Types Of Unusual Vehicle Smells

Most of your car's interior has been designed to be odorless. Unless it's the new car's smell, you should be worried about any other odor coming from within it. Small details such as a smell of burnt rubber may indicate a potential mechanical or electrical problem that needs immediate attention—otherwise, it may lead to costly problems down the road. Because cars are designed to use a range of fluids that operates at high temperatures, pressures, and within high-speed moving components, the unusual odor may be becoming from a number of places and for different reasons.

Below Are Some of the Most Common Smells That You Shouldn't Ignore

Burnt Rubber

An awful smell of burnt rubber usually comes from engine hoses and belts. It may mean that the belts are loose and slipping, or the hoses are rubbing against a moving part. Also, overheating clutch plates tend to smell like burnt rubber.

Maple Syrup

It might be a sweetish smell, but it is an indication of a leakage problem. It could be a leaky radiator, cylinder head gasket, a failed intake in the manifold gasket, or loose hose pipe that's letting out the ethylene glycol in the coolant. If the maple syrup smell is strong inside the car, chances are the heater core is faulty, and you need to see a mechanic as soon as possible.

Burnt Paper

The smell of burnt papers, especially when changing gears, signs that your clutch is burning off as the clutch slips. Burning of clutches mostly happens when the driver is "riding" the gear while frequently stepping on the pedal. This causes significant friction, which in turn creates enough heat to burn the paper-based clutch facings. Once the paper-based clutch face is burnt, the clutch fails completely.

Rotten Eggs or Sulfur

When your car starts producing a smell that is similar to that of rotten eggs, you should check your catalytic converter. An awful egg smell indicates that your catalytic converter is not properly processing the exhaust pipe's hydrogen sulfide.

Burnt Oil

When your car engine starts giving off a burnt oil smell, you should turn off the engine first then check the oil dipstick as you might be running out of oil. It could also be caused by the engine overheating or oil leakage onto the hot exhaust manifold. You should also check on your transmission fluids. If its low, your car starts burning the transmission. This is because the gears are overheating as a result of not being adequately lubricated.

Are you smelling something strange when your car is running, and you have no idea where the smell is coming from? It's best if your car is checked right away to avoid big and costly problems. We invite you to bring your vehicle into our auto repair shop today and have the root cause of the strange smell checked!