Test drove a Jeep with rotten egg smell

[vavavroom]

3

My SuperDuty smells of crayons every time the heat is on.....

Doesn't bug me but I'd love to get a look down the defrost vents

OP, you said it didn't feel right and I agree you should trust your gut. Just keep looking.

You probably smell a cavity wax warning up. After having the engine compartment winterized it smelled like crayons every time the engine warmed up.

 

[jhellwig]

You didn't by chance notice any stray Cheerios in the back seat, lol? At one time in our lives my cars smelled of sour milk.

Whatever vehicle my wife drove smelled like feet for a while. It isn't as bad now but the kids keep leaving water bottles everywhere no matter how many times they get told to take them out of the vehicle so the carpet stays damp half the time.

 

[vavavroom]

Whatever vehicle my wife drove smelled like feet for a while.

Coincidence or synchronicity? Maybe even cause and effect. I would have launched a thorough though potentially risky investigation.

 

[Jdeere562]

Years ago, came home from work in my work car. Forgot a farmer gave me a small water melon that day. It was in back on the floor laying on the carpet. Summer time and the melon burst while we were out of town leaving a mush.

Never did get out that smell. Anytime it got hot out one could smell that odor.

 

[Cheetah-kins]

When buying used, you will always have something that needs to be taken care of. It's pretty much a given. It's up to you how much and what issues you want to deal with.

^This is exactly right. Personally I look for mechanical condition more than things like smell or minor abrasions, dents, etc. Every used car is gonna ave something that needs to be addressed. I wouldn't write off a vehicle I really liked if I detected a faint bad milk smell or whatever. Not telling to OP he should buy the Jeep of course - better to trust his gut.

Also, does nobody get pre-purchase inspections anymore? I've gotten these done for most of the vehicles I've bought in the last 20 years or so. I know a bit about vehicles and I research what I want to buy, but you simply can't beat a skilled mechanic to really check something out. I've been saved from more than one vehicle I didn't buy because the inspection mechanic warned against it. I had no idea, would've probably bought them.

I wouldn't get one done on a car I was buying for $1,500, but I imagine a late model Jeep is gonna cost enough to make it worth it.

 

[jhellwig]

Coincidence or synchronicity? Maybe even cause and effect. I would have launched a thorough though potentially risky investigation.

Nah. Kids are nasty creatures.

 

[vavavroom]

Nah. Kids are nasty creatures.

I think in Jurassic Park Sam Neil said something about babies smelling bad.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Short trips can cause the cats to get loaded up with fuel and stink like sulfur once they get hot. May just need a couple hours on the interstate to clear it up. I agree with Chris though too, seeing if the monitors have all run is a good idea too.

I had a work van that only saw intown driving that had the rotten egg smell for years. It died before the cats got replaced.

 

[Delta]

Smells like that will probably never come out without replacing interior components. Glad you walked away.

We had an '08 Chevy Equinox that was an ex rental out of Alabama. Till the day we traded it in I could not get a certain hair care product smell out of it (people from the Deep South will understand my reference, I'm not going any further). Tried a dozen products and nothing worked.

 

[svtrit]

^This is exactly right. Personally I look for mechanical condition more than things like smell or minor abrasions, dents, etc. Every used car is gonna ave something that needs to be addressed. I wouldn't write off a vehicle I really liked if I detected a faint bad milk smell or whatever. Not telling to OP he should buy the Jeep of course - better to trust his gut.

Also, does nobody get pre-purchase inspections anymore? I've gotten these done for most of the vehicles I've bought in the last 20 years or so. I know a bit about vehicles and I research what I want to buy, but you simply can't beat a skilled mechanic to really check something out. I've been saved from more than one vehicle I didn't buy because the inspection mechanic warned against it. I had no idea, would've probably bought them.

I wouldn't get one done on a car I was buying for $1,500, but I imagine a late model Jeep is gonna cost enough to make it worth it.

I bought a Camry a few years ago that I was allowed to take home and do my own in depth pre-purchase inspection. I knew the salesman, so that helped.

This Jeep was 1.5 hours away in Waterloo, IA and I am not in a hurry to buy, so paying for an inspection isn’t on my list of things to do.

Outside of the smell, I found little wrong and keep second guessing waking away.

My son approached me this weekend
about buying my Rogue (which I was planning to trade in) in the Spring when he graduates from Pharmacy school, so I’m now going to wait for him and sell it for trade in value to him. Then I’ll buy a Wrangler.

I want my hyper maintained Rogue to go to a good family, and staying in mine is the best option!!!

 

[Cheetah-kins]

I bought a Camry a few years ago that I was allowed to take home and do my own in depth pre-purchase inspection. I knew the salesman, so that helped.

This Jeep was 1.5 hours away in Waterloo, IA and I am not in a hurry to buy, so paying for an inspection isn’t on my list of things to do.

Outside of the smell, I found little wrong and keep second guessing waking away.

My son approached me this weekend
about buying my Rogue (which I was planning to trade in) in the Spring when he graduates from Pharmacy school, so I’m now going to wait for him and sell it for trade in value to him. Then I’ll buy a Wrangler.

I want my hyper maintained Rogue to go to a good family, and staying in mine is the best option!!!

Sounds like a great plan. Good for your son, by the way - becoming a pharmacist. Lot's of people don't realize the schooling they go through to become one. Like becoming a doctor twice.

 

[PF52]

In older vehicles the exhaust often smells like rotten eggs/sulfur until the cats warm up. By older vehicles I mean vehicles made before 1990 or so. I think more modern cats warm up much faster and avoid the stench for the most part.

Toyotas must still have the old-style cats. Or if they've finally modernized, its been very recently. If I smell rotten eggs, I look around and it never fails I am following a Toyota.

 

[wag123]

Every vehicle's cat will emit a sulfur smell if you put the hammer down when the engine is cold while the engine management system computer is in open-loop (fixed map) mode and is running rich. It won't do this once the engine is warm and the computer goes into closed-loop (feedback) mode.