so pretty much almost every time i accelerate n past like 5000 rpm my car starts to smell funny.not really smokey smell but rather dirty oil type smell (oil is fine!).the smell goes away after awhile of driving...but 30mins later if accelerate hard again the smell would come back again .
any one can help??
thanks


lexus is350 2007

 

Its normal, happens to me too at times when i floor it

 

Means your car is working hard!

 

My car did this when it was brand new; assumed it was cosmoline or similar anti-corrosion coating near the exhaust burning off. After a few months the car could be driven hard without any smell.

 

Seeing your car is about 5 years old, nothing is burning off the engine.

This is a perfectly normal, yet disgusting, feature of Toyota's catalytic converters. If you think ours are bad, take a ride in a 4runner with the rear window down. Anything past 3k RPM will fill the truck with a sulfer smell that will make your eyes water.

There are currently 2 4Runners in my family and they both do it...along with my 2007 IS350.

 

maybe your just working the engine hard. if it was something of concern, im sure you would have found out by now.

 

My car had a nasty burning smell and it ended up being a leaking gasket (from what I remember). Should take it to a mech to check out imo.

 

Funny, I pound on my '06 350 and get no smells...besides that of the tree air freshener of my choosing for the week. LOL!

 

I do that too on my '08 and no funny smells here either...

 

^^ ya its def not normal for the car to smell like something is burning just because you mash it a bit.

 

There is a potential for a catalytic converter to produce offensive sulfur smells, but it seems odd that you'd be able to notice it only while accelerating. After all, if the smell came from the cats, it should go out the exhaust and into the slipstream of your car. If you're smelling a rotten egg smell while moving, then you'd better get your exhaust checked out right away, because you may have a leak - and if you're huffing hydrogen sulfide (already not a friendly gas) then you're also breathing in carbon monoxide.

 

I get the rotten egg smell after driving alittle harsh or going uphill when the car downshifts and the rpm goes up to 5k... It's been like this since day one (Nov,2010) so it never caused any alarm for me.. Not to mention my previous IS (an 07 250awd) had the same issue..
Hmm.. Guess I have something to get checked when my car gets serviced in a few weeks..

 

Is this one of those "known issues?" What I want to know is if a few WOT driving is required to replicate this issue?

 

There is a TSIB that addresses this concern and according to it, if no check engine light comes on, then it may be the characteristic of it. Maybe trying a different gas station?

 

I have an 06 250 and never had it, also had an 2001 4Runner with no issues. Interesting