Smell Hot?
 

Has anyone ever noticed a "hot smell" from their car whenever they park it? I have a 2000 boxster (bought 4 weeks ago) and when I pull into my garage, the odor seems to linger for a while as the engine cools down... I also "feel" the heat on my legs as I get my bag from the trunk. Is this normal? Do I need to have it checked out before the warranty runs out?

Thanks for any suggestions,
John

The heat radiating from the rear of the car is very normal, even with moderate driving. It can take quite some time to cool down after "spirited" play. It is not clear what you call a "hot smell"... but it is possible for roadway debris to get lodged under the car near the engine/muffler and cause this. My daily driver somehow got a plastic bag stuck to the exhaust pipe and it always smells like a molding shop when I put it into the garage...

Thanks for the re-assurance! I assumed that it just ran hot, but my wife was asking about the odor... Given the amount of road grime on Hwy 20 here, I can imagine that its something collected on the way home from work ;)

Thanks again

If it is enough to trigger the female "car nose" (no offense intended, ladies, but males seem to be more paranoid on car smells - however, women can usually sense by smell from the living room that the trash in the garage wasn't taken out :) ), then you might want to check the smell out a little more... given that you are new to the car, I'd be sure to check the fluids levels and maybe stick my head under to see if anything obvious is happening like an oil drip, etc...

From my experience, I think I know what that "smell" means. If it smells like a hot iron, it may mean that the hot engine and exhaust pipes, etc. are cooling off after driving. Do you also hear that crackling sound of metal parts cooling, too? Looks like nothing to be concerned about.

Yes, that's exactly the smell.. It was just more pronounced the past few days... similar to a hot steam iron... And the crackling of the cool down...

Thanks!

Porsche also puts that stuff on the engine, I can't remember what it is called. It is the tan/golden colored stuff you see and I think that also contributes to the smell you are talking about. Anyone know what that is called, I can't remember what they call that.

That stuff on the engine is called cosmoline. I believe it gives off a smell too. Hope that helps.

A long time ago I posted these shots of what turned out to be cosmoline... just in case you're wondering what it looks like and where Porsche applies it on the Boxster.