Anyone smell burning outside the car?
 

I've got nearly 200 miles on my FR-S and every time I get out of the car I notice an odor that smells like burning oil and plastic... very faint, but there. Anyone else smelling this?

I thought that it was just the engine getting hot for the first time, but it seems like 200 miles later that should have gone away.

Check for road debris. Plastic bag caught on the exhaust? It happens.

Same thing is happening to me man. No road derbies.

At first I thought, fuck... did I slip the clutch bad? or are the brakes making the smell?

I have no idea. Not to worried about it though due to warranty.

I am at 130 miles

I also noticed this on my drive back from the dealer, called him up and he said that its some protective layer/coating in the engine burning away (I don't know, could be BS). He mentioned not to worry about it for the next few days, but I don't know about 200 miles. I'd get on the phone and get it checked out, just in case, while you still have the warranty.

I'm gonna put about 300 miles on the car tomorrow, so we'll see if it sticks around after that.

same here too. after test drove it, it smelled burning rubber or clutch, i was thinking damm, did i push it that hard at all, would the sales man notice it?

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Our Evo X had a burning smell come from it for the first few thousand miles. Even our new Optima still smells pretty bad after a thousand miles. Those smells seem to be normal on new cars. But if it really smells like something is majorly burning, then it may be worth checking out.

Have had that smell the last few cars I bought new, and so far, seemed to last to around 1500-2k miles

I have it too but not too worried... If the car was Italian I'd be more concerned if you know what I mean! :)

It's also probably the cat breaking in.

I noticed it over the first 50 miles very strongly when driving.

Then after pushing the car tonight I noticed it while I was standing outside taking pictures.

Yes, I've noticed it too.

I have it to. After driving around and playing you can smell it. Sometimes it smells like the brakes sometimes it smells like engine exhaust. I'm not worried at all its just the car breaking itself in.

Back in the day, BMWs were treated with Cosmoline before being shipped to prevent rust on the water. For the first few hundred miles, you could smell it burning off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmoline

Perhaps there's something similar at work here?

It's normal on a new car and will go away after a while. Once the car is broken in, and you start revving more and getting it hotter, you'll smell it again. Nothing to worry about.

On all brand new cars, the faint smell of plastic fumes and oils baking are very normal. This comes from fresh block, heads, manifolds and pipes and other engine and driveline parts cooking the very thin surface film of assembly, casting, or rust prevention oils, getting heated for the first time. It will go away after a month or so of ownership. This also applies to plastics which are near engine components or interior trim near heat prone parts.

Whew, thanks guys. I was getting a little worried.

yup very common. A lot of manufacturing oils and what not will still be on surfaces sometimes and heat up and cause a smell..... no biggie, certainly doesnt hurt to be paranoid though!!!! I know i would be extra paranoid with my frs :) :party0030: Always air on the side of caution!

Yep, totally normal. I drive brand new cars around on the lot, and sometimes it smells like the brakes are cooking off, but it's just part of that odiferous "new car smell"

Personally, I like the smell. :D

Si, happened to me and i thought all the same things, i'm at 1100 now and car is running like a champ! Smell lasted till about 500mi? i dont even remember, its like the blink of an eye!

Yep! You have a new car! Like someone else said, its just the protective film on the components of the car. Nothing to worry about! Just a new car thing!

When you hit 1000 did you hammer it? Was it like Christmas? :thumbup:

It is the cosmoline.
I went to the dealer yesterday, after only having the car in my possession for 14 hours. I asked the to perform a safety check on it and make sure that all the plastic was off from transport.
They came back and told me to come take a look. Nothing was left on it. They called Scion in Torrance, CA, put them on speaker phone, And they said it was the cosmoline. Nothing to be worried about.
I am an ASE certified technician. I knew I wasn't riding the brakes or the clutch, wasn't being too rough on her (have not hit 4000rpm yet) and still had to bring her in to make sure. With a car like this, you can never be too careful. Scion said they would send me a letter explaining cosmoline and the smell. Just to cover both our asses. But I feel better now. Also, since I now know what the smell is, I barely notice it.

Yup it kind of startled me at first too but I went through the same thing with my other new car I had. I'm at about 400 miles now and the smell is gone.:thumbsup:

I'm at 100ish miles, definitely has a burning smell, maybe it's all that shifting I've been doing... I think I read somewhere that it's normal so I'm not concerned. Plus I got the extended warranty.

I bought a new WRX in 2005 and the engine bay was covered with protective wax,...took about 2-3k mls until it was gone for the most part, and as soon as you start puching your new fr-s it will come back a few times as well

Nothing to worry about.

You could always check your oil level to be on the safe side

I explain this to all of my customers as the new car burn. It will last approx 100-200 miles. It will smell very foul and acrid, almost like burning plastic. After the first few hundred miles it should go away.

In other words, no worries.

This always happens! My wife and my mom had the same issue within a week of each other...lol

Or its just the normal break-in smells from the exhaust, etc...

Im thinking it might be the soft clutch, not knowing if it grabs sucks, I have had this problem with other stick shift toyotas

aside from oils on the metal buning off its also the sulfur on the gasoline. most states has adopted CA emissions as result you may get some odors coming out of the exhaust. this usually happens when using cheaper gas with no additives. eg: costco vs. chevron, shell, mobil, exxon.

Just like previously stated, it's completely normal. Brand new motorcycles do the same thing too.

It's the modern "new car smell".

Just don't ask for it at the car wash.

I had the same odor for the first few hundred miles. I'm at 1100 miles now and i don't smell it anymore

We should all be more concerned when we don't smell it anymore...that means new car isn't so new anymore. :burnrubber:

i was scared but thanks to all of u i can breathe now

I have noticed this smell on my new FR-S 6MT. Not sure whats causing it, but not worried :)

You have 1100 miles already! :thumbup:

Just brought my new FR-S home. I sell for a big three and smell that odor after every test drive.