I took a long trip today (about 170 miles). When I got near the end of my trip, I noticed a burning smell coming from the vents when sitting at a light. I had the a/c on and also turned it off and just kept the fan on to see if that made a difference and it didn't. So I turned the a/c off and opened the windows. I was even able to smell it with the windows open. As soon as I started moving, the smell would dissappear from the vents. So when I got home I took a look under the hood and did not see anything out of the ordinary. I could definately smell that something was burning but there was no smoke or evidence that something was burning. It did not overheat or run abnormal. It ran fine and all the gauges read normal. I checked the fluids and they all seem fine. Also, nothing is leaking. Any ideas?

 

Check your AIR injection system. The check valve on the dirivers side exhaust manifold touches the fuel lines and burns the plastic wire harness type cover. There is even a factory recall on this. Mine did this burn thing, but it didn't do any real damage and it certianly did not do it enough that I could smell it. The only reason I noticed this was i saw the smoke coming from the smoldering plastic when I was checking the oil. Good luck, Shimaze

 

Did you recently do work on your car in the engine compartment? Sometimes when you touch something with greesy hands and it gets hot it sometimes emits a burning type smell, kinda like when you first install headers. Was the car running ok? Check your plug wires also, windsheild wiper fluid tube, abs sensor harness area, etc..

 

was it a burning oil smell, burning plastic, ect.?


could be a intake oil leak leaking onto the exhaust, an o2 wire on the exhaust, ect.

 

It definately didn't smell like burning oil. It did smell a bit like plastic. My girl had to take it to work this morning so I will take another look when she gets home and see if I can find anything. Like I said above, the car runs fine and no different than it usually runs. I haven't done work under the hood for about 2 months. The most recent thing I did was install a cat-back which was near 2 months ago. As for that recall, how would I go about getting that repaired? Would the dealer still fix it or would that have had to be done a long time ago by a previous owner? The reason I ask is because there was an alternator recall on my maxima and when I called the dealer, they told me it had to be done by the person that owned the car at the time of the recall which sounds like BS to me. After fighting with them for 20 minutes they still refused to do it.

 

As for the recall, I never did take mine in to get it fixed. I fixed it my self with a tie wrap, a plastic locking thing used to hold back wires. I find it to be a strange coincidence that I discovered this problem and fixed it about a week before I found out about the recall. The idea is to make sure the fuel lines do not touch any part of the exhaust. I am no longer able to find any information on the recall I speak, anyone else heard of this recall?

 

I found it on a web site but it was only for 1994 and not 1995. I got to take a look under the hood in the light and everything seems to be fine. Nothing is melted, the smell is gone, it runs fine, and there are no leaks. It seems that this car doesn't like to go on road trips. So far every problem i've had with this thing has shown up during or after taking long trips.

 

i was getting a weird smell from mine..smelt like clutch burning or electronics burning (that same type of smell) but since mine is automatic i know it cant be clutch burning lol.. about a week later i found out that my transmission is fried. slips in every gear and now its so bad it smokes and im in the process of taking it out right now.. so i dont know if thats what your smell is or not

 

Update: My girlfriend was driving the car today and she said when she shut the car off and got out she heard a hissing/sizzling noise. I checked it out and I heard it and it sounds like something is dripping onto the headers. I remember reading somewhere that there is a common problem with something dripping onto the headers but I forgot what it was and I can't find the thread on it. I think it may have been an oil leak from the back of the intake manifold but I'm not sure. Can anyone confirm this?

 

As far as the recall stuff goes usually they are only valid if the car is still under warranty. Completely depends on the recall and is up to the company's disgression.
The "hissing/sizzling" thing you heard could be from the condensation tube from the A/C. The tube has a tendency to be pointed at the exhaust.
The best thing to do is check EVERYTHING that is in close proximity to your exhaust. Have you checked underneath the car? Maybe caught a plastic bag underneath the car that is in contact w/ your exhaust?

 

It doesnt smell like burning oil and youre sure its coming from the vents?

I had an oil leak from a front seal which would leak down the front of my motor while driving, and then get blown back onto my y pipe causing a smell. I would only notice the smell when the car was stopped. You can reach behind your car and feel the intake to see if that is leaking oil.

Next time you drive your car, place a large sheet of cardboard underneath of it immediately after you park it, and see if you can catch any fluids dripping. You ought to be able to pinpoint where they are coming from easily that way.

Like stated earlier, if she heard something sizzling, I bet she heard water that had condensed on the airconditioning dripp down on to your exhaust.

 

Sorry I forgot to add the a/c was off. I checked for condensation on the lines anyway and there was none. And yes it was coming from the vents only when at a stop. You can't smell it through the vents when the car is moving. But Once I got out of the car after it had been running, I was able to smell it. Especially when I popped the hood. I really don't think it's oil. I have smelled burning oil before and it definately doesn't smell like oil. It really smells like burning plastic. So it could possibly be another fluid but I don't know what fluid would smell like burning plastic. The sizzling could possibly be water like you guys said but there was still a burning smell coming from somewhere. So far I was only able to smell it after that long trip. I took it for a quick drive to the store a few hours ago with the a/c on and there was no smell. But obviously something is wrong if there was a burning smell coming from under the hood. But like I said, this car seems to hate long trips. Every problem i've had with it so far has happened during or just after a long trip.

 

As stated check everything that is remotely close to all exhaust components. Get a drop light and get dirty!
The condensation would be coming from a vent tube which sticks out of your firewall.