes that it is sulfer that comes out. it is from the pipe assembly in the center for all toyota rav4 models 2004 and beyond
i checked for cost to change it is really expensinve . i think i may remove it completley .
regards

Originally Posted by John E Davies

Can you tell if the odor is coming from the tailpipe or is it coming from the engine area or under the trucklet?

I had this problem in my Mazda6, and it turned out to be a wasp nest that had blown up onto the exhaust header and gotten lodged in a bend. That thing was charcoal and absolutely reeked!

The Mazda dealer "could not duplicate the problem" and never saw the nest, even when they had it on a lift and inspected it.

After three months I was fed up - I found it by putting the car on jack stands, then running the engine. When the header got hot, the gross smell started, and I was able to sniff my way to the spot.

Good luck on this one.

[JuneBug]

Here's what the vents look like from the outside once the bumper cover is removed. In this picture the exhaust pipe has been lowered from its hanger so normally it's much closer to the vent:



And here's the driver's side vent from the inside:

[JuneBug]

Just a follow-up on this issue. As I stated earlier, I tried different brands of gasoline and the sulphur smell did not go away. After stuffing a rag into the passenger side vent, the smell was reduced by at least 80%. Finally after stuffing another rag into the driver's side vent, the smell has been eliminated. I haven't smelled it in many months. There seem to be no side effects from this, the doors are still just as easy to shut, and I still get fresh air into the cabin when recirculate is turned off. It's a simple fix, so try it if you're dealing with this problem.