Burning Smell When Reversing A Trailer

[SteveR.]

I'm new to trailer towing, so I'm pretty crappy at reversing one and it takes me a few minutes of trial & error to get it right. I've only done it twice now, and both times there's been a distinct burning smell from my RAV4 (2yo, 10k miles). Should I be worried?

[local hero]

I'm new to trailer towing, so I'm pretty crappy at reversing one and it takes me a few minutes of trial & error to get it right. I've only done it twice now, and both times there's been a distinct burning smell from my RAV4 (2yo, 10k miles). Should I be worried?

Hi Steve, I seem to recall this is quite common + there is no real cause for concern its apparantly cutch related + I think there have been other posts about it particularly on the T180.. but i am sure someone far wiser than me will advise..

[SteveR.]

Thanks - I did a quick search before posting and came across a few mentions of a smell on reversing in some Toyotas and I got the impression it was clutch related. It wasn't clear to me whether it is known to affect RAVs or whether it's a cause for concern, though. It's quite disconcerting!

[JonRobbo]

Hi Steve

I often tow a caravan with a RAV4 D4D XTR, and always now try and avoid reversing, especialy uphill which the Rav seems to hate.

The problem arises from soft-ish clutch which is prone to slipping in reverse.The first time I did it the clutch was fully engaged and going nowhere, with smoke pouring form the engine bay, but OK when cooled down, that said its a common smell on caravan sites especially hilly ones, and all makes of car. The car has driven normally since it first occured over 20,000 miles ago, so there seems to have been minimal damage, but I still try to avoid reversing uphill.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Jon

[SteveR.]

Thanks Jon - it's sort of comforting to know that it's to be expected, but sounds like something of a design flaw. You're spot on though: on both occasions I noticed it when I was reversing the trailer up a bit of a slope. I'd be more than happy to avoid reversing trailers because I'm rubbish at it (today's burning smell arose when I was taking the opportunity to practice, but I thought I'd better stop when I noticed a whiff of something not right). There are times when you have to do it though. Towing ability was one of the things I was looking for when I settled on the RAV, and frankly it sucks if a 4x4 can't handle such relatively moderate demands without something unpleasant happening in the clutch :(

[jedi134]

That does not sound good :( , espesically if its only a trailer your towing, I take it its a smallish one with nothing in it, or do you mean caravan. Used to pull smallish trailers all the time with an old Ford Sierra with no problems at all, You would think a 4x4 would be more tham capable.

[SteveR.]

It's an old fashioned "pig trailer": a livestock trailer about 6ft internal length, fairly substantial for its size but empty.

[Yooz]

You could try fitting a towball at the front - this was a post quite recently. That would then save our lovely environment from toxic fumes from burning clutches. The RAV appears to be happy moving forward, after all.

[anchorman]

This has come up several times. Modern asbestos free clutches tend to utilise a lot of woven material to add strength and they can give off very resinous and sometimes amonia like smells. It isn't much to worry about but you should keep in mind that if you can smell it the temperature is high and if the temperature is high you are wearing it quicker than normal!

Try to reverse by fully engaging the clutch and keeping the revs just above tickover rather than slipping the clutch at higher revs. Its just a matter of practice but an empty car park is a good place to play.

[SteveR.]

Yooz: Did you forget a smiley there? ;)

Anchorman: Thanks for the info. As you say, if I can smell it, it can't be good. I'll try to avoid slipping the clutch but obviously we only slip it when we need extra control anyway. My trailer-reversing skills currently need all the help they can get! Practising is what I was doing yesterday (before putting the trailer away), but I stopped when the smell made me worried.

[bothwell_buyer]

Yooz: Did you forget a smiley there? ;)

Anchorman: Thanks for the info. As you say, if I can smell it, it can't be good. I'll try to avoid slipping the clutch but obviously we only slip it when we need extra control anyway. My trailer-reversing skills currently need all the help they can get! Practising is what I was doing yesterday (before putting the trailer away), but I stopped when the smell made me worried.

Think you've got a bit mixed up.....pig trailers get pulled by.......

tractors? :wacko:

[SteveR.]

Like this, but older (and probably heavier).

[richwafta]

I had this on my old Carina and the last car which was a Hyundai Tucson. As Anchorman says, its the non asbestos materials used in modern clutches that cause the problem.

It's very difficult not to slip the clutch when you are manouvering, especially backwards. I always try to get as close to the pitch (Caravan) as possible to minimise the amount of manouvering, but still sometimes get that horrible smell.

I guess until they come up with a better, harder material it's something we have to accept (Or fit a motor mover to the trailer as I did on the caravan)

[SteveR.]

I guess so.

[jedi134]

All I can say is "They don`t make them like they used too" ;)

Its not got a braking system connected to the tow bar part has it? :o

[SteveR.]

All I can say is "They don`t make them like they used too" ;)

Apparently not (although when it comes to asbestos, that's probably A Good Thing!).

Its not got a braking system connected to the tow bar part has it? :o

A very fair question, but no - it was originally a braked trailer but the braking system gave up the ghost long ago by the look of it and it's now unbraked (and only being used accordingly).