Okay, so it's the day after Easter and you had a great dinner of roast leg of lamb, maybe, or perhaps, a slow roasted baked ham....great sides, desserts and, of course, those wonderful colored Easter eggs.
So, on with life as the Monday after Easter takes us all back to work. All of a sudden, you smell rotten eggs. Quick, check your pockets and see if you grabbed a few before you left your hosts house. If you don't have the eggs but you got the smell, you got a catalytic converter issue. Bad news, too, because this replacement is expensive...your car will not pass inspections because of emissions so you will have no choice.
This is not a regular maintenance issue although your check engine light should go on. The biggest concern is emissions and you may have a car that can't get out of its own way because of a very sluggish engine and that could pose a threat in traffic.
Here's what catalytic converters do: they change harmful emissions into harmless gas.
And if they go bad, they need to be replaced only if they become clogged or otherwise damaged and your car doesn't function properly.
Signs of damage include the smell of sulfur or rotten eggs from the exhaust, excessive heat under the vehicle and sluggish acceleration. Some of those symptoms can be caused by other parts of the emissions system, so a mechanic should check the entire system before replacing just the converter.
Again we will point out that potholes can and do damage various parts of your vehicle and perhaps your exhaust system can be affected if you bottom out your catalytic converter could be a pot hole victim, too.