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My car smells like rotten eggs. I have searched the whole car and it is nothing that we left in the car. So what could it be? A dead critter? Something mechanical? I should mention that the smell starts when I start driving and seems to fade after I've driven the car for a while.

It might be your Catalytic Convertor, do you have any check engine lights on ?

I don't think so. Could it be the battery? I've been having trouble with it for the last few months.

When's the last time the air filter was changed? Sometimes in the spring/summer when the A/C starts being used, there's condensation, musty smells, and a dirty air filter conspiring to make your car smell like a Turkish flea market in August.

I guess it could a bad battery, is it too hot ?

Red Oak wrote:I guess it could a bad battery, is it too hot ?

How would I know that? By touching it? I don't plan on doing that...

yep , i'd guess the battery is bad . Yeah , it should feel hot if you touch / feel it , might not have any water in it .

A battery should be warm, but not too warm or hot.

If it is swelled looking, or boiling electrolyte out of it, it is a problem and it could blow up on you.

You should get it looked at by a good mechanic - not the Pep Boys - Firestone -Stealership variety.

Red Oak wrote:A battery should be warm, but not too warm or hot.

If it is swelled looking, or boiling electrolyte out of it, it is a problem and it could blow up on you.

You should get it looked at by a good mechanic - not the Pep Boys - Firestone -Stealership variety.

I would never go to any of those places. We have mechanics we use. I probably just need to place since I've had the car since 2009 and have yet to replace the battery. It's not cheap in those cars.

I have no idea, but I have smelled that in more than one car in the past.

It might be the fish tacos in your case.

If the smell is coming out of the tailpipe, its probably running rich. An oxygen sensor that's going bad could cause this.

If its a sour smell inside the car, there may be damp ick in the AC box in the dash that's stinking things up. The evaporator core stays wet and dirt and leaves tend to collect in there.

Either is a reasonable possibility in a 6 year old car.

Could barely get the car cranked so had the battery replaced at Pro Batteries in Fort Worth this morning. They are very reasonable and it got done for around $50 installed. I'm pretty sure that was the source of the odor. The battery is in the BACK of the car (not under the hood as I would have thought) and that is where the odor seemed to be coming from. The car started right up.

Glad to hear that.

I had a battery blow up on me once, when I was removing it from a Race Car - not a pleasant experience.

Yep, A battery can cause that smell. Have someone check the charging voltage! if it's too high, it can cause problems like you had. I hope you got a battery that you can open and check the electrolyte level and add DISTILLED water if needed. That said, a 2008 battery was ready to go!

truep wrote:Yep, A battery can cause that smell. Have someone check the charging voltage! if it's too high, it can cause problems like you had. I hope you got a battery that you can open and check the electrolyte level and add DISTILLED water if needed. That said, a 2008 battery was ready to go!

Actually it is a 2006 model HHR and it's been a good car. Hate that they have stopped making it. BTW, my husband says my car has TWO batteries and I only replaced one. All seems good to me so far.