Hi my name is Crystal I currently have a 03 protege5 with 180,000 miles I have had this car for roughly 5 years with many different mods done to it as well as replaced my clutch with a level 4 about eight months ago I have maintained my car very well and have not had any real issues with it even though I am very rough on it I have raced it I have peeled out in it double clutched it reason i am stating this is because i have not once had an issue such as this one. I will be in gear (no my foot is not on the clutch) and i will get the odor of burning clutch this has happened three times it will linger for about five to ten minutes then disappear. I consider myself to be fairly intellegent when it comes to cars but this one has me puzzled and its not slipping or anything nothing seems to be different other then the smell so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Possibly some kind of oil or fluid leaking onto the clutch disk? Causing it to be a little slippery (sort of) and when it slips (and drags so to speak), it makes that smell.