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In October, I had brake work done on my car. The front shocks were replaced at the same time (OEM, so it was time!).
Even after the pad were well-bedded (one hundred plus miles), there was/is a burning smell coming from my front passenger wheel well after driving for even a short jaunt with limited braking.
I just had the car into the shop last week for an unrelated repair and brought up this concern. The mechanic took it for a ride to heat up the brakes and couldn't detect the smell. Fast forward to yesterday when I drove into work. Not only did I smell the burning odor, but the guy who generally parks his car near mine did as well, so it's definitely not my imagination. I also can hear a "pfft, pfft" sound when rolling down the highway that the techs could not detect on our bumpy local roads when they took the car for a spin around the block.
Any ideas what could be causing this odor, if not the sound? (It's an old car, so I know that squeaks and bumps are par for the course to a degree.)
I'm deliberately taking this car instead of my other car to run errands so it's nice and heated up for the shop tech to smell when I stop by later this afternoon. (They know that I'm doing this, by the way. I'm not just springing this one them.)
Last edited by Formerly Known As Twenty; 12-23-2019 at 09:31 AM..
Reason: Please move back to general automotive as this is not a Nissan specific issue.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I used to get that on really old cars when the brakes were out of adjustment and getting real hot, but with your disc brakes that could be from caliper pistons sticking. If they only stick when hot (expansion) then it might not show up when the tech looks at it. What brake work was done? Did they replaced rotors/pads only, and you still have the original calipers? Did they pack or at least check the front wheel bearings? I have never seen a tire rubbing on a shock that was stock replacement on a stock car, but I suppose it's possible if that particular model has integral coil springs around it that were wider than the original.
Mod cut. A real tech could find the pronounced problem quickly...it might be an oil leak burning off of the exhaust pipe and not even be the brakes...[snip]
Last edited by PJSaturn; 12-23-2019 at 02:09 PM..
Reason: Off-topic.
Carefully put your hand on the wheel in-question and compare to the other side. If it's really hot, the brakes are sticking. The caliper could be binding up, pins and hardware could be rusted, etc. A proper brake job involves cleaning and greasing moving parts. A lot of shops just pad slap and send you down the road.
Overall, the mechanics who have been taking care of my car since it's been out of warranty (I'm the original owner) have done an excellent job in helping me to maintain it. It's definitely not a slap a pad on and send you on your merry way sort of place. OEM parts have been replaced and general maintenance has been done as soon as it's been needed, etc. It's also definitely not the odor of burning oil or exhaust that I'm smelling.
The rotor and pads were replaced in October. Wheel bearings seem to be good; calipers were checked when the car was in last week. (I'm not sure if they are original to the car. I'd have to check my records for that one.) The rear drums were a little tight and were adjusted accordingly, but they couldn't find an issue with the front discs. The car was aligned when I had the winter tires put on when it was in for inspection as well. (Don't know if that information is relevant, but I thought that I'd toss it out there.)
Took the Sentra on a full ride out and about this afternoon as I did my errands, i.e., did both highway and stop-and-go traffic. Listened to the car (I know its regular aging economy car sounds, lol) and paid attention to the feel of it as I drove. Even with the Pittsburgh hills and valleys, the brakes performed as they should.
I checked the tires and the car each time that I stopped. Neither tire was warm, let alone hot, nor the wheel wells themselves, although the burning smell was detectable both in the cabin and outside--especially near the wheel well. It's a bit warmer than usual on the passenger side of the hood, so I popped it open and took a look. Couldn't see anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean that something's not gone awry under the hood. I am aware that there are two belts not far from the wheel well on that side, so perhaps that's it?
Check engine light came on about twelve miles into my errand running (this is the reason that it was in the shop last week, by the way. Had the faulty part replaced, but I digress.) Made my planned stop at the shop on my way home; had the tech come out and give it a sniff. This time he smelled what I'd been smelling; thinks that it might be a belt, but isn't sure without taking a look at it. (FYI: all hoses and belts were replaced at 100,000 miles.)
