Funny you mention that. I have once or twice smelled something like plastic burning or hot plastic in my 2007 Prius. The area I live in is completely flat. There arent any hills in any of my commute.
Yes, I live in quite a hilly area and it seems to be most noticeable after an extended climb. I have noticed it a few times on cold days even on flat driving. Is this normal or something I should be worried about?
If that is the problem, yes totally normal.The exhaust systems heats up along with the inverter and all the other components which normally stay pretty cool. Any grime,oil,sealant,paint,etc will burn off all adding to the smell. Last summer I took a road trip and left my grill blocking in. After a few hills the smell was really bad. I removed the blocking promptly. With that said, you should also check your rims around the lugs to make sure you are not dragging your brakes after sensing the smell. Have you noticed any changes in your Fuel economy?
I've been noticing a slight burning exhaust/oil/ plastic smell. Most noticeable when the car is not moving and the ICE is running. It could be related to the recent oil change. Right after the oil change I noticed a strong burning oil smell, like being near an oil refinery. That went away in a few minutes. This smell is more like the smell of incomplete combustion that older cars put out. I drove with a CO detector just to make sure it wasn't an exhaust leak. It didn't go off. I may take it in if the smell doesn't go away in a week. I'm afraid the oil change place may have screwed something up.
I'm definitely smelling exhaust when I rev the engine in idle. It's coming right into the cabin. I think the idiots at the oil change place left something disconnected. Better take it to the dealer tomorrow or next week.
They probably dump oil on top of the engine or oil splattered on the exhaust system when draining. Probably a good idea to have it looked over though.
Yeah, I'm now thinking the same thing. It smells more like burned oil than exhaust. I think synthetic smells worse than regular when heated. It is gradually getting less noticeable.
Just out of curiosity, have you popped the hood and looked under to make sure they didnt leave the oil fill cap off or they forgot to reinstall the engine oil dipstick??? Have you checked the oil level since you had it serviced?
Yes to all of the above. The oil was at the correct level. Nothing obvious was out of order. Still getting the odd smell though, even outside the car. Seems to be worse when it's cold as we just got more snow today.
You may have driven over a plastic bag and it got stuck underneath. It has happened to me a few times. Just let it eventually go away. It gets melted on the metal and is almost impossible to remove. It is harmless.
Update on this: I recently popped the hood to check the oil and found that the oil cap was not fully tightened. I think that might have been the source of the smell. The synthetic oil does have an odd smell. It might have been venting some when the engine was hot. I'll have to wait until colder weather to know for sure, since that is when the smell is most noticeable.
I am surprised a loose oil cap / dip stick would not trip a check engine light in the Prius. I have seen older, not as green cars do that, to warn that it is venting crankcase fumes into the atmosphere.
It must have been borderline loose; not enough to trigger a CEL. Anyway, it seems to have taken care of the burning smell. Next time I'll remember to check the oil cap after an oil change.
