Burning smell

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AMA @ Jan 12 2007, 01:10 PM) [snapback]374792[/snapback]</div>

When cars are brand new there are coatings and oils that burn off on the exhaust and the catalytic converters. It's normal to have some burning smell at first. That is most likely what you are smelling.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(San_Carlos_Jeff @ Jan 12 2007, 02:14 PM) [snapback]374795[/snapback]</div>

I agree; also you might consider keeping an eye on the ground where you park the car, just to see if an fluids have dripped onto the ground after you've parked there for the night.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(San_Carlos_Jeff @ Jan 12 2007, 11:14 AM) [snapback]374795[/snapback]</div>

And the 10 miles probably explains why I didn't smell anything. I drove my car 90 miles from the dealer at which I bought it to home, at highway speeds in August. Everything probably got burned off before getting home. Right?

Dave M.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmckinstry @ Jan 12 2007, 02:35 PM) [snapback]374831[/snapback]</div>

Sounds right to me. The first time I drove my Prius home it was about 5 miles and there was a definite burning odor in the garage when I got home. After a couple of uses that smell disappeared.

 

Although I don't remember it with my 2005 Prius, when we got my wife's 2005 Prius, the inside would smell like the burning plastic spoons from my boy scout camping days. It eventually went away.

 

Around a month ago when it was particularly windy, I managed to run over a plastic grocery store bag. It really *really* stunk. A week later at the hobby farm, I got the car up on the ramp and found this blob of plastic melted to the catalytic converter.

Used a gasket scraper to scrape the crud off. No more stench.

 

If flames come out from under the dash, you should consider that a warning sign.

Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Jan 15 2007, 06:46 AM) [snapback]375774[/snapback]</div>

Unless you're an Expedition driver, then the flames are normal cruise control behavior. Which is why you park an Expedition at least 250 metres from any combustible material, preferably on a solid cement surface, which heat-sensing sprinklers on Standby.