I test drove a new Scion TC a few days ago and noticed that after the test drive there was a slight burning smell. I shifted at 3-4k but have not driven manual in 5 years so the shifts were not that smooth. Today I got my new car with 1 mile and noticed that when I got home the car had the exact same slight burning smell as the Scion TC I test drove a few days ago. Would not shifting smoothly cause this smell or is this just new car smell? I smell this when I get outside the car, not inside the car.

 

This is totally normal. It goes away after the first 50 miles or so. I'm told it's because there is a coating in the exhaust pipe that burns off.

The first time I ever test drove a customer last year it had that smell and I freaked cause I thought I broke the truck!

 

what he said :D

 

yeah pretty much what they all said..its both the coating throughout the exhaust system burning off as well as the intake..give it about 50 miles or so

 

Yeah its pretty much what the 6 other people have said before me but im going to still post this because i need my post count to go up. lol i think he by now knows that " its the coating throughout the exhaust system burning off " -muaaaaaaaahhhhhh see....

 

If you want the technical term, its called cosmoline. Its the same stuff the US military used to pack rifles in during WWII and Korea. As stated, it usually takes 50 or so miles to burn, although I've seen it go as much as 200 if they put too much on at the factory.

 

I think that the protective substance that is put on (some/all) new cars is called Cosmoline. It takes up to 100 miles to burn off.

 

i think it has something to do with the exhaust coating burning off????

?

 

its amazing how knowlegable we all are on this topic..im impressed!!

 

This is what happens when you use a title for your thread that people can understand. "Burning smell? Hey, I know what that is! Let me go and help!" Meanwhile, every body else it doing the same and those with slower connections overlap the rest. Very funny.