Quote:
Originally Posted by Wires
The catalyst needs to get up to temperature before it becomes functional. That's why the car does that higher RPM "startup roar" to pre-heat it as fast as possible.
Once the catalyst gets hot, then it burns the hydrocarbons on the exhaust.
What does the exhaust smell like? Oil is really putrid, if it was a catalyst, then it would smell like unburnt fuel, coolant will have slightly sweet smell.
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I daily this car, around an hour a day so the catalyst is always up to temp when the smoke puffs out the exhaust while driving.
To me it dosnt smell like completely unburnt fuel and it dosnt smell sweet.
It smells more like something burnt like oil or burnt grease (maybe a hint of fuel?) and it sticks to your clothes like you can smell it on yourself all day.
And it also leaves a buildup of black residue on the exhaust tip.
I am leaning towards a bad catalyst, because it does rattle on start up and the mechanic said thats what melted catalysts do as well