My new S60 T5 emits a burning smell after driving, like rubber burning. The smell is very strong. I smelled the tires but it's not from the tires. It seems to be coming from the engine because it comes from the grille. Has anyone had this problem?
burning smell
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If it's brand new, like less than a thousand miles, it's the smell of the volatiles escaping the plastics in the engine compartment that are close to some of the hot parts. Sometimes there's a coating on the metal parts that, once baked next to the turbo, emit the odor. But it should go away after a while. Mine did that and it's now gone. Not to worry (until flames erupt from the engine, <I>then</I> you know you have a problem.)
I have 46 miles currently. So all new S60s get this problem? <P>On another note that I forgot to ask in my top post, is the high beam lever not supposed to lock in place? I can only flash the high beam since it releases immediately. There are 2 high beam notches, if I pull the lever toward me one notch it releases, and if I pull the lever 2 notches it releases also. Can't lock in place.<p>[This message has been edited by bfavre4 (edited 04-30-2002).]
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bfavre4:<BR><B>I have 46 miles currently. So all new S60s get this problem? <P>On another note that I forgot to ask in my top post, is the high beam lever not supposed to lock in place? I can only flash the high beam since it releases immediately. There are 2 high beam notches, if I pull the lever toward me one notch it releases, and if I pull the lever 2 notches it releases also. Can't lock in place.<P>[This message has been edited by bfavre4 (edited 04-30-2002).]</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>If the smell is like 'warm plastic' then you're OK. If it's really like an oil burning smell, then oil's getting on the exhaust and it's burning off. don't forget you'll be burning off the paint from the exhaust manifold for a few more miles; hopefully that's the only thing that's wrong, so you should be fine.<P>The pass-to-flash feature will only raise the beams when you pull it back. If you want the high beams to <I>stay</I> on you need to put the light switch to the 'on' position, (but then the flash-to-pass feature doesn't work.)<P>I'ts goofy, because the light switch really doesn't do anything except tell the system when to leave the high beams on . . . .<P>See the owner's manual; it'll describe how the system works.<BR>
I recall a burning smell after driving my car when it was new. I took it in for that and some grinding noises around the front left wheel. It turned out that my car was leaking power steering fluid and tightening the hoses fixed both of these problems.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by T5 Dave:<BR><B> you need to put the light switch to the 'on' position, (but then the flash-to-pass feature doesn't work.)<P>I'ts goofy, because the light switch really doesn't do anything except tell the system when to leave the high beams on . . . .<P>See the owner's manual; it'll describe how the system works.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>You can still use this feature even with the lights on, you just have to get used to oulling the stalk far enough before it locks the high beams ON. It should not take too much practice...<P>Yannis<P><P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bfavre4:<BR><B>I have 46 miles currently. So all new S60s get this problem? <P></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR>All new Volvos. The only models that you do not smell this as much are the 40s (although they do generate a similar smell). My V70 T5 smelled like that for at least 600 miles...<P>Yannis<BR><P>
I checked out the smell some more today. It seemed to come from the left rear tire. In addition, I saw a little bit of smoke coming from area of the left rear tire dwelling. The smoke seemed to match the smell there. <P>There's no hot weather here yet so I don't think it's the tire burning. How could there be smoke coming from the tire area? (it's not big smoke)<P>The smell coming from the grille still seems to be there as well, but not as smelly as the smoke from the left rear tire.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bfavre4:<BR><B>I checked out the smell some more today. It seemed to come from the left rear tire. In addition, I saw a little bit of smoke coming from area of the left rear tire dwelling. The smoke seemed to match the smell there. <P>There's no hot weather here yet so I don't think it's the tire burning. How could there be smoke coming from the tire area? (it's not big smoke)<P>The smell coming from the grille still seems to be there as well, but not as smelly as the smoke from the left rear tire.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR>Hmm...it could be because there is some residue (chemical) that might have been sprayed in the brake area...or check out the area in-between the discs very carefully. The cars come from the factory with white plastic covers to inhibit rotor corrosion. A technician who was in hurry during PDI could have just torn most of that plastic cover off but left the rear part there which can be invisible from the front. Check it out (crawl under the car and look) to make sure that there are no leftovers...<P>Yannis<BR><P>
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by GrecianVolvo:<BR><B> <BR>Hmm...it could be because there is some residue (chemical) that might have been sprayed in the brake area...or check out the area in-between the discs very carefully. The cars come from the factory with white plastic covers to inhibit rotor corrosion. A technician who was in hurry during PDI could have just torn most of that plastic cover off but left the rear part there which can be invisible from the front. Check it out (crawl under the car and look) to make sure that there are no leftovers...<P>Yannis<P><BR></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I just picked up my V70 T5 last week, have only a few hundred Km, and have been noticing the same burning smell every time I get out of the car. I guessed it would be the type of things Yannis mentioned earlier, but good to have some confirmation.<P>Mike
Yeah. That smell worries me everytime I get out of the car. It might be one of those minor problems mentioned, or it might be something more serious. I'll check out the plastic by the brake disc, if that's not it, I might just take it to the dealer.
