Smell on hands after driving?
 

Is it normal to have some strange burnt smell on your hands after driving a manual car? The smell on my hands is most prominent when the AC has been running and lingers on my hands for hours after driving. I've been driving a new 2017 manual 86 for about 9 months and its been a consistent thing, no matter how hard or gently I drive the car. I drive for 80 miles total or roughly 3 hours each day on commute. Car has about 15k miles.

I've also noticed ever since I've owned the car a brief and faint smell of some kind of heated/hot/lightly-burning of material I can't describe that comes through the AC vents whenever I let the car engine break, or if I let off the throttle while going at speed, or randomly while upshifting between 3-4-5th, depending on how messy the shift was and engine rpms. I believe this is the smell that is absorbed into my hands. The smell is annoying because even if I wash my hands it's still there. Could this be clutch related?

Also, and unrelated, about a month ago I've noticed a cricket sound coming from the engine after maybe 20 minutes of driving. It doesn't seem like a belt squeal or squeak, but more like a high pitch cricket that match the speed of each piston. Under the hood, I place my ear over the engine area, the sound is loudest on the right side of the car and directly over the right side intake manifold. The cricket sound goes away at higher rpms, and most noticeable at idle. Is there something wrong?

Hey so first the cricket sound it completely normal and nothing to worry about. It's from the high pressure fuel pump. Try looking up "crickets ft86club" on google and you will get plenty of info on that. This forum already has too many threads on the subject but in the end it's nothing mechanically wrong and just a characteristic of these cars.

As for the smell no that's not normal, what I suspect is going on is your HVAC system is on "air from outside" and your getting air from fumes on the highway/what your driving near and that is being sucked into your AC and then applied to your hands. I suggest you first check your cabin filter in the glove box make sure that looks okay or get a new better one than what comes with the car (I'm a fan of that FRAM one with the baking soda). Next if that filter looks ok then try doing your commute with air on "cabin air recirculate" and see if you still get that smell. Also wash your hands.

hmmmm........:(

First off, maybe the "cricket sound" is the HPFP just doing it's thing, that you hear from time to time.

As far as the smell, no, your hands shouldn't smell funny after driving a MT car.

Maybe the smell is mildew in the A/C ductwork ......?? If it is, you might reduce the smell by shutting off the A/C (but keep the fan running) a few minutes before you shut down the car.

If you wash your hands and the smell is still there ....... unless you have been messing with catfish bait ....... I reckon you need to use a stronger soap ..... ;)

A burning clutch smell is very distinctive ........ it smells like ...... well ...... burning clutch.


humfrz

Not usually. This car has a lot of odd quirks, but this is one I've never heard before.

That IS normal. It will likely continue for several thousand miles, but eventually it either fades or you get used to it.

Also 100% normal. It's coming from the high pressure fuel pump, and it will vary with temperature and what gas you use. It doesn't signify any problem with the pump other than making an irritating noise. There have been revised fuel pumps in the past to try to correct it, but they didn't fix it. People have tried running ethanol-free gas, gasoline additives and even ashless two-stroke oil added to the gas tanks without any of them providing a consistent fix.

You can sometimes get it to go away by using a particular brand of gas, but you'll have to find the one that your car likes. I generally find mine doesn't chirp (or does it with less volume or frequency) if I use Shell or Chevron gas. Sam's Club gas is a virtual guarantee of very loud crickets in my car. I'm convinced it has to do with the additive packages the different brands put in their gasoline.

However, keep in mind that even if you find a gas station that provides gas that doesn't chirp in your car, the stations change blends throughout the year with the changes in season, so what works now may not work a few months down the road. Mine generally likes summer gas but chirps on winter gas when they cut it with butane.

I've heard several people complain about the new material used on the MY17 steering wheels. Not specifically about smell, but I could see that softer material soaking up odors more easily.


People have complained about the new steering wheel tearing/ripping apart IIRC.

I am so happy to hear there's nothing wrong with my brand new car. Thanks a ton guys!
@extrashaky - regarding the smell, I'm 100% certain this is related to the burning smell on my hands. What exactly is the cause of this smell, if you know? I feel like it is just some manufactured layer of clutch plate material or something that is burning off. Or is it something else? Do other manual cars have this feature?

Thanks again!

My 17 still smells like a hot slot car after it warms up. As has been said, the cricket is normal but you are the first (I think) to notice a 17 doing that. I get a hint every now and then, but nothing compared to my 13.

Yes, the stock steering wheel material sucks. I don't know who thought a slick material was a good idea.

I'll sniff around mine in a bit and let you know.

Added: I read somewhere that the refrigerant used these days can cause a smell.

I don't think it could be mildew in the AC ducts, I thought the same a few months ago so I swapped out the cabin air filter with a brand new one, and then sprayed lysol into the vents with the AC off and just the fan running, which is supposed to kill any fungus but that did not resolve the smell issue. And I think in that case it would be a more consistent smell, but the one I have is only when doing certain things, like letting off the throttle and engine braking, or a few seconds after changing a shift. If I'm sitting idle, I never smell anything weird.

I suspect it's just the clutch breaking in. Most manual cars have a clutch smell after a clutch replacement. This one seemed to last longer than I would have expected, but all my previous manual cars were bought used and were well broken in before they got to me.

There are a lot of odd things that are actually "normal" for these cars. A few things may have changed with the new model year, but read this thread (especially post 13):

Things you should know after buying a BRZ?

Exhaust sealant burning?

Green goo burning? (You guys get the green goo don't you?)

Both perfectly normal. My 2017 smoked in traffic on the way home from the dealership.

