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Burning smell from 2000 Honda Accord

Bubbleawsome

Bubbleawsome

Diamond Member
Hey guys, I've got some car troubles. There is a smell of burning rubber coming from my car whenever I drive it more than a quarter mile-ish. It's fairly intense, but I can't locate where it's coming from.
The car has had a few issues, but nothing recent, and just got all the fluids checked and the oil changed ~15 miles ago. The smell was present before that though, so it's not a result.

There was an issue with the parking brake a few months back, saying it was engaged when it wasn't. I did a test putting on a small slope and disengaging parking brake and it rolled.
Someone also said that the 2000 accord had issues with the parking brake rubbing, and that it would make your wheels warm, but mine are not.

Any help is appreciated.
 
OP, try idling the car in your driveway, never driving it to see if you still get that smell. After the car is warmed up and idling for some time, walk around the car and try to find the smell. Pop the hood and smell around while it's idling. Try to spot the smell.


For me on my car, I was smelling exhaust when driving around but only when it was heavily loaded... turn out to be a cracked exhaust manifold.
 
tortilla's test of letting the car idle and warm up in place is a good idea because it will rule out whether the source is the result of the engine/exhaust (you'll smell it during this test), or whether it's something to do with the brakes/tires/axles (you won't smell it during this test because the car isn't rolling).

My money is on a sticky brake caliper (or caliper pins) on at least one corner of the car, and I'd start by looking at the rears since you already had the issue with the parking brake light staying on. You can rebuild a brake caliper with a $20 kit from Honda, but don't attempt it yourself unless you're already well versed in pad/rotor/fluid swaps.
 
check the belt tensioner, many of them are smooth pulleys and can rub when the bearings are going, before they just stop and break the belt.
 
I'll not repeat all the belt suggestions and give the possibility of a fender contacting a tire. Or maybe something touching the exhaust.
 
Alright, I'll try to respond to all this. This post will have a few edits while I try to get it all in. Thanks in advance!
 
Kelvrick said:
I'll not repeat all the belt suggestions and give the possibility of a fender contacting a tire. Or maybe something touching the exhaust.
Click to expand...

My dad once got a plastic bag caught on his exhaust and it stunk for a couple weeks until it finished burning off.
 
Is there a chance alcohol getting near the front of the car would do it? I've used a ~2/3 alcohol spray on the windshield before. It freezes over but won't defrost or work with my scraper, since it's super-thin frost.

Seems to be mostly attached to using A/C
 
With the engine running, turn the A/C off/on and see if the smell changes; a clicking noise when the compressor clutch engages is normal.
 
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