Burning rubber Smell

[Cruisin911]

Ive had it time to time, after long freeway stretches or long summit pulls. I always chalked it up to the exhaust heating up the spare tire or some lube from the drive shaft thrown onto the exhaust that burns off when super hot, i.e summits or long drives.

 

[bloc]

Yes, that tire used to be up front passenger.

Where is the tire that used to be front driver? And does the edge of that tread look similar?

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I also have this smell on the driver's side rear. I pick up on it almost every time I park at home.

I recently had a seized brake there - while towing a trailer I noticed a very strong smell, pulled over, and saw smoke coming off that brake. In the last few weeks I had new calipers installed all around, as well as new rotors and pads in the rear. The smell still persists. Sometimes I can even smell it in the car, while moving.

 

[racer02]

Very interesting...did some looking and apparently 4runners have a similar issue. Toyota-4Runner.org - https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/179442-burning-rubber-smell-right-rear-fender-well.html?highlight=rubber

 

[sdnative]

Very interesting...did some looking and apparently 4runners have a similar issue. Toyota-4Runner.org - https://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/179442-burning-rubber-smell-right-rear-fender-well.html?highlight=rubber

I read through the entire thread waiting for someone to strongly advise against using cruise control in the rain

 

[eatSleepWoof]

It's also worth noting that my driver's side rear tire frequently shows 2PSI higher (hot) than the rest, despite being the same PSI cold. The wheel itself does not feel noticeably warmer than the rest.

 

[racer02]

It's also worth noting that my driver's side rear tire frequently shows 2PSI higher (hot) than the rest, despite being the same PSI cold. The wheel itself does not feel noticeably warmer than the rest.

Also interesting that the common place on the 4runner for the smell is the passenger rear and on the LC it is the driver's rear which also happens to correlate to the side the exhaust is run on both vehicles....makes me think it is possibly exhaust heat related, as well as lots of folks saying they don't get it around town, but only after hard or high speed freeway drives. Some suspect exhaust gets a rubber hanger hot enough to smell like burning rubber....seems like nobody knows exactly what causes it.

 

[TeCKis300]

There's probably a multitude of reasons for hot rubber smell. With some being new tires, road debris stuck to exhaust, seized brakes, overweight, under tire pressure, alignment, and probably more that others can come up with.

It's probably worthwhile to not assume this is normal and do some due diligence to make sure there's no real issue at play. There's non-contact thermometers that can be had pretty cheap. I carry one in my trailer and use it every other day when stopping for a quick break, checking hubs and tires on the cruiser and trailer to make sure nothing is amiss. I "hot stop" enough in this fashion and can't say I've smelled hot rubber from the car.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Also interesting that the common place on the 4runner for the smell is the passenger rear and on the LC it is the driver's rear which also happens to correlate to the side the exhaust is run on both vehicles....makes me think it is possibly exhaust heat related, as well as lots of folks saying they don't get it around town, but only after hard or high speed freeway drives. Some suspect exhaust gets a rubber hanger hot enough to smell like burning rubber....seems like nobody knows?

The "hard drives" comments on that T4R thread are interesting. I live up a steep hill; the turn into my neck of the woods follows a short 2-lane section, on which I almost always "give 'er" to pass the grannies that have been holding me up for the 10 minutes prior on the one-lane road. Come to think of it, I very rarely notice this smell in the city, which does seem to correlate with the "hard drives" comments.

I also notice it when towing my ~3000lb travel trailer, but in those cases I'm certainly not hauling ass, although some hill climbs do see around 3k RPM consistently for a few minutes (and hill climbs seem to be when I smell this most frequently).

 

[bloc]

There's probably a multitude of reasons for hot rubber smell. With some being new tires, road debris stuck to exhaust, seized brakes, overweight, under tire pressure, alignment, and probably more that others can come up with.

