Bad Sulfur Smell and Horrible Gas Mileage

[IMOLA*20TH]

My wifes car with 8600 miles has always smell like crap, literally, and her gas mileage is in the 16-18 mpg range. She never drives the car hard, I have to get in and beat on it every once and a while to make sure it doesn't seat wrong. Could a bad cat, which I am assuming is the bad smell, or an o2 sensor be also causing horrible gas mileage?

We just took a trip to Chicago and at 70 mph we only got 226 miles before the gas light, that is horrible. My old 88 prelude got close to 40 mpg on the highway.

Thanks for any help.

[Peking]

Originally posted by IMOLA*20TH
My wifes car with 8600 miles has always smell like crap, literally, and her gas mileage is in the 16-18 mpg range. She never drives the car hard, I have to get in and beat on it every once and a while to make sure it doesn't seat wrong. Could a bad cat, which I am assuming is the bad smell, or an o2 sensor be also causing horrible gas mileage?

We just took a trip to Chicago and at 70 mph we only got 226 miles before the gas light, that is horrible. My old 88 prelude got close to 40 mpg on the highway.

Thanks for any help.

Your name is familiar with me, hmmmm... Oh well, I say take her into the dealer. You could be quite right on the cat, my friend has a 94 Dodge Dakota. He starting saying that his gas milage was getting bad, and the car felt slower. So he took it in, they replaced the cat. He loves his truck again.

[IMOLA*20TH]

I have been on www.vwvortex.com for about 3 years and venture over here once and a while. That might be where you know me from.

[VividDreams]

sounds like the cat to me too, as far as i know bad cats make that sulfur smell, and the bad cat could have fouled the O2 sensors, thus causing the bad MPG. is the check engine light on?

[IMOLA*20TH]

No check engine light? I wish I would have one then I could point to something.

[Dunrick]

search for sulpher smell - that should bring this up

[IMOLA*20TH]

I read a lot of threads on it but it appears there is no answer to the smell and mine is so bad all the time, I wonder if it is related to the mileage?

[dchu]

I get pretty shitty mileage but no sulfer smell.:rolleyes: I also always get around 220 miles when the gas light turns on with mixed driving. Fill up are usually around 10 gallons so 22 mpg pretty bad for a civic. With school starting last week I've been driving 95% freeway and I'll be lucky if the trip breaks 240 miles this week.

[Tenacious G]

sulfur smell 99.9% of the time indicates a problem with the cat. but with the poor gas mileage, i'd venture to guess your O2 sensor is fudged up and telling your car to run super rich. your best bet would be to take it to the dealer.

[Zero Three Si]

I've been getting pretty lousy gas mileage too. I've also noticed that I get a nasty smell from my car. I'd say I get pretty accurately 210-230 miles before the light comes on.

I have a mid-pipe...so I'm wondering if they would void my warrenty. It wouldn't make sense though because the midpipe is AFTER the cat.

[ep_nezay]

Most likely its your cat but it could be bad gas aswell, what kind of gas do you use?
Its not the sensors or else you would of had the check engine light come on.

[Hatch02SI]

Well So far I have had my 02 sensor replaced as well as I downgraded from premium to mid grade and I am still having bad gas mileage as well as I know I am running hellsa rich... I don't know wtf the deal is besides are cars like to run rich. Fellow workers at Honda think that its the fuel, but idk... Maybe I should try regular instead of mid-grade. who knows!

[ep3sucks]

:yellm: just put regular.
when i first got the car, i thought putting higher octane would do such better or whatever. (didn't help gas milage at all!)
now i put regual all the way(87) and i always get around 240~250 with mixed driving, when light comes on.
if you fill up the gas right after the light is on, it always pumps around 10g.
that means..what i have 3 gallons reserved?? anyway consider i get about
24~25 mpg i usually keep driving 'til achieve 300. try it:D i do.

[k20beast]

man i thought that i had it bad with 300 to light... i use to get about 320 when the light would come on but that was when i was running premium now its midgrade... i dont have the gas card no more :'(

[ep_nezay]

Originally posted by ep3sucks
:yellm: just put regular.
when i first got the car, i thought putting higher octane would do such better or whatever. (didn't help gas milage at all!)


By adding premium gas, the performance is not noticeable nor will it increase your gas mileage, premium gas actually burns faster BUT cleaner than regular.
Premium keeps your engine from getting less build up, what you get from more of from regular gas.

