Burning rubber smell

JonnyRotten

Well-Known Member
1,673
771
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
coupe
I've noticed recently that when I drive my car hard (lots of vtec for extended periods) I get a burning rubber smell in the cabin.
It's not burning rubber from the tires because I'm not doing burnouts.
My car is not new any more so it's not the smell of new parts heating up.
It almost smells like a belt slipping smell. I thought I read somewhere on this forum that the belts have auto tension adjustments on them.
If it is a slipping belt that wouldn't be a good thing and I haven't really looked under the hood to investigate.
Has anyone else experienced this?
 

Bulkybear

Well-Known Member
1,665
749
I did yesterday actually. Was beating on it pretty hard and it smelled like the exhaust was getting too hot or something. If it was a belt you would hear it squeal. I also just got an oil change so I just figured it was maybe oil dripped somewhere and was burning off or maybe the vtec was causing it to burn some oil (like they say it does).
 

Bulkybear

Well-Known Member
1,665
749
This thread describes exactly what I smelled. I guess the consensus was a hot catalytic converter. Even though my car is a 2012 it has about 19k miles on it and yesterday was the first time I ever kept it in vtec for most of an hour long run.

http://9thcivic.com/forum/index.php?threads/6372/

Let me ask this question, does it hurt anything to leave our cars in the higher rpm range for an extended amount of time. I wasn't always accelerating, sometime decelerating, but keeping the revs between 6k and the 7200 rpm fuel cut.
 

Monk

Well-Known Member
4,218
2,196
SW Virginia
Vehicle Model
2012 Civic EX
Body Style
Coupe FG3:ASM
This thread describes exactly what I smelled. I guess the consensus was a hot catalytic converter. Even though my car is a 2012 it has about 19k miles on it and yesterday was the first time I ever kept it in vtec for most of an hour long run.

http://9thcivic.com/forum/index.php?threads/6372/

Let me ask this question, does it hurt anything to leave our cars in the higher rpm range for an extended amount of time. I wasn't always accelerating, sometime decelerating, but keeping the revs between 6k and the 7200 rpm fuel cut.

My mind says anything from chugging+ to a few clicks below red-line shouldn't hurt anything. The one thing I try to control is how to keep the smoothness in the rpm's on accel & decel, to me a big no-no is to run high rpm's and let off of the gas as opposed backing-off the gas(that well rob the engine of it's gas and upper end cylinder lubes).
 

JonnyRotten

Well-Known Member
1,673
771
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
coupe
I'm guessing you know the smell of a clutch burning? I wouldn't call that a rubber smell. I don't know what you'd be smelling if it's not tires/clutch
I was actually hoping you would know which thread I was talking about @webby. You are very resourceful when it comes to finding these things.
It's not a clutch burning smell. I'm almost convinced that it's a belt slipping. It certainly smells like that anyway. I need to investigate this more.
 

OffTheWall

Well-Known Member
119
13
Virginia
Vehicle Model
Civic si
Body Style
Sedan
The thread you are referring to is the one I posted s while back. It's called "what's that smell" I have yet to figure it out honestly. I even changed to a newer exhaust and it went away for a while. I smelt if rather bad theater day and immediately got out and looked under the car. I can somewhat see some,thing black on the exhaust as if the plastics underneath were melting onto it. Not sure entirely yet. Seeing it comes and goes as it please.
 
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