Burning Rubber Smell?

[Liquidturbo2000]

After driving, sometimes I get a rubbery odour from the engine

Any ideas?

Oh, I also I scratched my rim and theres a black mark. whats the best way to deal with it.

Thanks
~

 

[twilightprotege]

i'm guess that smell is one of two things...

1. your brakes are damn hot or
2. your exhaust is really hot.

i get that smell after i've been driving really really hard, nothing to worry about.

later

 

[*SpLiT*]

my friend left his parking brake on so it burn it up and wuz smokin' lolol

 

[spazspike]

If the car is new the exhaust will smell pretty rank for the first 200 miles.

 

[uclap5]

or it could be burnt clutch.

 

[b_real45]

Ya my car is brand new.. had 4 miles on it.. now has 56 (in two days!). The exhaust smells like burning rubber or an electrical fire.. hah. But I don't see/hear anything unusual.

 

[pingdum]

Ya my car is brand new.. had 4 miles on it.. now has 56 (in two days!). The exhaust smells like burning rubber or an electrical fire.. hah. But I don't see/hear anything unusual.

Go back to the dealer, they may have adjusted the brakes or the clutch wrong. Where in Florida are you and what dealer did you buy from? I went to Cory Fairbanks in Longwood and they are always very cool about this sort of thing.

 

[gunners]

Ya my car is brand new.. had 4 miles on it.. now has 56 (in two days!). The exhaust smells like burning rubber or an electrical fire.. hah. But I don't see/hear anything unusual.

If it's that new, then it's probably the catalytic converter from the exhaust .. nothing to worry about!
I got the same smell for the first 200 to 300 miles... there are actually a few posts already about it in here... just have a browse on this msg board for more info and see if it matches the symptoms you're experiencing

 

[gregrego]

sorry to revive an old thread, but i was sitting on the driveway today and was just rolling back and driving up and doing that a few times and then it just STUNK like burning, what is this? im thinking its the cat because the exhaust is on its way out.. doesnt smell like rotton eggs and im very experienced at driving a manual car, so im hoping its not clutch, anyone else get this or know how to fix it? im 2 seconds away from installing a new cat back exhaust...

 

[CRZbrussian]

i would guess it's the clutch

 

[gregrego]

hmm ok, ill keep an eye on it, no problems shifting or slipping or pressure plate related, so if it makes this smell is that a good indication its time to be replaced? or is this just something that happens?

 

[aMaff]

sounds like clutch.

 

[Sveivo]

My understanding is that unless you were driving it hard at that moment and were slipping the clutch a lot, it won't smell.

Why would it smell when driving normally?

 

[aMaff]

he said he was rolling back and forth on a driveway (I'm assuming it had a slope). To give you an idea, sitting still on a hill holding the car in place w/ nothing but the clutch is the WORST thing you can do to it. I know he wasn't doing that, but when you slip the clutch a lot (like rolling back then put it into 1st and roll forwards w/o stopping), it's almost as bad, and doing it repetitively will probably make it smell.

 

[gregrego]

he said he was rolling back and forth on a driveway (I'm assuming it had a slope). To give you an idea, sitting still on a hill holding the car in place w/ nothing but the clutch is the WORST thing you can do to it. I know he wasn't doing that, but when you slip the clutch a lot (like rolling back then put it into 1st and roll forwards w/o stopping), it's almost as bad, and doing it repetitively will probably make it smell.

Exactly what I was doing, I dunno just bored waiting for the gf. Ok so i WONT do that anymore then.

Thanks guys.

 

[anarchistchiken]

Yeah definately not a good thing to do, lol.

Holy crap I just realized this thread was started the day I bought my car, haha.

 

[Sveivo]

Exactly what I was doing, I dunno just bored waiting for the gf. Ok so i WONT do that anymore then.

Thanks guys.

LOL! Okay, here's your answer (ughdance).

he said he was rolling back and forth on a driveway (I'm assuming it had a slope). To give you an idea, sitting still on a hill holding the car in place w/ nothing but the clutch is the WORST thing you can do to it. I know he wasn't doing that, but when you slip the clutch a lot (like rolling back then put it into 1st and roll forwards w/o stopping), it's almost as bad, and doing it repetitively will probably make it smell.

Sorry, I did have a good grip on the situation.

 

[Sveivo]

I remember I slipped my clutch pretty bad when trying to downshift at a high speed (I suck at teh rev-matching (peep)). And yeah, the smell was nasty.

 

[gregrego]

sometimes when i have my heater on, for feet and face, and im driving harder it smells like rotting? and its really bad, it continues until i turn the heater off, or cool it on the gas pedal, sound familiar to anyone?

 

[Sveivo]

sometimes when i have my heater on, for feet and face, and im driving harder it smells like rotting? and its really bad, it continues until i turn the heater off, or cool it on the gas pedal, sound familiar to anyone?

Hm, first I thought maybe it's just the normal moldy smell from condensation in the system or something like that.

But if it stays on the whole time maybe there is an exhaust leak under the hood? One of my previous cars had that problem--was leaking at the manifold a bit.