gas smell when driving hard/takes long to start

[Tony Prodigy]

2 hours ago, Twixter said:

Heyo. Just jumped in for the point about the smell of fuel or the rotten-egg like smell when you accelerate hard. Could be a faulty CAT converter.

 

My car has done it since I owned it 2years ago. Wind the windows down whenever you do something like pushing the car hard, then wind them back up after about a minute. It'll clear the smell out. I think I have a hole in my boot somewhere where the exhaust is coming up into the cabin, but I'm not sure. I've spoken to a few other Aurion owners who get the same thing. (usually when merging onto a HWY and you **** belt the Aurio, that sort of driving)

 

I've been told by an exhaust technician that it's the fuel slowly seeping through the cat converter and that's what you're smelling in the exhaust. Since Sulfur is present in petrol today you can smell it once it passes through an older (or faulty) cat converter. He said it's nothing serious as long as you wind a window down every once in a while, or turn the air-con on. As for how true any of that is, I have no idea...

 https://www.700r4transmissionhq.com/toyota-aurion-rotten-egg-smell/#:~:text=If you happen to smell,of the sulfur in gasoline. (this article also mentions about sulfur content in fuel mixtures)

 

Another toyotaownersclub member made a post about this specific topic already too: 

 

 

 

Interesting point. I never thrash my Aurion to ever have known this but I will see if it does if I ever get the opportunity to give it a boot full sometime soon.

[donnot]

Can't say I noticed this in my Aurion, but my first car (an '09 Grand Vitara) had quite a strong smell as you're describing when slamming my foot down (for a measly 11s 0-100). Filled up with 91 in the GV vs 98 in the Aurion though, so that could have made a difference (sulfur levels). 

[isaacw]

Hey guys 

I have a 2006 with about 300k which has been doing this too. Strong gas smell when the window is down and car is under load. Car burns oil and has done for the last 50k or so. Also has engine light on etc and has done for a while. Could all be linked. But fuel consumption is the same if not better and performance the same. Changed cabin filter made no difference. Hoping to get another 50k out of it before it dies (don’t look after it like you guys do!) Hoping you guys find a solution to what causes it as it is a pain being gassed out with the window down. More concerning for you that the smell comes in through the cabin! 
love these cars !

cheers Isaac 

[campbeam]

50 minutes ago, isaacw said:

Car burns oil and has done for the last 50k or so. Also has engine light on etc and has done for a while.

Best thing to do is to use an OBDII scan tool to read the error codes.

You mentioned a strong gas smell. Is the smell like rotten eggs i.e. hydrogen sulfide? 

https://mcspaddenautomotive.com/blog/3-reasons-why-your-car-smells-like-rotten-eggs

I suspect that oil burning may have impacted the efficiency of the catalytic convertors.

Please post the error codes and additional information about the engine oil being used and the oil change interval. 

[isaacw]

47 minutes ago, campbeam said:

 

Thanks for reply. Smell is lpg/burning oil not sulphurous. Lights are check engine, stability & traction control lights. From when they came on in the past I was told it was a fuel sensor so that’s all I think it is this time.  I haven’t kept track of how much oil between services but it’s a decent amount at least a few litres! Oil change every 10k and have done ever since I bought it at 130k. Getting it serviced next week and will report back on what mechanic says so other people with similar problem on a car in better condition and less  miles know what to do and what is is. I’ve let mine go too much it’s fairly worn. 

Edited September 1, 2021 by isaacw

[campbeam]

Your mechanic should be able to determine the error code/s and do a diagnosis to determine the underlying cause/s.

I am beginning to suspect that the oil rings are clogged up. Also the PCV valve needs to be checked. Concensus of opinion is to be using a quality full synthetic engine oil and the recommended oil viscosity eg 5W-30 or 10W-40. Definitely consider reducing the oil change interval to 5K or 6 months and using an engine oil with higher levels of detergent additive to keep oil sludge build up at bay.

 

[Tony Prodigy]

6 hours ago, campbeam said:

I suspect that oil burning may have impacted the efficiency of the catalytic convertors.

My thoughts exactly. There are many tiny passages within the cat that can clog up with carbon/burnt oil residue.

7 hours ago, isaacw said:

I have a 2006 with about 300k which has been doing this too

I'm thinking it's got sludging issues and your rings aren't sealing properly. The video above referenced by Ashley is on point in these of matters.

You can try desludging it with a few short oil change intervals, with engine flush and see if this improves things. I don't think the engine is too far gone just yet to be honest. Give it a chance and see. Do a compression check before you start so you have a base line of figures and then retest after a few months once you've been through your flush cycles. I have a feeling it will improve it.