Exhaust sealant needs to bake in, it's left uncured from factory. It has a harsh arid smell that "smells like it would sting your eyes".

The green goo smells sickly sweet and chemically when it boils on whatever part of the engine bay gets hot enough.

I'm not sure why you would smell these from your hands and not from the car though. Does the steering wheel or gear stick smell of anything if you sniff them close up?

I also drive a 2017 86 manual and have noticed none of these things. No bad smells, or crickets, or scratches, scuffs, rattles or creaks--coming from an 18 year old car to something so clean and new without any flaws is absolutely astounding. It never ceases to amaze me!

Myriad

No smell, OP, but I did pass people like a mofo.

Time for a trip to the dealer just in case some some funk is in your HVAC system.

There are so many jokes I could make about smelly hands after touching the stick...

:confused0068: ........ "the" stick ........ that implies your stick .......:eyebulge:

wanna tell us about where your stick was, that made it smell soo bad ......??


:iono:


humfrz

or maybe op is burning his clutch all the time..........hmmmmm

Is tracking your car with a stinky wheel abuse?

Stink palm?

I was thinking that maybe since I'm a beginner driver this can definitely be a probable case! However, I am also under the impression that in order to burn a clutch you'd REALLY have to be letting the clutch roast on the flywheel for a good minute before you start to smell (and see) the burning, no? I may be a beginner, but I feel confident enough to say I'm not -that- bad. :D I spend no more than 1 second maneuvering the clutch between shifts, and my connects are 95% seamless/non-jerky. I'm also always in neutral at stops, so definitely not riding or teeter-tottering as well.

You don't rest your foot on the clutch pedal while cruising around right?

And resting your hand on your knob..

LOL.

OP, can you better describe what it smells like and under what conditions you first smell it?

Wash hands after using restroom before returning to driving.

Nope. Foot is on dead pedal.

Nope. Both hands on steering wheel.

I can't explain what it smells like too well, but I can say what it doesn't.

On the back of my hand:
- Not sweet, like fruit, candy, syrup
- Not pleasing like perfume, fabric softener, lotion, deodorant, febreeze
- Not strong like burnt electronics/pcb, metals, rubber
- Not stinky like sewerage, excretion, rotten food/drink
- Not smoky like wood, charcoal, fire
- Not chemical like oil, gasoline, cleaning spray, soap, hand sanitizer
- Somewhat faintly burnt material smell on skin

From vents:
- Somewhat earthy, like hot dirt, damp wood, old water that has been in contact with wood
- Somewhat like hot sandpaper

Maybe it is something factory just burning off, but my car is 15k miles at 9 months. How long does it actually take to burn off factory smells?

:iono:

the car was flooded before!......ok sorry bad joke.

But have you check with the dealer? XD

Some more notes on my stick driving ability:

- At lower gears (1-4) sometimes I can't quite feel the biting point of the clutch, I'll equally lift off the clutch pedal slowly simultaneously pushing in the throttle. This causes the sound of the engine to gradually decrease slightly then increase as the clutch becomes fully engaged. I can avoid this sound by faster clutch engaging, but that risks having too snappy of an engagement whereas the former is smooth. I've heard other drivers do this (the sound the engine makes is very audible - you can hear the engine tone gradually decrease then increase). Is this a bad practice?

- My downshifts are shamefully not always clean. Clutch engagement can often feel like it does not want to bite when downshifting from 4 to 3, or 3 to 2 (btw: I never downshift to 1) even when being as slow as possible with the clutch, and then it will unexpectedly snap into place. You can feel it was a bit of a forceful engagement with a little car jerking and foot response from the pedal. I've observed that this happens ONLY at around 3100 rpms, and not less or higher. Seems that is an awkward rpm to downshift or upshift at in this car. This is something I'm working on as a driver, but I don't know if it could be related.

Haven't checked yet, perhaps I'll bring it up to the dealer/mechanic next service in a few months.

Did you check your in cabin air filter? If you smell that does it smell like your hands do?

If it does may make it more easy to show the dealer the smell your experiencing, if the problem is mold or something in your HVAC system or vent ways.

Do you keep your HVAC system on recirculate or air from the outside?

Surely anything from the factory, that was volatile, would have dissipated by now.


humfrz

Change your cabin air filter, spray some Fabreeze around the interior, take a shower, report back.

I think the OP is suffering from a real bad head cold and it's fucking with his sense of smell and taste. Making everything smell like teen spirit... yeah, yeah I know, but it was screaming for a connection.. now I'm in nirvana.

OP, just use this lovely product, it will hide everything right up.

17 and crickets are a first, would you mind sharing your build date?

OP, go to the dealer. The easy place to start is the cabin air filter. Like others have said, you may have a mold problem, but I'm willing to bet you have a leak of some sort, so check the AC system, too.

Put a glove over one of the vents on the way to the shop, and when you get there you can say "smell the glove".

Have you used anything like ArmorAll on the interior? Do you park in the sun a lot?

:bow:

https://flavorwire.files.wordpress.c...pg?w=360&h=362

I've seen several MY17 owners confirm crickets in their car, most of them almost immediately after driving off the lot.

Replace the broken engine, maybe that'll fix the smell?

OP, if you hands are getting coated with crap while you drive, you are breathing it also. Time for a shop visit.

Well daaaaaaaa..........how in the heck do you think he's smelling it ....... :rolleyes:

(jest ah messen wich ya - it's been a loooong week at pa-pa's day care ...... many smelly diapers)

:D


humfrz

I've been guilty of not realizing that in the past.