Smell of burning rubber

[Billgo]

My CC 1.8 Hybrid is just over 5 months old, on atrip away to Kerry a few weeks ago we got this smell only when the car was stopped. Returned to our hotel and called Toyota Breakdown Service the next day. Nothing found and we returned home the next day. I emailed Toyota Dublin to register my lack of confidence in the car going forward. As a result, the dealer I had bought from phoned, brought a loan car and took ours for testing. Again no result of where the smell might have come from, so we are left with a car that had something burning, but what ?   This is my first Toyata in over 60 years of driving and I am not impressed. At the time of the incident there was about 3,000 km on the clock.

[Red_Corolla]

If this was a one-off incident that occurred a while ago never to repeat since, wouldn't it be reasonable to consider that there's actually nothing wrong with the car at all? All cars have hot surfaces (even electric ones have brakes) and bits of debris from the road will inevitably come into contact from time to time. A plastic wrapper on the exhaust, for example?

[Billgo]

The plastic bag theory was mentioned as a possible cause, but I would not expect such a smell from this or it lasting for many hours with stops in between. It has put me right off my new car and Toyota.

[JasonM]

Just a thought, it’s quite easy to pull out the dip stick and for a few drops of oil land on the engine hot surfaces and this would make a burning oil smell.  I also drive past a land fill site near me that burns waste oil,  could it be from outside the car? I don’t mean to be condescending just thinking of possible causes.   If it only happened once I would forget it so long as you keep a steady high oil level no harm can come to the car.     

[TonyHSD]

Low tyre pressure in one or more tyres can lead to tyre overheating and smell of burning rubber. Have you checked that too ? 

[Billgo]

Yes tyre pressures correct. Dealers did their computer and visual check but all inconclusive. I would have been happier if something was found. I am still apprehensive  when driving the car, perhaps this will wear off. 

[fred88]

Was it your first long run? New exhausts can smell sometimes the first couple of times they get really hot.

[JasonM]

These sorts of intermittent issues are very hard for the dealers to track down.   I am 99.9% it’s nothing to worry about, but if it continues come back on this post and someone will be sure to have some ideas.  In my experience a good number of the members on this forum have a better grasp of their cars than the dealer mechanics do.