Prius (2010-12) :: Burning Smell While Driving
Nov 14, 2012
Noticed a burning smell while driving in 2010 prius?
View 15 RepliesNoticed a burning smell while driving in 2010 prius?
View 15 RepliesI've put almost 3K miles on my Prius C and there have been times when I've gone up a long hill that required spending a lot of time in the red POWER zone. For example climbing up into the Berkeley hills, but always on a less steep switchback route. Quite often by the time I get to the top I can smell something like a mild burning coming from the engine. I imagine this is a normal reaction from the motor to being used to get up a long hill, but it is unnerving anyway. It is noticeable inside the cabin also, but more pronounced over the hood.
View 9 RepliesI just drove my Prius through 8-10 inches of heavy wet snow. The car did amazingly well. At times my traction control light was on when trying to get up an incline until the car got going. Then when I got home I stopped in my driveway for the garage door to open and started into the garage. The car was stuck, but then the light came on and the car climbed the driveway in about 10-15 seconds and made it in the garage. I then noticed a smell like burning tires. Maybe it was the tires from spinning. I hope that I didn't hurt my transmission or another component. Does the Prius protect itself if it is stuck and the traction control light is on from overheating something? I think I recall that the 2nd generation Prius would not allow for wheel spin to protect the traction battery.
View 5 RepliesI had a very strong burning rubber smell coming from under my Prius tonight after climbing a moderate hill at 40kph/25mph for approximately 3 to 4 minutes. The car had been driven for about 50 minutes through regular traffic, outside temp was 7C/44F and I drove up to a scenic outlook. When I pulled into the parking lot, we put the passenger window down and the burning rubber smell was very strong.
I searched all around using a small flashlight and couldn't see anything touching the exhaust, but it's difficult to see anything under a Prius with it's low ground clearance. The burning rubber smell was strongest under the car, but was getting pulled into the HVAC system when we stopped. I have smelled it before, but passed it off as other vehicles. After tonight, i'm sure its coming from my car. I drove the car home for 50 minutes through stop and go city traffic, so the engine was not always running. After parking, I checked under the car again and the smell was very light almost non-existent.
I have 13000km/8000mi on the car, and I have had it for 11months. It has been driven in hills and very hot weather last summer, so I don't think this is paint burning off or the car getting hot for the first time.
Sometimes you have to put pedal to the metal to pass slowpokes blocking 2 line roads (I'm talking city/suburb driving here). but, i noticed that the smell follows. first couple of times, i thought it was coming from some other car, but this time, I realized it was me.
No, it's not burning tire due to the insane acceleration (not in this car). What else could be? should i worry about the car bursting in flames?
I let my engine oil get way low, got an oil change - fresh new synthetic and filter, now engine gives off burning oil smell after driving. Re-checked oil level several times and it shows "full". Temp never gets over 200 per gauge. What did I do to my engine? and what should Ido to minimize damage?
View 1 RepliesAfter leaving my car parked for 4 days at the airport, my car has a burning smell when driving. Nothing is on except the engine. It's still smelling after 4 days. I've left my car at the airport for longer and have never smelled this before.
View 6 RepliesJust in the last couple days, after driving for a while, I noticed a strong burning smell immediately as every time I opened my door! It doesn't feel like it's from the engine bay, but more likely from underneath of the car (I could smell it near the rear wheel arch). The smell starts very noticeable and diminishes quickly! BTW, it's a 2015 GTI DSG, 2-month-old, 2700 miles, pure stock. I got a bit concern on this since it never happened before.
View 14 RepliesMy engine bay smells of burning oil after driving for a while. I have cleaned up the engine in order to find the leak. There is some gunky residue on the belt side of the engine but that wouldn't cause the smell.
Crawling under the car I found that there appears to be a leak between the (what I think is) the aluminum intake side of the turbo and the cast iron center. You can see it in the videos below:
[URL] .....
This is the only leak near the exhaust that I can find. Does this mean that the seals inside my turbo are toast and I will need to either rebuild or replace it? What is the best course of action? Rebuild? New OEM Turbo?
Burning oil smell but can't figure out where or why.
No Drips (checked standing on dry ground).
No Drips (checked after spraying water down on ground).
Checked Oil, level doesn't change.
Checked Transmission, level doesn't change.
Only thing that has changed is that i went with a 5w-40 oil about 4000km ago. Could it be burning minute amounts of oil during driving under hard conditions (mountains/hills)?
