Burning Smell - Toyota Yaris Forums

peakthruclouds · 12-01-2011, 05:37 PM

I bought a used 2010 Yaris from an approved Toyota dealership mid September & within the last month or so have noticed a burning smell coming through the air vents (I do have the heater on, but not convinced it is related). The car only has just over 3000 miles on the clock. The smell can happen anytime during the drive i.e. when my foot is nowhere near the clutch, when I'm in busy traffic stop/start & especially when I go over speed bumps - it is not there all the time, it comes & goes.
I took the car into the dealership this week as it is still under warranty, they checked it out, did a test drive where typically it did not smell of burning & told me i had a bit of plastic bag on the exhaust which they removed (mmm think this maybe a standard reply). The car has today once again had a bout of the nasty burning smell which then disappears??? I think it's going to be back the garage for another check, but would appreciate any comments. I don't tend to hang on the clutch, I have had 3 previous Toyota cars with no problems.

CTScott · 12-01-2011, 07:56 PM

Try running with the A/C system on recirculate mode to see if the smell is originating under the dash or in the A/C system, as opposed to being sucked in from under the hood.

Also, when you do smell it while driving, pull over, pop the hood with it still running, and sniff around under the hood.

Hershey · 12-01-2011, 11:10 PM

We had this smell from our YARIS , especially when new . Noticed the burning smell when climbing a steep hill . Thought I had possibly left the oil cap off after doing an oil change so I pulled over to open the hood . The cap was on . Then I started to sniff around the engine and it led me to the plastic intake manifold . You may want to do the same thing . It still happens on occasion when climbing a hill on a hot day . Let us know if your nose guides you to the plastic intake . Good luck .

yarismo · 12-05-2011, 06:05 AM

hi all, I have this problem too on my 2006 Yaris, but the smell comes only when i reach the speed of 140 to 170 km/h then it disappear when back to low speed, I still don't know what's wrong with it or it's just a normal thing that happens to Yaris

heavenswaitin · 01-08-2012, 12:26 AM

Hello, I had this problem on my 2010 yaris. Started smelling a foul smell around 4111 miles. They could never find the problem. Finally my car almost caught on fire due to the starter was shorting out. They then told me I had an internal short in the starter causing the smell, the starter not to start , and the stereo went bonkers. They replaced the starter , no burning smell now but my car still doesn,t start half the time.

09sedan · 01-17-2012, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yarismo

hi all, I have this problem too on my 2006 Yaris, but the smell comes only when i reach the speed of 140 to 170 km/h then it disappear when back to low speed, I still don't know what's wrong with it or it's just a normal thing that happens to Yaris

i wouldnt drive past 120 in a yaris.... past 120 is downright dangerous

12-01-2011, 05:37 PM	#1
peakthruclouds I've made a post! Drives: Yaris Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Merseyside Posts: 1	Burning Smell I bought a used 2010 Yaris from an approved Toyota dealership mid September & within the last month or so have noticed a burning smell coming through the air vents (I do have the heater on, but not convinced it is related). The car only has just over 3000 miles on the clock. The smell can happen anytime during the drive i.e. when my foot is nowhere near the clutch, when I'm in busy traffic stop/start & especially when I go over speed bumps - it is not there all the time, it comes & goes. I took the car into the dealership this week as it is still under warranty, they checked it out, did a test drive where typically it did not smell of burning & told me i had a bit of plastic bag on the exhaust which they removed (mmm think this maybe a standard reply). The car has today once again had a bout of the nasty burning smell which then disappears??? I think it's going to be back the garage for another check, but would appreciate any comments. I don't tend to hang on the clutch, I have had 3 previous Toyota cars with no problems.

12-01-2011, 07:56 PM	#2
CTScott ULTIMATE View User's Garage Drives: 09 5dr LB, 2x 08 3dr LB Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: USA, CT Posts: 13,460	Try running with the A/C system on recirculate mode to see if the smell is originating under the dash or in the A/C system, as opposed to being sucked in from under the hood. Also, when you do smell it while driving, pull over, pop the hood with it still running, and sniff around under the hood. __________________

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12-01-2011, 11:10 PM	#3
Hershey Drives: 08 Yaris sedan auto / Fit auto Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: northeast Posts: 2,897	We had this smell from our YARIS , especially when new . Noticed the burning smell when climbing a steep hill . Thought I had possibly left the oil cap off after doing an oil change so I pulled over to open the hood . The cap was on . Then I started to sniff around the engine and it led me to the plastic intake manifold . You may want to do the same thing . It still happens on occasion when climbing a hill on a hot day . Let us know if your nose guides you to the plastic intake . Good luck .

12-05-2011, 06:05 AM	#4
yarismo View User's Garage Drives: Yaris HB luna Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: algeria Posts: 51	hi all, I have this problem too on my 2006 Yaris, but the smell comes only when i reach the speed of 140 to 170 km/h then it disappear when back to low speed, I still don't know what's wrong with it or it's just a normal thing that happens to Yaris

01-08-2012, 12:26 AM	#5
heavenswaitin Drives: 2010 yaris Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: missouri Posts: 11	Hello, I had this problem on my 2010 yaris. Started smelling a foul smell around 4111 miles. They could never find the problem. Finally my car almost caught on fire due to the starter was shorting out. They then told me I had an internal short in the starter causing the smell, the starter not to start , and the stereo went bonkers. They replaced the starter , no burning smell now but my car still doesn,t start half the time.