[ep3sucks]

when i first got the car, that's when i was in cali. i came to visit my parents here at vegas sometimes. and....i drive a 'civic''''' but i have to pump twice on each trip. how about that. here i'm talking about freeway driving coasting around 90 all the time. i think natural high revving engine is one of the reason why we have such a s&*^ gas milage, too. around 90...4.5k? 5k?
when i used to have gt-s, you beat the hell out of the engine, still get over 340 easy. man.. stop me here. i don't wanna start the complain.:sadm:

[ep3sucks]

i just can't afford to put premium on this little honda.
maybe not much difference $$$ regular & premium, but the manual refers
86 or higher and im not willing to waste my money on it. even if it's little.
i have a friend owes EX and he pump premium on it. if that's what he likes, im not gonna say much about it. but i'm not. when the car doesn't wanna save for you, i'm not over-treating you either.
i've done 170 something with full tank once, just to see how much this car's willing to eat up. i'm just amazed by how much gas this car can spend to pull little civic.

[VividDreams]

Originally posted by IMOLA*20TH
I read a lot of threads on it but it appears there is no answer to the smell and mine is so bad all the time, I wonder if it is related to the mileage?

check my post above this one, i think that having a bad cat may have foulded the O2 sensors and thats whats causing the bad mileage

[VividDreams]

Originally posted by ep_nezay
Most likely its your cat but it could be bad gas aswell, what kind of gas do you use?
Its not the sensors or else you would of had the check engine light come on.

he said in a previous post that he doesnt have a CEL, or for some reason it hasnt come on

[C1V1C]

Originally posted by dchu
I get pretty shitty mileage but no sulfer smell.:rolleyes: I also always get around 220 miles when the gas light turns on with mixed driving. Fill up are usually around 10 gallons so 22 mpg pretty bad for a civic. With school starting last week I've been driving 95% freeway and I'll be lucky if the trip breaks 240 miles this week.

I experience the same thing. It was even worse when I first got the car. The car was low on oil all the time. Then after 15000 it was getting better, oil is normal and the gas mileage is getting better. However, it still with in 200-240 and I am not that happy with this.

[VividDreams]

before winter, i was gettin between 290-300 miles. with winter, and letting my car sit and warm up for about 7-10 minutes every morning, im getting around 250 miles. also, remember this, if there is rain or snow, there is more friction between the tires and the road, thus, using more gas.

[LACH]

I get great millage with my EP however I do get that nasty taco bell fart smell from my car almost everytime I drive it even a little bit hard. I asked the tech at Honda and he said because its a higher performace engine its supposed to do that!?!
Gimme your opinions on this I`m going in tonight for an oil change and to bitch about my GFX side skirts.........are these guys feeding me a line?

[Tenacious G]

Originally posted by LACH
I asked the tech at Honda and he said because its a higher performace engine its supposed to do that!?!

LOL ... what?!?! then ask them them why every F20C and K20A2 and B16A owners aren't complaining about a smelly car. that's a lame excuse not to do possible warranty work.

[VividDreams]

he may have said that cause he didnt know what to say

[IMOLA*20TH]

Well it s at the dealer right now for the gas mileage thing and for a clicking clutch which of course they could not replicate. I am assuming I will get the car back with nothing done to it,but the service manager asked a million questions after the service writer said basically he could do nothing. I am lucky though as an actual Honda Tech from Honda happend to be in working on an Element that had some issues so they are going to have him take a look at it. In the men time I have wonderful Dodge Neon to drive.

[Zero Three Si]

I swear the answer to better gas mileage is drive slower. I do probably 75% of my driving on the highway.

If I drive under 70 I can get 26-27mpg
If I drive at 80mph I get like 22mpg

[C1V1C]

Originally posted by Zero Three Si
I swear the answer to better gas mileage is drive slower. I do probably 75% of my driving on the highway.

If I drive under 70 I can get 26-27mpg
If I drive at 80mph I get like 22mpg

Same here ! If I drive 80 mph or City, I get 22 mpg. under 70 mph highway driving, 25 mpg or more.

[audomatik]

Getting that smell is fine. Its not a sign of a bad cat. It usually goes away. Like once a week I would get that smell, now I never get it. No problems with my cat or my car or my gas mileage. I just go 318.6 miles from F to E... hot damn. Highway driving on cruise control set to 75 mph is the shiznit... haha don't worry about the smell, i don't know what that is... I do remember when I was averaging about 20-22 miles per gallon to a full tank. Not bad considering the average city MPG is 26.

PS... my car has about 12K miles on it

[IMOLA*20TH]

Drive slower hmmm, that is an interesting idea. Come on guys if it was that easy it would already be solved. My wife drives the car, she never even takes the car into V-tec. On the highway we did not do more than 72mph and still got 224 miles. Anyways they found the clicking noise and are trouble shooting with Honda on how to fix it, they also have a call into Honda Tech Support on the fuel mileage issue. We will see. I will keep the thread updated.

