Nopike

iTrader: (2)

Before I start crawling under my car I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Maybe it is nothing to worry about and is normal.

I have a kind of burning smell coming from the front of the vehicle on the passenger side. Near the radiator. It is especially noticeable when I pull in to my garage when the engine is warm. I have noticed this since I bought my 2014 six months ago.

The intensity of the smell has not really changed in 6 months. And I can smell it occasionally when I am driving the car. I thought that maybe it's just a hose that was off gassing and it would go away in time. But it has not.

I checked all my fluids and they seem to be fine and I also do not appear to have any kind of leak. It may be coming from the AC compressor but the AC works fine. Maybe it coming from the precats or in that area? Anyone have an idea what this could be?

Bossman150

Bah it ate my reply! Trying again - I think most of the cars I have owned have had a "hot smell" after a decent drive, especially when you pull it in the garage. With my Cougar and Cruze it was tiny amounts of oil burning on hot parts of the engine/exhaust, never enough to touch the ground. I think as long as its just a hot smell that does not get worse, or you don't smell something like antifreeze or plastic/rubber burning you are ok.

Edit: I also have an extremely sensitive nose, so I notice the "hot smell" when other people say they can't smell anything.

maximase86

iTrader: (24)

Check the power steering lines. There should be a cooler near that area.

S

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

It may just be a "hot" smell but I have never noticed it to this extent in other cars.

Thanks, it does appear to be coming from the PS cooler area. Although I don't believe I have any leaks and the PS fluid appears normal. I thought maybe it's just a hose that smells that way when it gets hot. In that case I would expect others to have the same smell. It's kind of a rubbery smell.


Is it normal for the cooler to create that smell? Do others have the same issue?

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

I noticed my power steering fluid smells really bad. Like a dead fish. Is this normal? The fluid looks fine, nice and clear and red. Has anyone else checked their PS? Does it smell really bad even when it is fairly new?

dr_2010SV

The A/C smell was present during my first year or so and has totally diminished...no more coolant smell.
Followed up with coolant level checks along with an engine oil analysis just to be sure and it was all good.

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

I recently moved to California from Kansas and when I'm driving up and down the hills in my area (at speed) with the windows up I have noticed a burning smell a few times. After checking I found nothing wrong and all my fluid levels were ok. Since others have experienced the same "smell" with their car and mine only does it on steep climbs I just live with it for now. Sort of like I did with my 03 Maxima, when my engine made a rattling chain noise on hills or when I was driving it hard I knew I needed to check and or add some oil cause it was a slow oil burner.

CorollaULEV

You need to be VERY VERY leery of this. My 2010 smelled of coolant when new and it still does (112,000 miles on it). It is because BOTH headgaskets have a slow coolant leak (thankfully it is external).

Crawl under the car and look where the heads meet the block and I bet a dollar against a donut that you will see some bluish-green crust.

Hopefully, there's no more leaking, but I would really be VERY persistent in having the dealer fix this if it's in warranty.

Late,
Trav

Nopike

iTrader: (2)

After checking out my car again this weekend I am starting to think that there is a good chance that it is antifreeze that I am smelling also. Thanks for the information I'll take a closer look tomorrow. I believe the engine and the CVT are built in Japan. I expected better quality in that case.

1996blackmax

iTrader: (2)

It was a bad batch...I also had the head gaskets replaced on my car at 58k miles.

dr_2010SV

Yes, I also checked the head/block interfaces and didn't see any indication of blue/green coolant leakage.
Fingers crossed.