Does anyone experience any foul odor or rotten egg smell coming from the catalytic converter/ exhaust pipe or A/C vents of their GX460?

I've read it's a common problem on the 4Runner.

I have already replaced the cabin filter, use fuel treatment, and switch gas stations but once in a while the foul odor or rotten egg smell is noticeable coming out of the exhaust tail pipe?

Any solutions on this problem will be appreciated!

 

I've only ever heard of the issue stemming from sulfur content in gasoline when intermittent, or issues with the cat when more constant. I personally have never experienced it on my GX, though I did on my previous BMW, and I believe it's more noticeable with 4Runners when you have the rear window (hatch) rolled down.

When you switched gas stations did you also switch brands?

 

I've owned a 4th Gen 4Runner for 11 years and whenever you romp on the gas even mildly you get the suffer/rotten egg smell. No change of gas brands etc changes that.

I have a 2012 GX I've owned for 2 years now and haven't noticed the sulfur smell much. But I did have a mildewy smell that I believe was caused by water trapped in the A/C evaporator. It gets smelly. I started using a carbon cabin filter and that seems to have really helped. I used: Fram Fresh Breeze CF10285 $15 from Amazon

Hope that helps.

 

If its under warranty try bring it up to the SA. Usually if the AC vents smell, thats mildew or mold growing in the AC air intake. Happens to some vehicles depending on the design, humidty etc.

If they say not covered, easy fix would turn on the GX, blast the AC, and then spray the intake (not the engine intake but the AC fresh air intake) with disinfectant. Now I dont know if this works for the GX, but for my cars I have done this, and usually its kills the smell and possibly the mildew and mold for about a year or two.

The only way to avoid it apparently, is to always make sure you heat cycle the entire HVAC system before shutdown. (Before turning off the car, heat on full blast to help aid evaporation)

 

I had the sulfur smell on my 4Runner. Had the TSB done, did not fix the smell, but replacing the secondary cats did crack my exhaust manifolds.

What year is your GX? Have there been any manifold or cat updates (PN change) since the 2010?

I have not noticed the smell in the GX. But the 4Runner was fine new, and the stink increased over time.