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Three conditions are necessary for "rotten egg" or hydrogen sulfide odor to be present in exhaust gasses:
- Hot catalytic converter
- Sulfur in the fuel
- Rich air-fuel ratio, at least momentarily.
Of these three, the quantity of sulfur present in the fuel is the most variable, and most difficult to control for both a vehicle manufacturer and a customer.
High amounts of sulfur in fuel can cause not only a rotten egg odor in exhaust gasses, but also certain re-active sulfurs can corrode silver contacts in the fuel level sender, causing erroneous fuel gauge readings.
At present, there is no EPA requirement for the level of sulfur in fuel, outside of the state of California, and the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) specification limit is 1000 parts per million (PPM). To put that number into perspective, the current limit for sulfur in California phase 2 gasolines requires an average of less than 30 PPM.
In 2004, the EPA will begin limiting the sulfur content in gasoline. In 2004, the EPA limit for the corporate average sulfur content will be 120 ppm, and no single gasoline can exceed 300 ppm (except for small refiner exemptions). By 2006, the corporate average will be limited to 30 ppm (the current California limit), with a maximum of 80 ppm (except for small refiner delays). California Phase 3 gasoline, which will be available next year, will have a maximum sulfur content of 15 ppm.
In the absence of an identified vehicle condition, customers can be advised to temporarily change to a premium grade brand of fuel from a major supplier such as Shell, Exxon, Texaco or Chevron. Premium fuels in general have been found to have lower sulfur levels. However, even these suppliers can be susceptible in areas where base fuels are delivered either by pipeline or from the same refinery.
TIP: Dealers should refrain from attempting repairs or replacing catalytic converters for odor complaints, unless there is a MIL indicating a part deficiency.
2004 Maxx LT with almost 34K miles. Last 6 of VIN is 179608. Car is running fine with no complaints, but the 36K manufacturer's warranty will soon expire and I'd like to know if there is any work I should have done beforehand. Can e2helper consult his magic oracle stone and let me know? Thanks --
My Malibu 97 with 104K miles on it, is giving me hard time.
The check engine light is on, and most of the time it flashes. The OBD code shows mulitple misfire in cylinder4. I changed the spark plug with a friend and nothing changed. The car vibrates a lot while running and that scary check engine light is still flashing. Could anyone help me out with there experience on similar problems. I am planning to go to a mechaic tomorrow, however would like to hear you guys take on this.
The only other thing I could say is that your engine controller doesn't have latest calibration but if you aren't experiencing any complaints might be better to leave it alone -- new calibration was supposed to have some improvements for starting, idle quality and some changes to 3-4 upshift which I think people noticed when using cruise control going up/down hills.
Also, is my transmission the configuration with the "howl"? I've heard a resonance under certain conditions, but no louder than I've experienced in several other vehicles.
As far as the transmission, it is possible. TSB 04-07-30-021A gave a date code range of transmissions which might exhibit this - your dealer would have to check to see if it does apply.
After the steering column replacement the steering wheel started to turn left by itself while accelerating from the stop. It turns left for about 10 degrees. This is in addition to the pull to the left issue, which became more drastic and requires more effort to keep the car straight.
The front tires were rotated, the alignment checked and the outcome was no change at all.
The explanation I was given was that “some pull to left is normal (torque steer).
e2helper and others: Is this really normal? Is it fixable or do I have to live with this until I change the car?
The clunky front suspension was not fixed either (concern not duplicated.)
My steering column was changed and my car drives straight and true with hands off the wheel for quite a distance. The only thing that makes it turn slightly to the right is if there is a camber in the road. In fact, you are saying that your car pulls to the left which would be opposite to the camber in the road.
Your problem is fixable with a competent dealer who knows how the electrical steering system works and how to zero it.
They realigned to recenter the steering wheel.
I never had steering wheel replaced but have always had a left pull at highway speeds. There is a TSB to address this. It's 04-03-06-001, issued Sept 2004. It explains what needs to be done to correct a left pull. GM also revised the alignment specs on the 04-05 Malibu. TSB 05-03-07-005, issued Apr 05 provides the new specs.
The last time I had car in for service I mentioned the left pull and gave dealer copy of the TSB's. They said all alignmentangles are within specs and they also recalibrated the steering wheel sensors, but I still have the left pull. They gave me a print out from the alignment machine and I noticed one thing they missed.
The left lead TSB says that front cross caster and front cross camber are the only alignment parameters that influence lead or pull. The TSB says a positive cross camber (left camber minus right camber) may cause left pull. My left camber was -0.8 degrees and my right camber was -1.0 degrees. That gives a positive cross camber of 0.2 degrees. Next service I will show them the TSB again and the alignment print out and have them check it again. I know the left lead can be fixed. Some earlier posters on one of the Malibu forums said their dealers were able to fix the problem.
Thanks for input.
