Burning Rubber Smell

[bermis519]

I now live in colorado and for the last few days i have noticed a burning rubber smell after pulling a mile long 6.5 percent grade up to my house. It's not burning any oil or anything that i can notice. The tires are fine and i'm not noticing any kind of rubbing noises or anything that would indicate a problem...

I remember reading something awhile ago about someone with the same complaint, but i can't find it.

let me know,
mike

Also want to add, i can only smell it when i'm standing at the rear of the car......

[BNaylor]

How many miles are on your Impala? A CAT convertor can give off a smell like burning plastic or rubber. Before the CAT convertor went bad on our '01 Impala LS it smelled like burnt plastic around the exhaust system.

[bermis519]

I just put a new converter on it about 2 months ago. I put an aftermarket OBD II cat on it also with no problems. It's not a burning plastic....it's a distinct burning rubber smell....

mike

[tractorboy]

also if you ran over a plastic bag or something like that that has stuck to the exhaust by melting all over it, now it is burning off. Maybe when you go up the grade the exhaust system heats up more ?

[bermis519]

It's not a burning plastic smell at all...it's a distinct burning rubber smell. It's not the tires because there is nothing rubbing on them and they aren't hot. I will have to try and see if i can look a little bit more. Whats tranny fluid smell like when it burns, or power steering fluid....

thanks,
mike

[bigdawg703]

I have a 2005 Impala w/3.4 and live in Mississippi but I am currently visiting colorado and have started to notice the same burning rubber smell from the rear of my car, I have never noticed this before.... I checked under the car and could not find any fluids leaking or any obvious explanation.

[billyo69]

Make sure your insurance is paid and keep driving it.It will get worst before it gets better.

[bermis519]

I don't know...i also noticed today when i'm climbing the grades and I'm on passing gear...the temp gauge goes from a notch over a quarter of the way all the way to two notches past half......
I haven't a clue what the hell is going on..and I noticed the burning smell again and i looked underneath it and i couldn't find a damn thing wrong.....

mike

[billyo69]

Does this happen only when the engine temp goes up?If so next time your temp gets that high pop the hood it is more likely something under the hood burning.

[bermis519]

Originally Posted by billyo69

Does this happen only when the engine temp goes up?If so next time your temp gets that high pop the hood it is more likely something under the hood burning.

I don't think it's because of the temp...when i lived in michigan, it would get that high when it would sit and idle...and it never smelled like burning rubber......I don't know..i have actually gone and started looking at new cars....so hopefully my headache will be gone...

mike

[Z71K9KOP]

I have a 2003 Impala 3.8 Police Vehicle.. I had the same burning smell.. I found out what the problem was.. Has anyone else had this problem?? I kept smelling the burning smell and I also popped the hood during the day and found nothing.. a couple days ago while working an accident scene at night.. I smelled it again.. I popped the hood and found that the exhaust was glowing a lite red color.. pretty hot!! It was actually melting the front sparkplug wire the one on the driver side.. and it endedup causing it to melt the plastic channel that the plug wires are ran in.. It caused the wire to melt and then was arching to the stud that looks like to lift the engine into the car.. This caused it to start melting the plastic channel from the arching.. We had to replace the plug wires and ran them alittle different.. According to my local dealer.. They have seen the plastic channel catch fire causing some damage on some other Impalas.. Has anyone else had this?? Seems that this should be a and is a BIG safety Issue.. I constantly check under the hood when driving and on duty to make sure Im not going to catch fire.. My exhaust Manifold still Glows red at night.. Is this normal? Is this why they have Metal casings around the spark plugs to protect from melting? Also my Police Car has 71,000 miles on it.. Also has a jerk sometimes while shifting in the tranny.. and also has that oil leak (slowly) on the valve cover seal.. Does anyone also know if I can purchase a Key Fob and it will work since its got a program in the radio system? or do I need to purchase a receiver to plug in somewhere..? Thanks

Originally Posted by bermis519

I don't think it's because of the temp...when i lived in michigan, it would get that high when it would sit and idle...and it never smelled like burning rubber......I don't know..i have actually gone and started looking at new cars....so hopefully my headache will be gone...

mike

[billyo69]

If your manifold is glowing red your cat converter is plugged.Dont park over any leaves unless you want it to burn.