hello all i currently have a 2004 hyundai accent 5 sp standard and lately i noticed while driving highway speeds or going up hills that there is a strange smell like burning rubber entering the car only if windows are down . i have brought the car to different garages and they all said the same thing everything was fine . Has anyone ever heard of this problem before and what might it be thanx .[:'(]

 

Really hard to say, "burning rubber" smell. Is the air recirculation vent open or closed when you drive? If it's open, then it's a good chance it's coming from the engine compartment.

 

i get the odd strange smell from my '04 5-spd accent and havnt been able to track it down. i'd give all the hoses and failing that belts a check. they're the only parts under the hood that could give off a small like that. maybe the plug wires but i dont see how they'd burn to begin with.

 

hello there thanx for that i dunno what you mean though air recirculation vent i just replaced a vent in the back bumber but that about it thanx .

 

yeah jsinton i checked all the belts there is a brand new belt on it everything was checked so i dunno it is really weird and bugs me because it is like where the hell like you smell that and u shouldnt lol like it bugs me that i cant find it but thanx .

 

There's a button on your ventilation controls. It allows air to flow through the cabin or not. Is it allowing air from the outside to flow in or not? If so, then close it and see if it still smells. If it stops smelling, then the smell is probably coming from under the hood. So then you can deduce it's either the belts, a rubber hose, or maybe the timing belt. It could be some wire insulation too.

 

good point on the wires, maybe one slipped out of the harness somehow and is resting against the head/block.

 

hello there yeah i think i know what you mean there the button in the car where the heater controls and all that is there yeah i am starting to think that too there could be some wire or a hose rubbing ot touching something hot and make that smell because it is weird only does it like i say at high speeds or going up hills and if i stop and open the hood and like see around there is no smell so i dunno anyways thanx for the suggetions though .

 

I have the same problem with my 2008 hyundai elantra - 5 sp standard. It smells like burnt rubber when you get out of the car or if you sit idle at a red light for any amount of time. So its not the ventilation. It appears nothing is wrong though... please let me know if you find out!

 

Ok, it's either a drive belt rubbing against something, or it's something sitting on the exhaust manifold. Not much else could produce that much heat.