A strong odor inside the passenger compartment probably means a bad heater core.
Car smells like burning rubber when heater is on.
When the plastic insulation has worn down or been chewed off by an animal that s gotten into the engine the exposed wires can rub together and produce a short which could cause a fire.
It might be coming from a leaky radiator cap or the radiator itself especially if you smell it outside the car.
Also check the oil level.
That may heat up and release the smell of burning rubber.
Open the hood after parking the car and see if you can locate the source of the smell.
Air filters cleaned or replaced if any.
If the smell persists take the car in to be checked out.
Whether your car heater or a c smells sickly sweet simply stale acrid like burning rubber or distinctly urine tinged all of these different gross car heater smells can be associated with a specific problem which means each also has its own specific fix.
So while there is no silver bullet to take out every single bad car smell taking one last whiff can help you.
If the smell were originating inside the heater you would be unlikely to smell it when you got out of the car.
Using the anti bacteria products for the vents and checking the heater fuel lines for any leakages.
You mentioned that there is a small leak around the belt drive so that may be the culprit.
Try avoiding driving over garbage to avoid this scenario.
A short circuit in the wiring.
Lifewire miguel co.
Car heater cause the burning plastic smell in car.
The car may have accidentally picked up pieces of garbage like plastic packets etc.
If your car smells like burning plastic what it might be.
Burning oil can smell like burnt rubber.
1 the clutch may result from riding the clutch or needing a replacement 2 the brakes can occur from heavy break usage or riding the brakes 3 an electrical short 4 the heater may result from debris in the system or from a bad motor or 5 burning oil.
The answer to why you may sense a burning rubber smell in your car and not some other type of smell is because there are lots of rubber components rubber hoses and other things made out of hard rubber which may be coming into contact with extreme heat which is why your car may smell like burning rubber.
There are plastic parts in the heater the fan and other electronic devices fit into the car.
Causes of burning rubber smell in your car.
That s most likely the smell of oil burning.
If the car is leaking or burning oil the level can get too low and cause problems.
Get the car checked out by your usual repairer.
