This darned car is two weeks old with 850 miles and I still have a burning oil smell. The Stealership and I have both looked to see where it is coming from and can't find it. They think it is just the car breaking in...

This is what I know: the smell starts after the car is warmed up. You don't smell it until you come to a stop and then it permeates the inside of the vehicle. There are no oil spots anywhere. The exhaust mani's are spotless and we took off the heat shield under the car to inspect and didn't find anything there either.

Anyone else experience this?

Thanks!

~ Jess

 

It might be a blob of grease stuck somewhere you can't see or a painted part or a protective coating cooking off of something. I know from personal experience that a little petroleum or paint on a hot surface can make a lot of bad-smelling smoke.

In this case I agree with your dealer. I would suggest you take it out on the highway and take it for a nice, long drive to get everything good and hot. If you have a manual tranny, stay out of 6th gear to keep the rpms up a bit. I would start to get concerned if it's still doing it after 1,500 miles or so.

 

If it smells that bad you should be able to see smoke? If your power steering is leaking it may not fall to the ground because of plastic cover under the engine. I'd get it hot like an Island Virgin and have it lifted up! Might be leaking on exhaust pipes. Or down something haha???

 

AlohaXFire -- Did you ever find out what the burning smell was? Has it gone away?

 

no it is still there, but not as strong....mostly after it rains now. I am continuing to monitor.

Adding insult to injury, the car has "jumped" out of 1st gear twice on me...supposedly this was only on the older models. I also have a hell of a time with 1st and 2nd gear at anything over 5 miles an hour. Me and this car are not off to a good start.

~ Jess

 

What's the build date of your car? What you have described is a known issue with cars built before Dec 31, 2003 but that doesn't mean newer cars won't have the same problem. At first the fix was to replace the entire transmission, now there is a TSB out to repair the syncros. Whenever the car was built, the problem is still covered my the warranty. If the dealership gives you a hassle about not being able to duplicate the problem, stick by your guns to get it fixed.

Yes, 1st to 2nd takes some getting used to. It's almost as if have to you learn how to use a clutch all over again. You'll get the hang of it.

Good luck and keep us posted on the transmission issue.