Burning Rubber Smell in the Cabin...?

[TheLion]

Added a circle around the fluid. I did clean some of it up before thinking of taking a pic. There was more around the entire bottom section when I first found it.

Yours appears to have a minor valve cover leak, mine is dry...so that might be your issue.

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[TheLion]

I think its coming from the brakes. In particular the front drivers side. After I pulled in the burning smell was very strong and it seems to be coming from the front drivers side wheel. Strange thing is that the brake rotor was actually cool to the touch not hot. I'm wondering if there's a fluid leak in one of the Pistons or 5he line that hidden. Might have to jack it up and pull off the wheel to poke around.

 

[TheLion]

The burning smell has become quite frequent, but this morning while cruising on the highway it was really strong, that's the first time I've smelled it on the highway.

Haven't found any cause related to the brakes so far. I'm starting to wonder if this is the pulley issue and I have a pulley that binding...how strange would that be that my ecoboost had a bad belt tensioner and my GT has a bad pulley...?

 

[TheLion]

Still no definitive diagnosis, but it seems to be very distinctly rubber. I did try to move the AC compressor clutch and it feels very bound up. In my ecoboost it moved very smoothly and easily. Int he GT there's a very substantial amount of resistance.

I'm leaning in that direction at the present time thinking that maybe the clutch is binding and heating up the pulley or causing the belt to slip.

 

[e30og]

how fast have you been driving?

 

[TheLion]

how fast have you been driving?

There was only one time I smelled it on the highway, I was cruising at about 70. I usually only smell the burning rubber smell at low speeds, 35ish or stopped at a light.

I've been keeping an eye on the belts but so far don't see any signs of abnormal wear. I cannot find ANY oil leaks at all. Dry as a bone, which is the same thing the dealership found.

For a while I was suspecting the brakes, but at this point I don't believe that to be the case. I believe its coming from inside the engine compartment, the question is where and from what?

I did notice the AC compressor clutch has a very high resistance to rotation moving it by hand. My ecoboost AC clutch was fairly smooth and easy moving, I'm wondering if it's binding and heating up, maybe a pulley bearing seal is slowly getting baked (AC problems seem to be somewhat common on GT's) or the pulley wheel is getting hot or binding and causing the belt to slip / heat up just enough to get an odor but not cause it to wear fast enough to be visible at this point.

Once I figure it out I'll be sure to post back what I find.

 

[rum_punch_ruby]

I have an appt for my leaky seal Monday. Gonna have them look over everything in case that isn't the cause of the smell. Will report back what they find.

 

[rum_punch_ruby]

Turns out I don't have a leak anywhere. Not sure where that oil bit came from but it hasn't returned and nothing around/underneath it showed that anything had been dripping. They said maybe the clutch or cats are still "breaking in" even though I am at 3600 miles. We'll see if it persists.

 

[TheLion]

Turns out I don't have a leak anywhere. Not sure where that oil bit came from but it hasn't returned and nothing around/underneath it showed that anything had been dripping. They said maybe the clutch or cats are still "breaking in" even though I am at 3600 miles. We'll see if it persists.

I'm at 8200 miles and my "burning smell" has become more frequent and more intense. Not better :(. I'd like to get up under there myself and poke around, but the 20F weather and non-heated garage has kept me just dealing with it. On top of it I also have the infamous MT-82 1-2 lockout / gear grinding issue. I think my Ecoboost did that maybe once or twice in the 1.5 years I owned it, so this is a bit frustrating. But based on what I've found a gear oil swap helps substantially with that issue as does shifting methodology changes when it's cold (either that or just always warm it up before driving).

Dealer wants me to bring it back and leave it over night for them to test drive...which I don't have an issue with if they provide a rental again, but they couldn't find anything either when I took it in. I wonder if there could be an exhaust leak somewhere and something is getting hot....I did check the belts again. No visual signs of excessive wear, they look new still and they were not hot to the touch.

I "sniffed" around the engine compartment and the odor seems to be much stronger in the back of the engine compartment and particularly on the drivers side which leads me to believe something is getting cooked by the exhaust or oil is dripping down from the back of a valve cover onto a header and burning off, so you don't see the leak unless you catch a drop forming. That explains also why the odor seems somewhat intermittent and not persistent. If it was a belt as I originally suspected after being unable to find an oil leak, I would expect it to be all the time whenever I stop, not sporadic. Dripping oil onto the exhaust on the other hand....but who knows. Could be something off the wall as well. Hopefully we will get it figured out soon.

 

[TheLion]

I switched over to 93 today (was running 87) and so far no burning smell after about 75 miles. I'll report back after a couple of tanks of gas.

I'm wondering if things were heating up in the exhaust with 87. I know the stock tuning is optamized for 91 or higher, but can safely run 87 in most situations (except high altitude, towing or heavy throttle usage like track).

I never once heard any audible pinging, but even if it wasn't knocking, I'm wondering if 87 might be causing a little more heat than expected? No cel, no nannies have kicked in at all so this is a bit of a mystery for me so far.