[IMOLA*20TH]

As far as the clicking clutch they think it is the rear motor mounts. They are going to replace those on Tues of next week and then go from there. They are still waiting on Honda Tech support on the gas mileage issue.

[Tenacious G]

Originally posted by IMOLA*20TH
Drive slower hmmm, that is an interesting idea. Come on guys if it was that easy it would already be solved. My wife drives the car, she never even takes the car into V-tec.

she doesn't take the car above 2200 rpm?

SEE LINK (http://www.hondata.com/techk20general.html)

:)

interesting about the rear motor mounts issue. i have the two or three distinct clicks when i first depress the clutch. all i get from my service advisor is the token Honda excuse, "we couldn't replicate the problem." keep us updated on what they find.

[IMOLA*20TH]

You would be surprised, but yes technically she does use V-tec then, but she is never above 4000 rpms. I have to drive it every once and a while to keep it loose.

:)

[Tenacious G]

that's interesting. on longer road trips, i usually keep it around 75-80, which is an indicated 3800-4200 rpm or so. i have never gotten less than 29 mpg on all highway driving. keep us updated on what they find ... if anything.

[VividDreams]

keep in mind that depending on the terrain you live around, will dictate your MPG somewhat. obviously someone in the plains states will get better mielage than someone that lives in the rockies

[Tenacious G]

Originally posted by VividDreams
keep in mind that depending on the terrain you live around, will dictate your MPG somewhat. obviously someone in the plains states will get better mielage than someone that lives in the rockies

true, but i would hardly classify Iowa as mountainous terrain. i would venture to say IMOLA's roads are no more hilly than Houston's.

[IMOLA*20TH]

I think it is safe to say Iowa is flat to the point of losing your mind, oh and did I mention the roads are also straight!! A very boring state to drive in. I just picked up the Si as the parts will not be in until Tues. and I asked if the Honda Tech (the one that is in from Corporate Honda) would take a ride with me to make sure it is the same noise I heard. Sure enough it was and he thinks it is the motor mounts, but we will see.

[Tenacious G]

Originally posted by IMOLA*20TH
I think it is safe to say Iowa is flat to the point of losing your mind, oh and did I mention the roads are also straight!!

i know this terrain all too well. i went to school in West Texas. the funny thing is, the the names of the towns in the area pretty much describe the landscape: Plainview, Brownfield, Levelland and Shallowater. No joke.

[VividDreams]

Originally posted by Tenacious G
true, but i would hardly classify Iowa as mountainous terrain. i would venture to say IMOLA's roads are no more hilly than Houston's.

i wasnt necessarily saying for IMOLA, i was just thrownin that out there

[VividDreams]

Originally posted by Tenacious G
i know this terrain all too well. i went to school in West Texas. the funny thing is, the the names of the towns in the area pretty much describe the landscape: Plainview, Brownfield, Levelland and Shallowater. No joke.

thats funny, maybe the people that named the towns were as boring and uncreative as the land they live on

[IMOLA*20TH]

UPDATE:

They replaced the motor mounts and are now replacing the whole front suspension because that is what they think is making the noise now, when in fact it is the clutch. When I get the car back it will never be going there again.

Oh yeah on the gas mileage/ car smells like ass issue they told me my wheels are to big and heavy (17 inch Kosei K1s) and to slow down.

Now will be taking to back to the dealership I bought it from (30 miles away further and it is a lease so I am chewing up mileage) and having there service department do something.

I wish they would just check the damn master cylinder for the clicking clutch and replace the damn cat for the ass smell and poor gas mileage, then they can tell me to shut up all they want.

I am also going to start the process of making complaints with Honda Corporate, the dealership I bought it from (some other reasons besides this one), and Enterprise Rent a Car too.

I am currently driving a 99 Geo F'n Metro that sounds like it is going to blow up and is so dirty I cannot see out of the windshield. This is after I had a Neon last week and specifically asked not to have that again because the seats were covered with some sort of spooge, yes I said spooge. I have an $18,000 dollar car and I get $3-4,000 cars to drive. I am relatively pissed at the way I am being treated. And some how I am portrayed as the ass for complaining that my Honda gets 17mpg and makes noises.

Any help would be appreciated, and they won't replace the cat because it will not throw a code even though it smells all the time and the tailpipes are caked in sut.