I just picked up my new 2.4T last Friday, and now have a whopping 22 miles on the car. I still can't believe how gorgeous it is.<P>The sales guy told me that the "burning roof tar" smell is normal for several weeks or several hundred miles, depending on how you drive. The way he explained it, this is undercoating burning off of the exhaust system. So I wouldn't be surprised if a small amount of smoke were involved, especially if it originated near exhaust components. <P>He recommended using the recirculation function of the ECC to minimize the effect inside the car. <P>Did I mention how nice the car looks?
After checking out the car even more today, the smell and smoke ONLY comes from the rear-left tire area. The exhaust system is on the left under the car isn't it? But when I smelled the tailpipe, there was no smell. Only from behind the rear-left tire.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bfavre4:<BR><B>After checking out the car even more today, the smell and smoke ONLY comes from the rear-left tire area. The exhaust system is on the left under the car isn't it? But when I smelled the tailpipe, there was no smell. Only from behind the rear-left tire.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>
oops, sorry about the blank reply above...<P>bfavre4, I'd be looking at the catalytic converter, muffler, and fittings for the source of your smoke based on what I was told and your description of the location. And I would wait to worry through a week or so of regular driving unless there is evidence of other problems (tire wear, noises, low fluid levels, etc.) or the smoking gets worse. <P>On the other hand, maybe this is a good chance for you to get to know the service department you'll be dealing with. Even just a phone call could tell you something about how helpful and competent they might be when you really need them in the future.
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bfavre4:<BR><B>After checking out the car even more today, the smell and smoke ONLY comes from the rear-left tire area. The exhaust system is on the left under the car isn't it? But when I smelled the tailpipe, there was no smell. Only from behind the rear-left tire.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR>You should not have smoke coming out unless there is something stuck there or, perhaps, there is a brake pad that has less than the optimum clearance space from the rotor. I would definitely have someone take a look at it <I>right away</I>. Taking the wheel off should resolve the problem.<P>Yannis<BR><P>
Can the smoke be from the coating burning from the exhaust stuff since it's under on the left side as volvair mentioned? It's not black smoke. You almost can't see it but you can see it up close.<P>Also, I don't know if this helps diagnose the problem. The smoke and smell are stronger and obvious after driving for more than 20 minutes. If I drive 10 minutes, it's sometimes not noticeable.<p>[This message has been edited by bfavre4 (edited 05-03-2002).]
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bfavre4:<BR><B>The smoke and smell are stronger and obvious after driving for more than 20 minutes. If I drive 10 minutes, it's sometimes not noticeable.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Firstly I should say that I'm just a humble brand new Volvo owner with no S60-specific tech experience (though, like you, I've been reading these boards for many months). So I encourage you to listen to people like Yannis who know their stuff technically speaking.<P>Now, with that out of the way, the salesman who did the delivery on my 2.4T told me that the burning smell will last longer and be more noticeable if you do more local driving. He said that shorter trips and lower speeds make the burn-off happpen more slowly. I've been doing mostly highway driving and have barely noticed an odor, and I have had no smoke. <P>Please post if you are able to solve the mystery!<BR>
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