Here is a post highlighting the reasons and solutions for burning smells in a car. All of us have experienced some sort of burning smell from our cars at some point. It is quite common but a lot of people don’t know the reasons or solutions for it. After reading this post, you will, hopefully, be able to understand the reason behind any burning smell from your car and will be able to take the necessary immediate action either to remedy it or prevent it from getting worse. Let us get into it.
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Reasons & Solutions for Burning Smells
There could be a lot of reasons for the burning smell in a car. However, you must never take it lightly. It is always a bad sign. This could even prove to be fatal if the smell is coming from some prominent component.
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Burning Smell from Clutch
Many times, when the clutch of the drivetrain experiences excessive wear for long periods of time, you might feel the burning smell. This is particularly true in the case of uphill drives in the mountains. If you are on a slope in start-stop traffic where you are not able to fully release the clutch, the wear will happen in the components. There, you need to let the car rest for a while and try to move only when there is a sufficient gap between you and the car ahead of you so that the entire clutch could be released.
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Smell from Rubber
Another common burning smell is that of rubber. Now, the timing belts in the engine could cause this smell along with some broken rubber parts. The conveyor belt could also get stuck which allows the belt to keep moving on the surface causing a burning smell. You should visit a mechanic nearby and this could be fixed in no time provided not a lot of damage had been done already.
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Smell from Plastic
It is common knowledge that a car contains many plastic materials in various parts. Primarily, the electrical components and wires are covered with plastic materials. In the case of short circuits, one can smell the burning of plastic. Also, if any component of the heating system of the car malfunctions, you will smell plastic burning too. In this case, switch off the heater and take the car to the nearest mechanic.
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Burning Coolant or Engine Oil
There are many cases where the coolant or engine oil gets leaked. In such cases, the coolant or the engine oil might also burn with the fuel or cause blue flames from the tailpipe indicating there is a leakage. One has to take the leakage seriously before the entire fluid runs out. Taking the car to the workshop will prevent any unnecessary damage caused to the components due to a lack of coolant or engine oil.
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Hard Braking
Braking hard, especially on a downward slope requires a lot of braking power. This causes the brake rotors to wear against the brake pads vigorously. As a result, one can smell something burning. To avoid this, make sure to engine brake down the slope and keep the speeds low. Also, in the long run, hard braking will cause the brakes to fade and lose efficiency.