[Tenacious G]

sorry to hear about your tough dealings with the dealership. like any car company, they'll do anything NOT to do warranty work or turn the tables and blame the problem on you.

hopefully "strongly worded" letters to American Honda and the dealership will help. do you have a local consumer rights reporter on TV or in the newspaper? all the major network affiliates here in houston do. i'd suggest giving them a try if nothing else works. who knows, what do you have to lose?

[IMOLA*20TH]

Nobody seems ot care anymore but I am going to update the thread anyways.

Well the dealership just called me and after the replacement of the front suspension and the motor mounts the noise is still there. I wonder why they have yet to touch the clutch which is where the noise is coming from. Why would I know I only drive the car?

I talked to Honda Corporate and they want me to take it back to the original dealership I bought it from just in case it is something so severe it requires some sort of buy back or lease buy out ( this will never happen but I can always hope). So I get to pick it up form one Honda dealership and take it to another tommorrow.

I then called the orginal dealership and talked to my sales rep, and he set me up with an appointment with there Human Resources Dept. concerning my over displeasure over the car and with the service department for them to do "elective" items (the cat replacement and the master cylinder replacement; again hopefully). In the mean time he assured me of a very nice rental that I could keep for a while until they get to the bottom of the problem, so that I do not have to continually drive back and forth putting miles on my leased vehicle (I am 90 miles from the dealership I bought it from). They are a Mercedes/Volvo dealership that happens to do Hondas. He was very nice and I hope tommorrow goes well.

I am sure it is not Civic Sis in general, just mine. I am not trying to give them a bad rap I just am in a 48 month lease on a car that gets 16-18mpg and it was purposely bought to be a commuter type vehicle, yet fun.

I will keep all who are interested updated.

[VividDreams]

im interested!:) good luck man

[IMOLA*20TH]

Latest update for anyone who cares:
Got the car back about a week ago. The original dealership who said they would get me a nice car to drive gave me a smoked in, dirty as hell 01 Civic. Granted we drive a Civic Si but they are all not alike, and this one reeked of smoke, but ah well it was better then a Metro.

They say the clicking sound is the floating front brakes, so Honda has a shim they put in and makes the sound go away.

On the gas mileage issue they drove the car a total of 100 miles 50 highway and 50 in town and got 28.3 mpg. Highway driving was done at 65 mph and in town ranged from 25 to 40. I talked to the guy who drove it and he said he drove it normally not easy on but not hard on it. They put 89 ethanol BP gas in it, which makes it smell better at least, but I still do not know how they got those numbers.

Anyways now for the good stuff. After having my Civic Si at dealerships for over 2 weeks putting 350 miles of un needed driving on the car what am I left with, well I will tell you:

An annoying clicking sound in the clutch. Yes, it is still there. They replaced my:
Front suspension
Motor Mounts
Front Brakes

But alas they did not check the GOD DAMN clutch which is where the sound is originating.

Secondly the car still gets 21-22 mpg at best on an 100% highway trip. So it is still a mystery how they got such good numbers.

And finally to top it all off the SCRATCHED on of my Koseis by being careless when putting it back on after my brakes were changed. It is clearly an air gun that missed the lug and burrowed into the wheel.

They deny the wheel and I am so fed up with Honda that I do not even want to talk to them. I will be having a friend of mine who owns a body shop try to paint the small section of the wheel and blend it in. I am going to mail them a bill but I doubt I will see the payment.

Lesson of the day, NEVER EVER take your car to the dealership.

This is not to blame Honda either I have had (3) wheels scratched in the last 3 months at dealerships after explicit instructions to be careful.

I currently have rattling dash pieces, a sticking diverter valve, and crazy squeaking brakes on my 20th but I am deathly scared to even bring it in for fear of some one scratching my CHs or ripping my interior, scratching my dash, any number of things. I hate it!!!!!!!

Oh and I replaced the stock air filter on the Si with an Comptech Oil/Foam filter to help increase flow, (the OEM one was dirty, and had a large 4inch black sut circle on the side of it, do not know what that is from). I also reset the computer to see if we could start again with training the ECU.

[IMOLA*20TH]

bump!

[C1V1C]

OK OK ..I'll give you a reply ..

my experience recently is I got 260-270 miles per tank, which is 24.5 MPG in February. Mostly is highway driving, with Heater fan on.

2 days ago, I fill up my tank and now I used up 1/4 tank and I got 100 miles already, no FAN or AC and I changed my exhaust.

Btw, my highway driving is 20-60 MPH in the morning (traffic) and 45-80 mph on the way home, no trafic, only slow granny on the fast lane.

I don't have any bad smell, but clutch noise yes. I just turned up my 10" sub, should "cover" the noise :)

now I am going to bed.