Long story short, car's heading back in on Thursday. Kind of sucks in that up until recently, the car's been super reliable and a lot of fun to drive for a little rice burner. I've had consistent engine light issues since October's inspection, it's my winter beater, and I'm getting ready to teach my renter how to drive using that car, so it would be nice to have the car back to its reliable, if aging, self soon.
Last edited by Formerly Known As Twenty; 12-23-2019 at 04:17 PM..
Update: The engine light being on is neither a safety concern, nor caused by a truly faulty part. It's a component that the computer is recognizing as faulty when, in fact, it's perfectly functional (will have to be replaced in order to pass emissions testing next October, though. Meh.)
On the other hand, the folks at the garage discovered what has been causing the burning plastic/rubber odor that I've been smelling ever since my car's last inspection in October of this year.
*Drum roll* A plastic grocery bag had somehow become wound into and under part of the exhaust system. It was missed due to the fact that it is (or rather was) orange and had melted into the exhaust to the point that the color pretty much blended in color-wise. It took a few miles on the road for the car to be warm enough to cause that odor, which is why it was not caught by the folks at the garage when they took it around the block to test it after working on it, but I could smell it when I drove it around town and on the freeway. The tech removed as much as he could with a razor blade. I can still smell the remnants of the bag that he couldn't remove, but the odor is much improved.
No charge for the visit, which is good--especially when I've had that car in three times since October's annual inspection. (Was also not charged for first of those three visits.)
Thanks to all who helped me to try and troubleshoot what was causing the burning smell!
Carefully put your hand on the wheel in-question and compare to the other side. If it's really hot, the brakes are sticking. The caliper could be binding up, pins and hardware could be rusted, etc. A proper brake job involves cleaning and greasing moving parts. A lot of shops just pad slap and send you down the road.
Okay so the same thing that you describe was the same thing why I am at the shop now! I have a 2016 Nissan Altima a freaking plastic bag was in my exhaust he took most of it off but the rest have to burn. I’m sure you figured it out by now but just in case any body else looking for answers it’s probably a plastic bag smh
In October, I had brake work done on my car. The front shocks were replaced at the same time (OEM, so it was time!).
Even after the pad were well-bedded (one hundred plus miles), there was/is a burning smell coming from my front passenger wheel well after driving for even a short jaunt with limited braking.
I just had the car into the shop last week for an unrelated repair and brought up this concern. The mechanic took it for a ride to heat up the brakes and couldn't detect the smell. Fast forward to yesterday when I drove into work. Not only did I smell the burning odor, but the guy who generally parks his car near mine did as well, so it's definitely not my imagination. I also can hear a "pfft, pfft" sound when rolling down the highway that the techs could not detect on our bumpy local roads when they took the car for a spin around the block.
Any ideas what could be causing this odor, if not the sound? (It's an old car, so I know that squeaks and bumps are par for the course to a degree.)
I'm deliberately taking this car instead of my other car to run errands so it's nice and heated up for the shop tech to smell when I stop by later this afternoon. (They know that I'm doing this, by the way. I'm not just springing this one them.)
Sometimes when you do brakes you have to replace several parts and sometimes people don't clean these parts off and breaks always get really really hot and it's normal for them to smell if they weren't clean it depends on the smell you're smelling. With the Sunday describe I would ask if you're losing air in your tire but if you were you'd have a flat tire and that would be in the description I would think.
Also whenever you're asking advice on cars even if it doesn't seem like it should be something that would differ from car to car knowing what kind of car it is can help figure out problems sometimes some cars have quirks that others don't.
So now I'm wondering also if they installed the brakes correctly cuz you can get that sound when there's a lot of wear on the brakes you don't install them correctly that can be a problem.
Does the smell smell like burning tire or more like burning metal or burning plastic
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