Normally when I cruise around town I don't get the smell of sulfur
emanating from the exhaust/cat...

There have been a handful of times when I downshift from 4th to 3rd gear in order to gain some back in seat throttle response which puts the car in the 5500-6000+ rpm range and find that the car lets out this foul stench which we all can associate with good ol' stink bombs...

My car is brand new and I hope that the cat. isn't getting clogged with excess unburned fuel. I have been filling up at the same Shell gas station for sometime. It doesn't happen all the time when I accelerate - but if I push the car (WOT after a downshift this has happened enough times for me to question it).

The other day the driver of a BMW 328ci came flying down towards my rear so I dowshifted from 4th to 3rd and left him - unfortunately I begin to wonder if he chose not to pursue too much due to the foul smelling smoke screen that my car was providing. I know if it had been myself (in the 328ci) I would have changed lanes and went about my business - the smell was already bad enough for me INSIDE THE CAR... I can only imagine the ATTACK from the rear....

 

I believe that smell is you burning your clutch

 

doubtful... esp if its that bad.....

is your clutch slipping at all? i bet it is not (to fairly new of a car) if its not.. it most likely is your cat.. and i have no clue how to diagnose a problem like yours... (if u were me) you'd be at the dealer already

 

I've smelled my clutch in my 1991 Sentra before - IMO those two smells are far from the same... clutch has more of a BURNT odor to it rather than a sulfuric smell...

 

You might have an egg in the exhaust

 

Clutch is definitely not slipping - you're right its too new for that. I have peeled out only a handful of times when I got on 1st and 2nd hard but that smell was not there on those occasions. Just tires trying to get some grip...

I read about this same problem on www.maxima.org on a couple 2000 models and I think I am not the only 2002 Alty to have this problem. As I said before it doesn't occur all the time - if it did I would know that it was definitely a faulty cat.

I will say after about a minute the foul stench dissapears. So as I said only if I get on it hard about 80+ in third it SOMETIMES gives off that foul stench - and it is definitely a sulfuric type of smell - not a burning clutch smell...

 

Unless you've already done a ****load of mods to the car(doubtful)....not meaning your incapable, just there isn't a huge aftermarket yet, I'd bring it right back to the dealer and have them take a look at it.

 

there might be a bulletin on your problem. ECU needs to be reprogrammed. I've seen it on G20's. Take it to the dealer.