Anyone here still get a whiff of "burning plastic" smell every now and then from their Speed3? From what I've researched it may be cosmoline from when the car was shipped. The thing is my MS3 is a 2008 with only 25K miles. Note, it's not from running over a plastic bag and it getting caught underneath. Thoughts? Comments?

 

I once had a burning plastic smell in a vehicle (Ford Aerostar). It was a wiring harness trying to catch on fire.

 

HA!! My F250 sometimes shoots smoke out the ignition column, still has 2 recalls on it that need to be addressed.

When do you usually smell the burning plastic?

 

Smell varies. Usually after I'm stopped.

 

How does the clutch feel? Any slippage there at all? Also from my experience cosmoline has a VERY unique smell to it and I hate it, had it all the time at my last job. Makes me wonder if something got into your engine bay, like a mouse or something.... pop the hood and see if everything is intact and nothing hiding anywhere.

 

No slippage. Better not be as I barely have 25K on the car. My wife drove home yesterday and did not smell. it. Nothing under the hood or caught underneath.

 

Can you pin point where it is coming from? Through the vents? passenger side, driver side? Do you smell it outside the car? Under the hood? From the carpeting? In the trunk area?

Maybe you can train a dog to sniff cosmoline so you don't have to?
Actually at this time you really don't know for sure if it is cosmoline.

In my 14 years old protege there is some black stuff oozing out of the bottom of the doors and dropping on the rockers. No smell though. But it means the door panels are another area to look.

Another thought: antifreeze can smell horrible if it gets hot. See if you car uses antifreeze or any other fluid. If a fluid leaks on a hot part you get significant odor. In particular when you stop.