Last night while i was driving my car began to overheat. I could smell coolant burning. I pulled over and opened my hood. The coolant inside the coolant pod was boiling. Some coolant lines were steaming as well. I could also hear a gurgly like noise coming the engine. This is a 1.8t gti
View 3 RepliesI own an old Civic and I noticed in the past several months that I get a burned oil odor in the passenger compartment, but only when I drive downhill. I more recently notice that if I accelerate while driving down the hill, a cloud of smoke trails out behind me then clears when I let off the gas. This car has 294,000 miles on the odo. (I know) and I DO have to add a quart of oil every 2 weeks or so. It runs great though. Is my motor about ready to blow or what . . . ?
View 7 RepliesTook the car on the hwy earlier today. A/C was on and wss going about 60 mph when all of a sudden I got this horrible burning rubber smell inside the cabin.
I exited the freeway and the smell eventually subsided. I'll try again tomorrow to see if the smells comes back.
I have a 2007 Sonata V6 with 198,000km (123,000 miles) and when I was driving yesterday I smelt a burning smell like burning rubber or plastic. The smell seemed to go away after a while and I was wondering what could have caused it?
View 2 RepliesI have a 4 cyl 2000 camry. I notice the smell of burning oil when I shut off the car and while I'm driving. There is no black smoke coming from the tail pipe and it uses minimal oil. I removed the spark plugs and found oil on the threads of spark plug # 2, but not on the electrode. What's up?
View 1 RepliesI have right around 2k miles on my '13 base model 6MT. I've noticed recently that after faster highway driving (75-80mph sustained for 10-25 min, up to 95 passing occasionally), I can smell something when I get out that reminds me an awful lot of the clutch burning up in my old 350 as I hauled a way-too-heavy trailer. Drivetrain is still very responsive, no noticeable slippage. Never shifted out of 6th when passing at speeds above. Just paranoid? Something I should look into?
View 3 RepliesI just noticed a burnt smell in the trunk of my 2013 Elantra Limited with 4,000 miles. You can't smell it inside the car. Called the dealer and was told, "Oh, don't worry, that's the burn-in smell", it will go away in a few weeks".
View 5 RepliesMy 2010 Subaru Legacy has been leaking oil since the last oil change, and also smelling like burning oil. I took it back to the mechanics, and they told me something about oil pooling from previous oil changes into the splash pan, soaking into the foam in or around the splash pan, and the foam got so saturated that it is now dripping oil. The good news: no new leak, only a residual leak.They cleaned it up, replaced the foam, and topped me off-no charge.
My questions: Does this sound right/common? Or are my mechanics sloppy to be saturating foam in or around the splash pan? And is the burning oil smell related to all this splashing and pooling oil? This is the third oil change related issue I've had with them. First they didn't fill my oil to the appropriate fill line (I believe they over-filled
Then the next time they did not tighten my oil cap enough, which caused oil to spill and burn, and they couldn't diagnose the issue (I took it in complaining of the smell of something burning-almost like plastic burning, and they looked at me like I was crazy, and told me they couldn't smell anything burning. Getting it fixed took a chance encounter with a different mechanic, and he knew what it was by smell! Now I do, too).
I just picked up my new 2011 F150 SCrew with Ecoboost on friday (pictures soon). I noticed after driving it a little, there is a noticeable burning smell...almost like an oil smell. It is even more noticeable after I had been driving with a little more throttle.. i.e. getting the turbos working a little. I attribute this to the normal coatings of oils on the parts but it still is a little concerning at times. I'm sure I'm worried about nothing and this is normal...
View 14 RepliesI have found that when I accelerate quickly, while entering the expressway or getting around a semi for example, a burning smell enters the car. I imagine it's oil but uncertain. The smell occurs shortly after the quick acceleration and it doesn't occur consistently.
View 14 RepliesWhen starting the RX, I smell something I would describe as "burning insulation". It happens only first 10-20 seconds after the air comes out from the vents, and then the smell disappears. The smell is stronger after prolonged parking. It is the strongest in the morning and less noticeable after I start the RX 2-3 more times ( I usually make 6-8 short trips during the day). The smell was very strong when I started the RX first time after it was parked for one week (while we went on vacation).
There are no warning lights, and the vehicle runs just fine. I pulled out the carbon cabin filter (changed about 3 mo ago) - it did not smell and was very clean still. I am hesitant to go to the dealer-afraid they will rip apart the dash, which they probably will not be able to put back together without having rattles and noises after.
The smell comes from the inside - there is no smell under the hood after I start the RX.