Is your car smelling like burnt rubber? 7 Reasons and How to Fix it

While it may be fun to look at rubber-burning cars in films, it's not as cool when your own vehicle smells like burned rubber.

When dealing with such a smell, it’s definitely wise to look at your car to find out where the smell may be coming from.

This article will discuss the main causes of burning rubber odors in cars. Let’s take a quick look at the most common reasons:

A coolant or oil leak is the main reason that your car smells of burning rubber. A slipping serpentine or brake belt, stuck brake calipers, or slipping clutch can all cause this smell.

These are some of the most common reasons, but they don't necessarily have to be all. Below is a list that explains why car odors like burning rubber.

Cars that smell like burning rubber after driving are 7 reasons.

1. Engine Oil Leak

There are many seals on an engine that prevent oil from getting into hot areas and causing engine damage.

It happens, unfortunately, that gaskets or sealings fail due to heat damage and wear.

This can cause engine oil to reach scorching parts like the engine bay’s exhaust pipe, which can smell really bad.

Burnt engine oil doesn’t smell exactly like burning rubber, but it can definitely smell pretty similar to an untrained nose.

The exhaust oil can also ignite a fire.

2. Radiator Coolant Leak

The same as the engine oil, the coolant is in a sealed system of your car’s cooling system. However, coolant can leak from the coolant's sealed system.

While coolant leak doesn’t smell exactly like burning rubber, it is very common to interfere with a burning rubber smell. A coolant leak in hot engine parts, like the engine block and exhaust pipes has a stronger smell.

It is time to inspect your cooling system if there are a strong odor and water under the car.

3. Serpentine Belt Slipping

You may get a burning smell from your car due to faulty driving belts. Your air conditioner compressor, or power steering pulley, may have been jammed or locked, which could cause the belt to slip and create heat, which can then lead to a burning rubber smell.

A much more common problem is that the automatic tensioner failed or that you haven’t tensioned the belt for a while if you have a manual tensioner.

The belt will slip and cause it to smell rubbery. Make sure your serpentine belt fits snugly. Also, make sure all pulleys spin freely during idle.

4. Sticky Brakes

Bad smells can be caused by sticky brakes. Sticky brakes produce a lot more heat than normal and can start fires if you're not careful.

The majority of people don't know that brake pads are made from rubber. Sticky brakes can cause excessive heat to the rubber and lead to it sticking.

Most commonly, sticking brakes result from a stuck brake pedal or caliper.

Take a moment to feel your rims and see which one is hotter after you have taken a few short drives. These brakes are hot so be cautious.

5. Clutch slipping (Manual Cars).

The clutch can be used in manual cars to shift gears and drive the vehicle. Many people are guilty of riding their clutch too hard. This means that the clutch is depressed half way by people who ride too hard on the pedal.

The clutch’s basic working is to match the speed of your car’s transmission and engine speed by pressing itself against the flywheel for a smooth transition from a stop to a rolling motion.

This creates friction, but the driver must still ride the clutch. The clutch is not fully engaged and the flywheel grinds against the pedal.

It creates heat, which causes damage to the clutch. Because the clutch mesh is made of paper, excessive friction can cause your car's smell to be like burned rubber.

You can also have a worn clutch or a slipping clutch. This problem can be solved by replacing the clutch.

6. An electrical short somewhere

An electrical short is another possible cause, but it's not common. You may have ever smelled an electric short. It smells almost like burnt rubber.

To check if there is any rubber smell, look inside your fuse box and out.

However, most electrical wires can be fused so a fuse won't blow and you wont feel a short circuit for more than a few seconds.

7. An external object is lodged in the engine bay

It is possible for your car to smell like burnt rubber.

A hot engine, which is burning the customer's shopper, would cause the same burning rubber smell as other cases. You can check your engine compartment to make sure there is nothing else.

External objects should be checked around the exhaust system.