burning rubber smell

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Originally Posted by bmussatti

Don't forget the hot mufflers are right there behind the rear tires. Very close proximity.

I have read that small bits of rubber from our tires gets kick back onto the mufflers (not to mention all kinds of other road debris) and this helps to contribute to that odor we notice. Don't know if it is true, but makes a lot of sense to me.

I think this happens often and we just don't notice. I was coming down from a spirited canyon run once and a plastic trash bag drifted in front of me. I went right over it and noticed it never came out the back. It got sucked up onto the exhaust and just melted in. I took a stick and tried to scrape it off but couldn't get it all. The car smelled like burning plastic for weeks. Finally I got the car hot and put it up on a rack so I could clean it completely with a putty knife. I still get some burning smells when I park the car hot.