hay i got a burning smell in the cabin of car with windows down stopped at a red light after driving the car hard. i looked to see if there was any oil leaking but didnt find anything.

 

I've always had that smell with any car after driving it hard. A little alarming the first time you notice it, but now I just feel it's the smell of an engine working hard.

I'd love to hear what others have to say.

 

If you were driving hard, does that imply you were braking hard too? Do you have an automatic or manual?

If you don't see smoke cooking off the engine, could the smell be your brakes or clutch (if manual)? Is the smell only in the cabin or can you smell it in the engine bay with the hood up?

Don

 

probably the clutch, especially if you wern't hittin all the gears right

 

might be the cats... only other thing i can think of is a plastic bag might have blown under your car and melted onto the exhaust or trans. happened to me a few times :/

 

car has manual trans and i wasnt shifting gears or braking hard, i was driving on a 3 lane highway and some jackass was ridding my bumper then he tried to pass me so i kept giving gas until we got to 150 than i had to take my exit and when i stopped at a light i could smell a burning rubber or oil in the car with windows down but with no smoke.

 

Sounds like a normal hard running car smell....mine is normally a burning rubber smell from the tires.

 

I notice that if I forget to turn off the TCS button on my 2007 GT, after I get on it a bit, I smell something burning. If I turn it off, just a smell from burning tires. Try turning off the TCS for hard driving if you have that feature.

 

I think you overworked the oil a little bit. Going 150 mph can do that. Or, the tires got very warm, and that's what you smell. You might be fine. Maybe change the oil sooner. I'd call that EXTREME conditions.

 

I noticed that burning smell sometimes after driving the car hard. Normally it's after long periods of easy driving.