# Burning smell from car **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Tags:** pontiac, grandprix\ **Created:** [November 11, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/burning-smell-from-car/187377 "2022-11-11T23:58:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Angelv3059\_180292](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Angelv3059\_180292](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Angelv3059_180292)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/burning-smell-from-car/187377/1 "2022-11-11T23:58:11Z")
07 Pontiac Grand Prix 3.8 Everytime I get out of my car I notice a weird burning smell. It doesn’t smell like gas, oil, no fluids. It appears to be coming from like under the car somewhere or in the back. Hard to tell exact where because it’ll go away. To me it smells like something electrically burning or plastic. Does anyone have any idea what it could be? I know I need to get it looked at but wanted ideas. ---
**Author:** ![weekend-warrior](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/weekend-warrior/32/26122_2.png) [@weekend-warrior](https://community.cartalk.com/u/weekend-warrior)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 12:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/burning-smell-from-car/187377/2 "2022-11-12T00:01:06Z")
You probably got a plastic bag that melted to your catalytic converter. it will take up to a month to burn off and get rid of the smell ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 12:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/burning-smell-from-car/187377/3 "2022-11-12T00:02:08Z")
The list of possibilities is long and impossible to determine over the internet. Best course is to have the shop give it a good sniff, look and feel. ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/burning-smell-from-car/187377/4 "2022-11-12T00:23:20Z")
You could be leaking a few drips of oil from your valve cover onto a hot part. That smells different from what you might expect. The next time you stop your car at night, look under the hood with a good flashlight and see if you notice any wisps of smoke. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/burning-smell-from-car/187377/5 "2022-11-12T00:49:56Z")
Probably a plastic bag stuck to the exhaust system. If you can look under the car, you can verify this. If it is plastic stuck to the underside maybe you can remove it. This could save you some money paying a shop to put your Grand Prix on a lift and doing an inspection.