Please let us know if you decide to do this as it woud make for interesting reading. Start a new thread too.

 

6 hours ago, isaacw said:

 I haven’t kept track of how much oil between services but it’s a decent amount at least a few litres! Oil change every 10k and have done ever since I bought it at 130k

I started out doing mine every 10K and luckily, I've had no varnish build up, most likely due to using a high quality fully synthetic oil such as Nulon 5W-30. But from now on I will be doing my oil changes every 5-7K just to be on the safer side. It's actually due now and will hopefully be doing it on Friday.

I plan to keep my Aurion long term so I will lavish upon it the finest preventative maintenance regime I can.

 

[isaacw]

Thanks everyone 

will see what mechanic suggests. I would like to try to get another 50k out of it. With care and good maintenance which sounds like you guys put in I reckon an aurion should be good for 400k easy, as mine has got to 300k after a pretty hard life with some life left. Only things I’ve had to do are some suspension components and alternator. While it’s a bit rough as long as I keep it topped up with oil I reckon I’ll get to 350k. If I actually spent money on it and did a really good tidy up it will keep going and going (but need money for other things at the moment !)

Edited September 2, 2021 by isaacw

[campbeam]

Something else to consider is checking and cleaning the Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve.

This could be another contributing factor to your oil burning issue.

[isaacw]

Update 

clean bill of health from mechanic, warning lights were due to a vacuum leak. All sorted for a couple of weeks. However now latest issue is lights are back and car is un driveable. Shudders and clunks under acceleration, nearly stalls, doesn’t know what gear it should be in and emits a strong burning smell. So off to the mechanic again. Hopefully something minor so I can keep going with it , hopefully not the end !

[Tony Prodigy]

7 hours ago, isaacw said:

Update 

clean bill of health from mechanic, warning lights were due to a vacuum leak. All sorted for a couple of weeks. However now latest issue is lights are back and car is un driveable. Shudders and clunks under acceleration, nearly stalls, doesn’t know what gear it should be in and emits a strong burning smell. So off to the mechanic again. Hopefully something minor so I can keep going with it , hopefully not the end !

It's possible you may have got some bad fuel somewhere or maybe the fuel pump is giving up. Hard to diagnose from a forum stand point, but we'd be interested to find out. Sorry to hear about all your issues. Hopefully nothing too series.

[isaacw]

Thank you. Mechanic said motor is fine and apart from a few minor things can’t see what’s causing it. He’s taking it to his auto transmission guy as he suspects that might be it. Will let you know outcome !

[Sebastian Woodhouse]

You could try throwing a few doses of “Fuel
Doctor” into it.  You get it from Supercheap etc and it’s a green liquid.

in short it’s a fuel stabiliser and treatment that deals with “stale fuel”.  I know what you’re thinking “I use the car and fill it up every week etc, I can’t have stale fuel”.

Well here’s the flip side.  Once you’ve got a stale fuel in the tank it will contaminate the next full and the next full so the car never really gets past it.  One of the signs of this are some very very bad exhaust smells, a much more “eye watering” chemical odour.  
 

Our MX5 was really bad for this, as it gets driven sub 2000km/year.  I dose it quarterly with Fuel Doctor and it’s “back to normal”.  
 

It’s not cheap, but I’m my experience it’s worth the expense and did address a similar problem.

[isaacw]

Thank you. I run it down to fumes… in fact down to a couple of litres only recently 😳😂

so good news after a fair bit of diagnosis mechanic replaced the plugs and car is back in action. I think they might have been originals or second set since new! 
so just the burning smell and I assume burning oil to go but I can live with that. Thought I would post so you guys know it’s still running! 
 

[isaacw]

Thank you. I run it down to fumes… in fact down to a couple of litres only recently 😳😂

so good news after a fair bit of diagnosis mechanic replaced the plugs and car is back in action. I think they might have been originals or second set since new! 
so just the burning smell and I assume burning oil to go but I can live with that. Thought I would post so you guys know it’s still running! 
 

[Tony Prodigy]

4 hours ago, isaacw said:

Thank you. I run it down to fumes… in fact down to a couple of litres only recently 😳😂

Glad to hear the new plugs got it sorted. Not knowing the full history of your vehicle makes it more difficult to narrow it down.

Try not to run it down to fumes because the intank fuel pump relies on having fuel over it to help keep it cool and thus prolong its lifespan. Some people opt to refill the tank when it gets down to half, two thirds, or quarter tank. I wouldn't make a habit of running it dry, otherwise you may find yourself caught short oneday and not being able to start it.