It's probably worthwhile to not assume this is normal and do some due diligence to make sure there's no real issue at play. There's non-contact thermometers that can be had pretty cheap. I carry one in my trailer and use it every other day when stopping for a quick break, checking hubs and tires on the cruiser and trailer to make sure nothing is amiss. I "hot stop" enough in this fashion and can't say I've smelled hot rubber from the car.

Most TPMS transmitters also have thermocouples and the ability to tx temperature. It usually won’t display this on the dash but programs like techstream might show it in live data. I do know the VWAG version of it does. Could be worth looking into.

 

[liv2bike]

I very rarely notice this smell in the city

some hill climbs do see around 3k RPM consistently for a few minutes (and hill climbs seem to be when I smell this most frequently).

This is exactly the same situation for me when I smell it. It’s when I’m holding 1st or 2nd gear for several minutes ie when the grades are very steep and I’m preserving my brakes.

 

[TeCKis300]

Are we talking about hot engine/exhaust smell or are we talking about hot rubber smells? The smells are different in my experience.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Are we talking about hot engine/exhaust smell or are we talking about hot rubber smells? The smells are different in my experience.

On this end it smells like overheated brakes... without the overheated brakes. Maybe it's the same smell as 'burning rubber?' I haven't burned rubber in a while and can't remember what it smells like.

 

[bemerritt]

Weird, I was just thinking i should look up on mud if anyone else smells burnt rubber after driving. I notice it when i exit on drivers side and walk in front of the vehicle.

 

[bloc]

Are we talking about hot engine/exhaust smell or are we talking about hot rubber smells? The smells are different in my experience.

Burnt rubber, to me, though some brakes can go that direction in odor.
An exhaust hanger getting hot actually makes a lot of sense to me.. though it seems odd apparently nothing is actually failing.

 

[Sinister]

I get it from time to time when I drive it hard.

 

[liv2bike]

Are we talking about hot engine/exhaust smell or are we talking about hot rubber smells? The smells are different in my experience.

Definitely hot rubber smell. Can’t pinpoint a location. But it seems to come from the rear of the truck.

Next time we go over Teton Pass I’ll pull out and sniff around. I’ll probably get some strange looks. But that’s really the only time and place I notice it.

 

[radman]

Well, the plot thickens!
I found this little booger sitting in the void between the side step and the wheel well driver’s rear wheel where the smell was coming from). Not sure how it held on for the ride, or even how long it’s been there...
However, it looks broken rather than melted.
also, very possible a little kid was playing hide&go seek with it. Just saying.

Here’s a recap on what I do know:
1) I definitely over reacted about my wheel flying off. Not having cell reception does weird things, and I’m not even a millennial.
2) I went ahead and backed off 2 clicks on the parking cable (access from under the cup holder)
3) I increased my rear psi to 40 (cold)
4) the tire that I thought was melting used to be a front steering tire, so that explains the rolled edge, but not the weird melting ripples (but many have said the ripples are normal wear)
5) I took a quick peek at my exhaust hanger, and looked fine. I only have one as I side exit to the driver’s side.

which brings us back to the burning rubber smell (I would say more rubber vs brake).

 

[Sandroad]

Mine smells a bit of hot rubber/oil after highway towing. I’ve investigated enough visually and with my infrared thermometer to know things are ok. I like the hot rubber hanger idea. I’ll bet that’s the source.

 

[slipkid13]

I also have this smell on the driver's side rear. I pick up on it almost every time I park at home.

I recently had a seized brake there - while towing a trailer I noticed a very strong smell, pulled over, and saw smoke coming off that brake. In the last few weeks I had new calipers installed all around, as well as new rotors and pads in the rear. The smell still persists. Sometimes I can even smell it in the car, while moving.

I almost always smell it when I park in the garage. Never found anything, neither did my mechanic. I just completed a 1400 mile r/t and smelled when I got home. Doesn't matter if I have Winter tires or not, after any trip when the truck gets up to full operating temp. I smell it. Weird but it seems to be somewhat normal.