my engine kind of smells like burning rubber..
is this a bad thing? what can it be?

definitely not a good thing,i would head for the dealership.

clutch?

Did you just get the vehicle? Because my box smelt like burning something when I drove it for a few days. I think there is a break-in period before the smell goes away.

clutch?

That's what I was thinking...

its been fine for a couple of weeks
it happened when i was driving along the road and i went to pass up a car.
then a car swereved in front of me and i braked real quick. thats when i saw some smoke comming out of the engine, but it was only alittle bit.

dude i think its your brakes breakin in? thats what happened to my truck

Give it a few more days. Most likely it's the brakes that you are smelling. If you start to feel weaker brake response then definitely take it into the dealer right away. Also check under the hood to check the lines from the master cylinder for the brakes to see if there we any faulty lines.

Good luck and keep us updated to see what happened.

This is my first car and I really hope its the break in period. How long does this usually last.

Well it honestly varies. There is a light coating of oil on all engine parts from the manufacture on all cars, it will take some time to burn off, the parts that get less heat will obviously take longer.

Brakes should be gently used for the 1st couple hundred miles or so, allowing them time to "bed in" before they should be used under hard braking. Doing so prior to break in can result in "glazing" where the pad surface actually becomes shiny and slippery. That's the loss of brake force the above poster was talking about, in that case you need to bring it back to the dealer so the glaze can be scuffed off.

If you're out on the west coast, I'm sure you know the smell of brakes, as in when traffic on the freeway ahead stops and the 30 or so semi trucks all lock up the brakes to stop in a hurry. At the next stop (non panic type) the rubber smell will be gone, but a similar smell will still be there--thats brakes.

Looked at the service manual to be sure. "nice" driving for the 1st 1000 miles/1600km and gentle stops for the 1st 200 miles/300km

At any rate, a smell like that you describe thats around for more than an hour or so should definately be looked at by a dealer if you aren't familiar enough with cars to diagnose it yourself. And piece of mind is worth a lot.

EEEP, I just had a nightmare where my brakes were not working and I was sliding aruond traffic like the road was slippery or something. Looks like i gotta go check it out or ill be freaked while driving.