WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON with my brakes. Every time I apply the brakes I get this stench coming through the vents. It smells like over cooked cabbage or pumpkins(!!!!!??), thats the best way I can describe it, overcooked veg. The car is a 2000 1.6 Focus

I've heard before about an rotten egg smell before(something to do with the way the cat deals with sulphur), but it's deff not eggs. I've only had the car a matter of months and it only started doing it about 3 weeks ago, so I wouldnt know when the brake fluid was last changed. it has just gone through it's MOT with no advisories concerning the brakes. It does brake well save for a slight pull to the left(only when I have a light grip on the wheel. To try and see where it was coming from, I found a quiet road and braked from about 30mph to a stop, then I got out straight away and tried to smell the brakes through the wheel. I couldnt detect any smell, but I did feel that the nearside front was quite hot compared to the offside. Couple this with the slight pull to the left, could it be that I have a sticking piston or that also there might be a leak somewhere.

Please help me out because the missus had to get out the other day and was nearly sick because of it, the windows were down when it was hot so was even worse. Cheers. Rich.

 

I'd say the cat's on it's way out!

 

As you've discovered it's the brake caliper sticking, take pad out and work in and out a few million times whilst spraying wd40 onto the piston under the seal, will often loosen it, the extra heat shows it is doing more work, most likely due to sticking on and causing the pull at the same time.
tabetha