The problem though is that there are many parameters at work here. Firstly, the new electric assist steering system which has its problems. Secondly, there seems to be an inherent mechanical problem on some new Malibus with steering to the left and, thirdly, torque steer.
I have been lucky and have have had no problems so far. My steering column was changed under recall with the old one never showing any symptoms of malfunction.
you or a competent dealer can remove the outer ring, then take the dome light assembly out, reglue the magnet to the surrounding plastic, and reassemble.
also, the front headrest supports are plastic bumpers/locks inserted into metal tubes. These will rattle and sound as if noise is comming from the ceiling. it's difficult, but sealer or glue can be injected between these bumpers and their tubes, securing them and keeping them from rattling.
My Maxx was much more pleasant once I fixed these. My dealer, btw, had no clue and only managed to smear grease on the headliner - be sure yours understands trim work or at least "how to work clean".
Just as a matter of interest to all, what about rear wheel alignment? Is this being checked when all other electrical and mechanical alignment up front is deemed to be correct? There are a few adjusters on the rear suspension for that.
Tires can sometimes cause a pull and this is old news. While it certainly can't explain all the steering and alignment issues with the Malibu, tire pull should be investigated whenever the alignment is 'correct,' the steering re-centered, and the car still exibits a stability problem. Some will even investigate it first.
Tire 'memory' in this instance refers to two things:
First, the conicity or ply-steer built into the tire from new. This is a quality issue with the tires, not something that any manufacturer wants. The second is a wear pattern created in the tire from too many miles in an out-of alignment condition. This is discovered by people everyday after their tires are rotated and they notice their cars behave differently. Either way, the industry refers to it as tire memory.
We love our Maxx, but this forum reminds us we've been lucky with it too.
BTW - Malibu & Maxx models already have different gearing partly due to the tire & wheel sizes GM fits them with.
As for tire rotation and the chance of a tire-pull returning, it is a chance you have to take. Not rotating the tires would reduce their life and eventually lead to uneven wear anyway. If a tire is known to have a pull, moving it to the rear should lessen the problem.
can i get some info on the Malibu Maxx steering wheel lock-up and what the recall i saw posted entailed? i own a G6 and have experienced the same thing and GM is saying they have had no complaints about it. yet i have FIVE CERTIFIED cases of G6 Owners with the same complaint, all have contacted their dealers numerous times and all are told the same thing: "we have not had a problem with any 'lock-up'"!!! the service manager at my local dealership DID tell me that he had a similar complaint and that GM Techline told him to repalce the column, which they did. apparently have not had any further complaints from that owner.
please let me know what YOU know and i, along with several owners on the G6 Owners Club website would really appreciate it.
thanks, kevin
Good luck!
PS Have other "rattles" that are most annoying.
but i would like to know what the recall was for and why GM was replacing steering columns in Malibu's.
thanks
The problem was traced to a noisy slip ring which sent electrical impulses to the computer which would become confused and then shut down. At the next startup the problem would clear and the power assist would work again until the slipring once again sent confusing signals to the computer. The cause of the noisy slipring was contamination by grease during assembly. A modified slipring and new software was installed to remedy the problem.
GM should have sorted the problems out by now on the newer models unless other issues of which I am not aware of have crept in. I don't know. What I have described pertains to my 2004 Malibu. I should imagine that safety would dictate that no steering wheel should solidly "lockup" under power assist failure. You should still be able to manually overide the steering.
The torque sensor in the Delphi system which the Malibu uses is not to counteract torque steer. It senses the amount of effort you are putting on the steering wheel and the computer translates this into energy put into the steering drive motor. As a matter of interest, the steering assist motor is a 60amp motor and it is fused with a 100amp fuse which is situated under the hood near the battery. So, if the car is stationary and you turn the wheels you could draw up to 12volts x 60amps which gives me 720watts which is near enough to 1 horsepower.
On the highway there will be times when the steering assist is drawing no energy therefore you are saving gas. A hydraulic system on the other hand always draws maximum energy even though the steering is not being turned.
You will notice that hybrid cars use electric power assist for this very reason - to save gas.
It looks like in the few posts before this that there is or may be a recall on the steering, Is this true?
Thanks y'all
regarding my experience with this issue, in my case, it seems that possibly the 'torque sensor' is failing because when this happened to me, it was as if the wheel was resisting my attempt to turn it. i'm a big guy at 6'2" and 275lbs and i can tell you for a fact that wheel WOULD NOT TURN!!
thanks again for the info.......
As I said, I don't know if any further issues have cropped up since my column was changed. I just know that I had no problems and it seems as if the response and feel of my EPS is better now. This could possibly be because of the new software.
There must be something wrong if you could not turn the wheel. As far as I know there is a clutch that allows slippage if the EPS should fail. In other words there is always a direct connection between the steering wheel and the steering rack. You should have it investigated.