EDIT: My car is 2018 Honda Accord close to 29,400 miles. AFter googling it I have an Idea of what it could be but still want to get some Opinions. THanks. EDIT: I’m taking it to the dealer to find out what the matter is, have been Driving A lot the past few weeks. Have been using AC and Heater a lot due to Climate Change.
The smell from a small oil leak dripping onto something hot is similar to burning rubber, so keep an open mind on what you’re looking for. When that happened to my car (due to a leaking valve cover gasket), I was sometimes able to see wisps of smoke if I looked under the hood with a flashlight at dusk immediately after a drive.
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Lion9Car,
Thanks. Is serious & does it cost a lot to fix ?
-PatSmith
Unless we can experience the smell and look at your car there’s no way we can know what the cause is.
Maybe there’s a small oil leak developing.
Maybe a cat climbed up there to keep warm and what’s left of it is burning off the engine.
Maybe you ran over a plastic bag and it’s melted to the exhaust pipe.
Maybe some peanuts that the local squirrels have been storing in the engine compartment are roasting.
Maybe the A/C compressor clutch is slipping.
And so on…
These are just some of the things I’ve seen.
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AseMaster,
Thanks for the Detailed answer, it’s the most helpful so far.
Wondering if you’re a Mechanic…
-PatSmith.
I think part of the wheel of the wheelchair you ran over last week (the one with the 95 year old nun in it,) is still stuck up around the exhaust manifold. Pull that out and I’ll bet that you’ll be good.
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@eddo, funny.
You might want to look at all your tires to see if something has knocked it out of alignment. You might actually be smelling burned rubber. It is also possible tat some road debris has gotten into one of the pulleys on your engine and is causing the accessory belt to drag across it. That smells like burning rubber too.
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I’ve been called worse things before. 
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Yeah he is well experienced. We have climate change in minnesota too. In one week we’ve gone from 60 to 30 and leaves on the ground. I long for the days of global warming.
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The next time you come home from a drive shut the engine and pop your hood. see if you see any sign of where the smell is coming from. or you might see a slight sign of smoke. you might be able to narrow it down and get a better idea of where it is coming from or what it is. like Acemaster mentioned, it could just be a plastic bag that melted onto your exhaust. If it is the smell could last for a few weeks. but it won’t cause any harm other than the smell.
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If that’s the problem it should be fixed w/due speed, otherwise the engine compartment gets gunked up making future repair and service more time consuming, and it could cause the engine oil level to go below the “low” mark on the dipstick between changes.
Re the cost, depends on the engine configuration. There’s a another thread here about Honda Accord valve cover gaskets.
Keith,
Regarding Tires. I replaced only 1 tire when it was about 28,000 miles. (EDIT it was replaced bc the Plug in put in 6 years ago was NOT working anymore) Perhaps only Replacing one new tire effects is causing this? Thoughts?
-PatSmith
AseMaster,
I forgot to mention, will need to EDIT my post. There is a funky (mildew like) smell from the AC when it’s on & I mentioned this to them at the Honda Dealer.
So they Replaced the “AC Condensor” (they said it’s still under Warrenty).
They said the Burning Smell Could likely be from The “Valve Cover Gasket”, so this was replaced ($410). After they changed it, there was NOT much oil that was Lost (?). I hope Valve Cover Gasket was the cause of the Burning Smell bc I spent $410 to replace it.
Lion9Car,
When I first Smelled the burning smell few weeks ago, after a long drive I did Open the front hood & did NOT see any Smoke.
“It is also possible tat some road debris has gotten into one of the Pulleys on your Engine and is causing”
Keith,
What is Pulleys on the Engine? Thanks.
Weekend-Warrior,
Thanks for tip but I did check under the Hood after a 45 min Drive But I checked it in the dark Garage, will ck it when it’s Light out. thanks again. There was NO smoke but will check again.
I’d hope they observed that it was leaking before replacing it. If so, chances are that this will solve your issue. It might take a little time for the oil that’s already leaked to burn off completely before you stop smelling it, so give it a few weeks before you get too worried.
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Lion9Car,
So that is why I STILL smelled the Burning Rubber, it will “take a while for it to Burn all off”- thanks for the tip.
I am concerned about it bc the ‘Advisor’ at the HondaDealer said the ‘Technician’ said it was LIKELY the cause of the smell. I took it on a Friday & they probably had Substitute Technicians (less experienced). We’ll see this times.
THanks again.
-PatSmith.
Thirty days ago?
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This isn’t the main issue here, but given your level of automotive knowledge, I have to ask. Is this tire the same brand and model as the other three? If not, that’s really not recommended.
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