Slight burning smell in trunk

  • Thread starter Thread starter victor_2019
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 6
  • Views Views 4K
V

victor_2019

Active Member
I've had my clarity for a couple of weeks now and have put 2000 km on it.

In the past couple of days i noticed a slight burnt smell in the trunk.

Is this normal?

The only difference in the past couple of days is it's finally getting warmer outside with temperatures in the mid 20s (Celsius)

The car drives fine otherwise and my projected electric range has increased above 80 km
 
Are you sure it's in the trunk? Has this smell occurred after driving with the ICE? Exhaust systems these days come with a coating which continue to polymerize with heat; this helps protect the pipes from the elements(think of it like seasoning a cast iron skillet). The off-gassing from the break-in will often smell like burning plastic and will subside over time.
 
AIAI has it. My car seemed to have a kind of long burn in time since I only occasionally used the gas engine. I'd go for a few real gas burning trips spanning months, so it just didn't go away quickly. At one point I drove the car more than 2000 miles, and I'm not saying that's necessary, but after that all the smells went away.

The smell I'm referring to was somewhat mild but chemically. It happened after using the gas engine (ICE) and did not come with any other symptoms. I mean the car ran fine. My car never produced any visible smoke, or anything extreme. Just an odd smell each time I drove using the gas engine. But anyway, someone here in the forums was kind enough to let me know it can be normal, and it did go away.
 
Agreed. The car can stink until the engine has run long enough and hot enough to burn off all the new car funk from the hot parts. Mine smelled occasionally for the first few thousand miles too. I suspect those that rarely use the ICE, unlike me who uses it often, will live with the occasional smell into somewhat higher mileage levels.
 
victor_2019 said:
I've had my clarity for a couple of weeks now and have put 2000 km on it.

In the past couple of days i noticed a slight burnt smell in the trunk.

Is this normal?

The only difference in the past couple of days is it's finally getting warmer outside with temperatures in the mid 20s (Celsius)

The car drives fine otherwise and my projected electric range has increased above 80 km
Click to expand...
When I was inspecting mine on the lot "used". The battery was down to two bars. I let it run for an extended time in charge mode while I was looking it over. I did smell burning plastic smell. Haven't smelled it since purchasing it, but have not ran it in charge mode sitting still either.
 
the smell I was referring to is the exact same smell I get after using a grinder with a cutting wheel/zip disk to cut metal.
and I did store my grinder in the trunk but that was months ago. I would air out the trunk and the smell would go away and then it would come back.
and yes it was while charging the car.

I took the car on a long trip recently and don't smell anything in the trunk. I'll see if it comes back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top