I can definitely say the mid-range is MUCH stronger on 93 than it was on 87. While the peak power numbers may only differ by 5hp between the two fuel grades, the mid-range is completely different. Even the low end is noticeably better. With 87 with a normal start in 1st gear, I'd have to give it a bit more throttle and RPM or it would bog down. 93 I can start almost anywhere in the lower RPM range without it bogging down.

With 87 power was very linear, but definitely "sluggish" on the bottom end and lower mid range, power seemed to slowly roll on where with 93 its very immediate and strong. With 93 it feels quite a bit stronger in the mid-range as well and just pulls all the way up. I definitely prefer 93 over 87, but 87 was plenty livable in the winter assuming the fuel isn't the cause of the burning smell.

What octane are yall running? I wouldn't expect fuel to have that kind of an impact on stock tuning, but who knows at this point. I can't find any other possible causes unless something really weird and out of the ordinary has occurred like the car is tuned without my knowledge (bought it used with 5,500 miles on it)...but I have never heard it ping once over this winter with 87 and when the weather permitted on occasion I did some WOT pulls in 3rd and 4th gear. Was smooth as butter even with 87 even if a bit sluggish and soggy in the mid-range compared to 93, so that is highly unlikely.

Does anyone know an easy way to check the software ID on the ECU with Torque APP? I'd like to verify the car has the stock tune just to be on the extra safe side.

 

[WildPony]

I have a 2015 GT PP and I started noticing the same smell everyone noted in this thread about a week ago. Initially, I thought it was the heater but I started noticing the smell even when AC or Heater was off. I didn't notice it before but my daughter mentioned smoke coming from the vents when the smell was present. It's a small amount so there has to be perfect sunlight to even notice. Smell has been gradually getting worse and today I noticed a small amount of smoke coming out of the side of the hood on the passenger side. I checked the temperature gauge and it was within normal range. Luckily, I was around the corner from my house and after parking it I popped the hood (engine still running) and the smoke was nowhere to be found. I didn't notice any burning rubber smell either. While my son was visually inspecting the engine bay, I gave few good revs thinking that may cause the smoke or smell to return, but it didn't. Here comes the interesting part, I'd shut the engine off and while scratching my head, I notice the smoke coming from rear part of the engine bay on the passenger side (near the battery.) I grabbed my phone and tried to record it on video in case I couldn't reproduce the problem at the dealership. I captured a glimpse of it and it went away. After 30 seconds or so, the smoke came back, each time lasting about 20 seconds. This process repeated about 4 times and eventually, it stopped. There is no leak on the floor so I'm thinking leaking oil or coolant is landing on a manifold and or other hot component and burning up.

Anyone else notice a small amount of smoke accompanying the rubber burning smell?

 

[VinnAY]

Ive run all over my car on this L front smell, it's intermittent, all the belts and pulleys are turning and I saw the compressor engage on/off, no fluids present, no smoke, no tire rub marks...no explanation for it. Some times it's there, some times it's lite smell, some times a heavier smell, most times not at all.

 

[1st time Mustang]

Rubber smell

I have a 2015 GT PP and I started noticing the same smell everyone noted in this thread about a week ago. Initially, I thought it was the heater but I started noticing the smell even when AC or Heater was off. I didn't notice it before but my daughter mentioned smoke coming from the vents when the smell was present. It's a small amount so there has to be perfect sunlight to even notice. Smell has been gradually getting worse and today I noticed a small amount of smoke coming out of the side of the hood on the passenger side. I checked the temperature gauge and it was within normal range. Luckily, I was around the corner from my house and after parking it I popped the hood (engine still running) and the smoke was nowhere to be found. I didn't notice any burning rubber smell either. While my son was visually inspecting the engine bay, I gave few good revs thinking that may cause the smoke or smell to return, but it didn't. Here comes the interesting part, I'd shut the engine off and while scratching my head, I notice the smoke coming from rear part of the engine bay on the passenger side (near the battery.) I grabbed my phone and tried to record it on video in case I couldn't reproduce the problem at the dealership. I captured a glimpse of it and it went away. After 30 seconds or so, the smoke came back, each time lasting about 20 seconds. This process repeated about 4 times and eventually, it stopped. There is no leak on the floor so I'm thinking leaking oil or coolant is landing on a manifold and or other hot component and burning up.

Anyone else notice a small amount of smoke accompanying the rubber burning smell?

I had same problem..small oil leak from gasket.. Dealer replaced gasket plus solinoid...Thank God for no tune.. Under warranty..Car has 40.000 miles(2015GT).

 

[rum_punch_ruby]

I have not had the smell in a while, at least since taking it to the dealer to have them look. Maybe they found something, fixed it and didn't tell me? Otherwise the only other things I've done is uninstall/reinstall my FP air oil filter and put on a catback exhaust. Of course now that I say this i'll smell it on my drive home.

 

[WildPony]

I took the car to the dealer and they found a valve gasket leak. Now there is no smell and smoke. Luckily it was covered under warranty. Hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon.

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