BobsYourUncle Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 This is a great problem that of course "the tech cannot recreate" when they looked into it. I get a burning rubber smell when the car idles(after it has been driven and given a chance to heat up). I dont know if this is a common issue, but looking around google it appears im not the only one... Anyone have a clue? Im losing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badwolf Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Check your half-shafts(the inner ones), see if you have a tear in the rubber boots or if its leaking around the clamps. I had a similar issue; it turned out to be the grease being flung onto the exhaust manifold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuse Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I've got the same burning rubber smell at idle after driving. Just checked the passenger side CV boot, and sure enough it's leaking grease onto the half-shaft and there are a couple little blobs of grease in the same line on the suspension. Downpipe is on the same axis so hopefully there's our culprit. Ah. The wonders of search. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mars_volta Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Add me to the list. After about 20 miles of freeway, I stop and can smell it just slightly. I also can hear a noise upon braking and turning right up my driveway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJMC Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hmm... strange for some reason JUST today I smelled something funkly like burning rubber. Never existed before today. Probably a plastic bag thats stuck to my exhaust pipe though. I'll check it out tomorrow if it still exists, and is light outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badwolf Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 The first couple of times it happened to me, the service dept. said it was probably the undercoating(ie;Cosmolene) burning off the exhaust. After the third trip in there, I put the car up on ramps and found it myself! I showed their mechanic the photos I took and they fixed it. So I thought I'd share the info, because its so frustrating when you know there's a problem and they(the dealership) cant seem to find it. PS- Keep an eye on the metal bands that secure the rubber boots to the half-shafts; Subaru has an issue with them loosening up. Its the way they are banded on the shafts from the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikers Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 This is a great problem that of course "the tech cannot recreate" when they looked into it. I get a burning rubber smell when the car idles(after it has been driven and given a chance to heat up). I dont know if this is a common issue, but looking around google it appears im not the only one... Anyone have a clue? Im losing it I have the same car '08 2.5i Limited with the same problem. I started poking around to see if I could figure out what the issue is and I'm still not 100% sure but I think it may be my alternator. I popped the hood last night and that thing was pretty damn hot. This makes me worry as it was only like 28* here last night so when summer comes I may have a problem. I just bought my car last week...I may be making my first trip to the dealer soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobsYourUncle Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Well i dont have a solution, but the smell isnt there anymore... I took it in to the dealer and explained it to them. They had it for over a day and couldnt recreate the smell again; however, i think they poked around and tightened things in the process of searching for it. I am not exactly sure what they did, and they arent either, but the smell is gone. Mysteries.... BTW i live in Waltham too. The guys at Metro West Subaru in Natick did the work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikers Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Yeah, my car didn't make the smell this morning...who knows. My car only has 600 miles on it so it may be part of the whole break-in process...I'm not too worried. Good to know about Metro West Subaru. Have you been to CitySide? I wanted to buy from them becuase they are local, but Atlantic Subaru gave me a SICK deal on their last '08. I'm going to go to them for my first oil change...we'll see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdadi Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Metro West Subaru has oil change coupon $24.99 that can print out from their web site. This price is about same with JiffLube, but you get Subie dealer's svc who knows what they are doing, I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenNorthLGT Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 More searching for "odd, burning, rubber, smell" will yield a large number of results that end with the explanation of crap from the roads this time of year getting on the exhaust. Especially with the snow we've had lately. Snow, slush, salt, sand, and everything that was on the roads all summer that's now dissolved in the slush gets on the downpipe/exhaust and makes a pretty funky smell. Just somthing to consider for everyone looking for odd smells this time of year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTATV Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I switched from Lifestyle to Trojan it got better then i just stopped using them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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