Burning rubber smell
 

I have a 01 S and whenever I step outside after driving it I smell a slight burning rubber smell. It's coming from the back end. Does anyone have any clues?
Thanks.

well let be the first to say it might be your clutch.....I've learned this from experience....you might have smoked/burnt your clutch....you'd have to give more details tho....

It doesn't seem to have any problems shifting gears. What other details would you need?

How long have you been driving a stick?

No belts are rubbing??

I would start with checking the obvious.

Things of rubber like material.

1. Inside of tire (is it rubbing)
2. Belts (wear & tear)
3. Hoses (wear & tear)
4. Exhaust (Do you have any material caught that may be burning)

I had a problem (not on Box) where I ran over a bike inter-tube on the road and it had got wrapped on my exhaust, when I pulled over I was able to remove it but I swear I smelled rubber for the next few months.

Then of course re-think your shifting pattern if needed :rolleyes:

Do you like to leave small deposits of tire rubber on the street for others to enjoy? Cuz that can also cause the smell....you know...

Just thought I'd mention that:)

-David

Hmmmm...I have no idea where a smell like that could be coming from...

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k2...11/burnout.jpg

I would check for an oil leak. I have found that the synthetic oil used in our cars does have a rubber type smell when it burns. You might have a small leak that's dripping on a heated portion of your engine or exhaust and causing the smell. If it drips on the catalytic converter like mine did, you get some impressive smoke coming from the side vents as well. :)

I think I sometimes detect the same kind of smell from my Boxster. Not EVERY time I get out, but sometimes I smell a little what smells like oil/rubber burning.

I figure as long as there's enough oil in the engine... and it's not all the time... it's probably some minor little drip here or there that just happens to get on something hot. I'm going to give the undercarriage a once over when I change the oil later this week.