– DEAR TOM AND RAY: My wife’s car is an ’08 Toyota Sienna all-wheel-drive van with almost 70,000 miles on it.

In the past few months, the whole garage has been stinking like rotten eggs. At first I thought it was catalytic converter smell, but the odor was coming from under the hood, not out the tailpipe. I traced down the smell to the battery and noticed that the positive terminal had aqua-colored gunk on it, but the negative terminal was clean. So I took it to the shop and had the battery terminals cleaned.

Two days ago, the van failed to start. I opened the hood and noticed that the deposits on the battery terminal were back and that the clamp on the positive terminal actually had corroded through and was loose on the post. The sulfur smell is still around, but not nearly as pungent as it had been.

I removed the battery from the car and cleaned off the deposits. I thoroughly washed the outside of the battery and dried it. I replaced the positive battery clamp with a Toyota OEM clamp ($26 and a family-size jar of Vaseline!). I brushed both battery poles and the negative terminal clamp with a steel-wire brush and reinstalled the battery. For good measure, I doused both battery terminals with WD-40.

I don’t ever recall having a car battery produce so much odor that it stunk up a two-car garage. What would cause these symptoms to occur? The battery is Toyota OEM and is labeled an “84-month” battery. Should I insist that Toyota replace it? — Paul

RAY: Yes. You need a new battery. Yours is junk.

TOM: Your battery is out-gassing. It’s emitting hydrogen sulfide, a gas best known by the question it usually prompts about who’s been eating bean burritos.

RAY: … unless my brother is nearby, in which case the question is unnecessary.

TOM: That hydrogen sulfide is what’s corroding your battery terminals and leaving that white (or, in your case, aqua), chalky residue.

RAY: You’ve cleaned and replaced everything, but you keep putting the bad battery back in there. So unless you change it out, I have no doubt the out-gassing and corrosion will continue.

TOM: Then — and this is very important — after your dealer replaces the battery, he has to check your whole charging system. The problem could be in the battery itself, or it could be that the battery is getting overcharged.

RAY: That’s what we do to our customers. But in your case, it means that your alternator or voltage regulator may be faulty. So the battery is continually getting charged, even after it’s already fully charged. That’s making the battery fluid boil over and causing the battery to out-gas.

TOM: So Toyota owes you a battery, or at least the pro-rated portion of that 84-month battery you didn’t get to use. And depending on how your charging system checks out, it may owe you an alternator, too, Paul. The jar of Vaseline’s on you, though.

DEAR TOM AND RAY: My lovely wife has always said that I could have any car I want to satisfy my midlife crisis. I am turning 50 this year and had thought of getting a roadster/sports car. I have dreams of driving down the road with the top down and my beautiful wife next to me.

Unfortunately, I am somewhat practical and don’t want to spend a great deal of money. I have looked at some classic sports cars, such as an MG Midget and Austin-Healey Sprite. However, I am fearful of getting a garage car (a car that never leaves the garage), and wonder whether there is a more reliable alternative. Please advise. Unvarnished comments are welcome. Thank you. — Tom

RAY: From your choice of cars, I can see you’re seeking out a midlife crisis, with the emphasis on “crisis,” Tom. You’ve picked some real heaps.

TOM: Oh, au contraire, Piston Puss! Those are great cars! You get the wind blowing through your hair —

RAY: — as you get pulled along by the tow truck.

TOM: You get the feel of the road —

RAY: — every single pebble.

TOM: You get the smell of the gasoline —

RAY: — and the burning oil — and the impending electrical fires. These cars are the very definition of “garage cars,” Tom. And they SHOULD stay in the garage, because not only are they unreliable, they’re unsafe, too.

TOM: So you wear a football helmet.

RAY: Tom, choose carefully here. If you screw up your midlife crisis the first time, you’re just going to have to do it all over again.

TOM: Which is what I’ve been doing for the past 30 years!

RAY: What you need, Tom, is a Mazda Miata. Back in the 1980s, the engineers at Mazda said, “What if we built one of those great, British-style sports cars — a two-seater, convertible, low to the ground, with just enough power and superb handling — but, unlike the MGs and Triumphs, we made one that STARTS every day?”

TOM: That idea became the Miata. And since Mazda’s been making them for 20 years now, you can find one in almost any condition, and at almost any price point you want.

RAY: Right. So if you want to simulate an old MG Midget, get a Miata that’s been stored under a pile of leaves for the past 10 years. Or, if you want one you can actually enjoy, find a more recent one in good condition.

TOM: I can endorse the Miata, Tom. It’s a lot of fun, even though it doesn’t leak enough oil for my taste. Happy crisis!

Write to Click and Clack by visiting the Car Talk Web site at

www.cartalk.com.

Copy the Story Link