greetings,

so i just test drove two brand new manual scion xbs. one had 9 miles the other had 12 miles. when i was done test driving both of them i noticed a funky burning smell from both cars. i thought i drove it pretty smoothly, didn't have troubles shifting or anything. but that smell was really a turn off.

does this happen often for new scion xbs? does it happen with automatics? is it a new engine being revved up for the first time? does this happen for a hundred miles or so until the car is worn in? or am i just the worst stick driver and just don't know it.

let me know what you're thinking, or better yet, let me know how your test drives of brand new (low low mileage) scion xbs were.

thanks

 

Its normal, goes away after about 100 miles.

 

From what the dealer told me it's some crap they put on the engine to preserve it while the car is shipped over, when the engine gets warm it burns it off.

That sounds about right, whenever we got new engines for our aircraft in my last command they had been coated inside and out with an oily film to prevent corrosion while sitting in storage, so I can see where that could be used for automotive applications.

 

It smells like burnt plastic right? My car used to make those burnt smells too when i first bought it. It went away after 500 miles. Now it doesn't smell like anything, i think that is the virgin smell. When you first break her in. I have 6k miles now, no smell.

 

I noticed the "Burnt Metal" odor the first time I turned the fan on..WOW..it freaked me out at first, but when I called they told me the same thing..it is completely normal, it is chemicals on the engine parts. It went away after a couple hundred miles. I would just make sure you crack a window, it gets pretty strong at first..lol

 

i smelled it too. mostly right when i step out of the car after a long ride. stinky!

 

Yes , it's the all the stuff that gets on a vehicle as it gets produced. New paint and grease ect....
At first I thought you were gonna say something about the way Scions smell on the inside when new.

 

it smells really bad when i fart.

 

And I thought I was crazy. I thought it was burning antifreeze. Bought my xB this February, so I had the heat on high a lot, and was convinced I was burning antifreeze. Figured it was just a spill from a sloppy dealer service monkey and would go away...

Had me freak for a bit though... Funny thing though, test drove 2 xb's (with heat on) and never noticed it.

 

i kinda miss the smell. reminds me of when my box was still a virgin...so much has changed

 

If that musty smell comes back when the a/c is used I got that foaming stuff this year to clean out the evaporator case.

 

awesome. thanks guys, as soon as i read the first couple a posts, i went back and got it. 300miles, no smell, lots of fun