.

I went to a dealer showed them this TSB and was told that the catalytic converter is no longer being replaced. They said they are aware of this problem, but will not do anything about it. So i called Honda Corp. and they said there is a note by this TSB that catalytic converter should not be replaced just because of the smell. Does it really say that? And should the dealer do something anyways?

This version supersedes the other one, to not include cars with "mass air flow"...

basically it looks like V6 get replaced, not 4's.

It is the whole bulletin.

on my old 04 LX 4 cylinder sedan, they replaced my converter.......

They told me this does not apply to my car ever since this new update came out. This is a totall lie. They just didnt wanna do this. How do you make a dealer perform TSB's. My car does have the smell but only when i accelarate hard.

Try a different dealer. You don't need to go where you bought the car, any Honda & sometimes Acura dealer will do.

Do you work for honda princess? If a dealer is refusing to do a TBS isnt that a breach of warranty. Cant they be held accountable for this from US honda or under lemon law. I asked them for a letter telling me that they will not help me they said no. Told me to go to another dealer, but i already been told this and i did go to another dealer and all i get is lies. I dont feel confident that the 3rd dealer will act any differently. What do u think?

No, I don't work for Honda....my prince does.

Let's start from the beginning:

Are you smelling sulfur in your car? If you are, what are the circumstances? All unleaded vehicles will have the smell under some conditions. Like going uphill. It's normal. It's the fuel, not the car. If it's smelly just cruising down the road, then it's sometimes a leak in the cat. That's what is happening with some of the new V6 Accords. They KNOW there's a flaw with some of the cats in the V6, so if someone has a complaint, they'll usually take care of it.

As far as them refusing to replace your cat, no they don't have to. If they've checked it & there is no leak, the replacing it wouldn't fix the probalem anyway. Lemon Laws are usually for repairs actually done 3 or more times....at least that the way it is in CA.

So explain to me why you want your cat replaced. I think I may have missed something.

You're much better off to use the bulletins as a back up when wanting a problem fixed, not as "proof" you have something going on. Some people are just trying to gret new parts without actually experiencing any malfunction. In fact, for our own Hondas we list out the symptoms when having warranty stuff dealt with, not the bulletin #. If they are unaware of the problem described, then you can say "can you check out the...., I heard something about a bulletin....." I think all the dealers can look up the info.

What are the "lies" you're being told?

The bulletin was updated because they thought it was ALL the Accords, then discovered that it was the V6's with the leaky cats. That doesn't mean others can't also have the problem, it just means there have not been enough to coordinate a repair.

I have a 2004 V6 EX. Yes, I have the smell when I accelerate hard. Does not matter whether i am on a hill or staight road. Every single time. They checked it, they smelled it and the smell was there. They have admitted that the smell is there and did nothing about it. I would never be on these forums or go to dealers if I did not have any problems and I just happened to see a TSB. The car smells and I want them to fix it. Very simple. I guess i am going to have to go beg other dealers to verify again and again and have them fix it. Hopefully ill have better luck with the dealer I bought from. Thanks Princess.

You're right, it sounds pretty simple. If they also smell it, what is THEIR reason for not just replacing it as the bulletin says? I would understand if they couldn't comfirm it, but since they can.....

Are there several dealers to choose from in your area? Our closest dealer refuses to do any & all warranty work. It just plain doesn't pay as much as the other work. Unfortunately they can do that!

Hopefully dealer #3 will do their job! Let us know!

Im just wondering what about others like nissan can they refuse warranty work as well? I never used a dealer or had warranty before on cars. I mean are they all the same or just honda is like that. They can't give me a reason and kept on telling me that i should go the dealer i bought this car from.

All the makes are the same as far as the laws that govern them..... each has good dealers/management & bad.

We have family & friends all over the country, many have had warranty issues with all kinds of cars. From what I've heard, it's just plain hit & miss.

I honestly hate hearing about the bad ones! We all wiould like to think that if we have ANY malfunction the company will stand behind their product. Car, appliance or anything. For the most part I don't think it's usually the company....,it's the person you talk to. Some Service managers seem to enjoy the "power" a bit too much! Sometimes you just have to be sugary sweet to get what you want. Annoying, but needed every now & then!

I guess you'll be trying the dealer where you made the purchase.

