burning smell???

[ep3]

for a while now my car has had this burning smell after i drive it. the smell is on and off. one day it'll have the burning smell and some days it won't. well today i smelt it again and i noticed some steamish smoke coming out through wheel well. now i know that ain't normal. but when i opened up the hood no smoke just a burning smell. it was worst than usual. has this happened to anyone else??? i know i should take it to the shop but i wanted to know if this has happened to anyone here before i take it to the shop.

[mhx]

how many miles on your ride?

[ep3]

almost 8500.

[dc5-K20A3]

Check your oil level!!!

[SinisterCivicSi]

OMG! please tell me you got your oil changed at 5000 miles?!?!:eek:

[ep3]

yeah i changed it before it hit 5000

[Si4U2NV]

i called HOA a few dayz ago...and according to the lady i talked to (who didnt seem very knowledgeable) she said our carz arent scheduled for a oil change until 10,000 miles... (she said her ODYSSEY was like that so my Si is prolly like that too...:rolleyes: )

Wont be following their advice anymore...

-Mike:p ;)

[bioevolve]

does it smell sweet? like antifreeze burning?

[SinisterCivicSi]

Originally posted by Si4U2NV
i called HOA a few dayz ago...and according to the lady i talked to (who didnt seem very knowledgeable) she said our carz arent scheduled for a oil change until 10,000 miles... (she said her ODYSSEY was like that so my Si is prolly like that too...:rolleyes: )

Wont be following their advice anymore...

-Mike:p ;)

actually, i heard the same thing from another honda dealer regarding the 1st oil change. because of the special lubricants in the engine that were put there from the factory when the engines were assembled, i was told that the first oil change isnt supposed to be done until 10K miles, to give all that extra lube time to mix with the metals and soak up or some shit like that. I believe its different at pretty much every dealer you go to....some still want you to change your oil every 3750 miles....but that was changed like in 2000 i believe. its all on what your comfy with and what has worked for you in the past. However, i dont see how that dam 5w20 oil (thin as water if you ask me) is going to hold up until 10K without having to put a quart or two in there.
i was told to change mine at 5K miles where they would add special lubs to it along with the oil change.

[ep3]

i checked the oil level and it was normal. as for the antifreeze, would it have to leak for it to burn because i got no leaks. as for the smell, today, it was definately a new smell from previous ones, but not sure it it was a sweet type of smell.

[Mugen Power]

Heard this, heard that... You can read in the manual that it says to change it every 10k.:)

I've always done it 3k and that's about when I did the first change for the EP.

[My_Blk_Si]

I noticed you're lowered on ground controls... dumb question... but... by any chance the times you smell a burning smell are you parked on top of grass... theres a good chance you're exhaust is burning the grass...

... you should see some of the patches of burned grass in my front yard...:D

[ep3]

nah i was in the parking lot of radio shack, but i didin't notice the smoke until i got home and parked it in the garage.

[blueiedgod]

Originally posted by SinisterCivicSi


actually, i heard the same thing from another honda dealer regarding the 1st oil change. because of the special lubricants in the engine that were put there from the factory when the engines were assembled, i was told that the first oil change isnt supposed to be done until 10K miles, to give all that extra lube time to mix with the metals and soak up or some shit like that. I believe its different at pretty much every dealer you go to....some still want you to change your oil every 3750 miles....but that was changed like in 2000 i believe. its all on what your comfy with and what has worked for you in the past. However, i dont see how that dam 5w20 oil (thin as water if you ask me) is going to hold up until 10K without having to put a quart or two in there.
i was told to change mine at 5K miles where they would add special lubs to it along with the oil change.


Don't forget that Si has something like 5 quart oil capacity, which is allot for a small 2.0 liter 4 cylinder.

[King Kang]

If you drive hard, your clutch can give off a "hot" smelling odor. Bydriving, you are contantly glazing your clutch plate, wearing the glaze off, and re-glazing it. The harder you drive, the more you will notice this smell. This is normal. I can smell it on my car if I drive like an asshole and then linger around my parked car.

New-new hondas have that smelly cat-breaking-in odor. I hate that smell.

[ep3]

king kang, how many miles do you have on your ep??? i read on this forum that someone else had a smell caused from the catalytic converter. is this what you are refering to? i don't really drive my car that hard. i shift at 3500, but i do know what you are talking about when you drive it hard. mine does that too. could this smell be coming from the clutch if i shift constantly at 3500???

[RyteN2Ep3]

could it be your e-brake?? because one time.. i didn't put down the ebrake all the way down.. and while driving a mile or two down the road.. i noticed a burning smell... n i can see some smoke through the rear window... =(.. pulled to the side of the road.. checked it out.. i don't see anyt'n wrong.. but i smelled the burning from the wheel.... never again will that happen... just one of them shittie day..
hope you find out the problem.. good luck

[King Kang]

Originally posted by ep3
king kang, how many miles do you have on your ep??? i read on this forum that someone else had a smell caused from the catalytic converter. is this what you are refering to? i don't really drive my car that hard. i shift at 3500, but i do know what you are talking about when you drive it hard. mine does that too. could this smell be coming from the clutch if i shift constantly at 3500???

Oh, that cat thing is only for the first 100 or 200 miles on a virgin motor. My girlfiend's 02 LX had that smell the worst....stinks like burning plastic. I'm sure that is not the problem with you car. I have 23k miles on mine and I generally shift aroun 5k rpms. What I consider driving hard is shifting from 5th to 3rd to pass people @ 70 mph. This type of behavior really makes your clutch hot. You can put stress on your clutch if you feather it and rev it to keep from slipping down a hill. You also put stress on it if you dump the clutch....it can all depend on how much experience you've had driving a stick shift. I've had about 8 years of experience...but I worked the cluth on my first car pretty hard for about two years refining my skills.

[FACTION95Si]

I think that whole "don't do your first oil change for 10k miles" is bs. I mean if you think about it, if the motor oil is broken down by 5k miles why wouldn't the specail break-in oils be history too? Break in period on the engine is 600 miles so whats the point of leaving it in after that? I change my oil every 3k miles period. What do you people think?

[sniperSI]

YeS i had the same problem when i first bought my car, I feel it's nothing to worry about, some people say it's the shit they spray on the engine when it is shipped over seas to prevent corrosion ect, ect, and takes awhile to burn off, some people say it's the break in oil, others the clutch plate,

But after 10,000 miles the smell should be totaly gone.

[SinisterCivicSi]

Originally posted by blueiedgod



Don't forget that Si has something like 5 quart oil capacity, which is allot for a small 2.0 liter 4 cylinder.

its 4.4 i believe.