I've only been on THIS side of warranty stuff since late '01, when we bought our first new Honda. It needed the dash replaced because it had been sliced in the factory. The Pilot has had a few things & needs a few more. This Accord has only had one so far. (slow start).

My personal experience is that sometimes you have to take your car around to different dealers to get things fixed under warranty. I had a Nissan, one dealer said 700 bucks, the next said "That is covered under warranty." Needless to say the first lost my business permanently and I had been getting all my maintenance done there for over a year. That was for a Catalytic Converter problem.

Welcome in2it!! Hope you enjoy the board & find it useful for getting info you want!

I've been having the rotten egg smell since a few weeks after I got the car. It happens when I accelerate hard and brake soon after.

I also get a bit of an exhaust smell in the car at times too, but not very often. I've tried my dealer (Planet Honda in NJ), they said there's no TSB covering this and that it will go away in 3-6 months, because the cat is new. Never heard of this. The egg smell went away until recently when it came back. Probably because of the winter blend gasoline.

I guess I'll have the dealer check it on my next service.

Can anyone recommend a good dealer around here (Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island) that would fix this for me? I am thinking of going to Hillside Honda because they are close by.

SOME sulfur smell after a hard accel. is normal.... but this IS a bulletin about a more consistant amount. If they try to say there is no bulletin, then ask them what 03-091 is.....

Winter gas could make it worse.... :dunno:

SOME sulfur smell after a hard accel. is normal.... but this IS a bulletin about a more consistant amount. If they try to say there is no bulletin, then ask them what 03-091 is.....

Winter gas could make it worse.... :dunno:


Believe me, it's horrible.

My g'f had to open her window on the passenger side, because it was overpowering!! It smells like flatulence in the car, as if someone is passing gas. I don't drive hard at all, but if I do accelerate then slow down the smell is there. I am thinking winter blend gas is what caused it because it went away for the entire summer and came back around december.

After fighting with PLANET HONDA dealer about it they did replaced the
CATALYTIC CONVERTER and the smell went away. DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD THEY SAY. ALL DEALERS ARE LIARS.

not all dealers, just the lazy ones.

not all dealers, just the lazy ones. :yes:

Well, technically it's not the dealer, it's the service writers or/and managers or/and techs.....

Petition Honda Co. to stop lowering the labor rates on warranty & it might get better...... no one likes to give their time/money away.... :thumbsdow Over the past few years they've been paying less & less for the jobs.... when working at a flat rate shop it's bread off the table of the employees.... everyone loses!
:rant:

All done.

I hope the new cat does the trick!!

sorry, I didn't mean the techs/service writers. I meant deal in the fact that they are the ones that represent the specific dealership.

But THAT'S the problem in business.... each dept. passes it on....instead of each taking on some responsibility....

Sorry, it's a pet peeve.

After fighting with PLANET HONDA dealer about it they did replaced the
CATALYTIC CONVERTER and the smell went away. DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD THEY SAY. ALL DEALERS ARE LIARS.


Oh really? How did it go down? Details, please, because I need to know exactly how to proceed.

Planet H in Union is a good dealer, IMO, but sometimes the service dept can be a bit lazy. But it all depends who you see. I had issues with my cell phone kit that went unresolved for a month before I got through to someone who cared and they replaced the cable which made it work.

But what about New York dealers? Anyone had experience with them?

Just wanted to resurrect this thread to say thanks for the information. I just purchased a 2004 EX V6 that has this egg smell issue on hard acceleration.

The car has 64K miles on it and the extended warranty to 100K. If the extended warranty does not cover the cat, then I read on the service bulletin than I can make a request to my District Parts & Service Manager or my Zone Office for "goodwill consideration" to get the repair done.

Has anyone had any success with getting approval for this type of work?

Follow-up:

Local dealer received approval from Honda to make the repair under warranty and is just waiting on parts.

Lol, yes, smelling a bad catalytic converter is one of those "who done it" moments. :)

Funny thing about Hydrogen Sulfide. You can smell it and after a while it doesn't smell so bad but it can still be poisoning you. The nerve endings in the nose become numb to the gas. Hydrogen sulfide kills dozens of people a year in this country and has become the death gas of choice for suicides in Japan. So if you smell it get the body seams sealed to minimize entry into the passenger cabin. That's covered in the bulletin even if they won't replace the converter.