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Burning hair smell in cabin after long steep roads
There is a particular spot in NJ on RT 280, where it's a steep uphill grade for about a mile. Every time I get about 2/3 of the way up, there is a smell of burning hair that fills the interior.
There is a particular spot in NJ on RT 280, where it's a steep uphill grade for about a mile. Every time I get about 2/3 of the way up, there is a smell of burning hair that fills the interior.
Anyone else experience this?
How many miles are on your car? Have you checked your cabin air filter?
8,300 miles. I haven't checked the cabin air filter.
I've seen them pretty dirty at that milage, at least worth looking at. You have to drop the glove box, take off the retainers on the side, and let it swing down, then you will see a small door, it's behind there.
First....I find it interesting that you know what burning hair smells like.........
Second, I would imagine it is just unburned fuel making the catalytic converter super-hot. Any time your engine is under load for extended periods (long hills, for example), the engine runs richer, and the cat converter has to burn off the excess unburned fuel. Burning off the excess fuel makes the cat converter hotter than normal, giving off a funky burning smell.
First....I find it interesting that you know what burning hair smells like.........
Second, I would imagine it is just unburned fuel making the catalytic converter super-hot. Any time your engine is under load for extended periods (long hills, for example), the engine runs richer, and the cat converter has to burn off the excess unburned fuel. Burning off the excess fuel makes the cat converter hotter than normal, giving off a funky burning smell.
I have a fireplace, and have burned the hair on my hands and arms plenty of time shifting logs around inside it. Sometimes I am too lazy to get the poker to shift a log around.
Thanks for the info. I kinda thought it was that, but with all of the turbo failure threads popping up, I got a little paranoid.
Something is definitely getting hot, but I can't think of what would give off a burning hair smell. One thing it isn't is the cabin air filter. Considering that it happens after only 2/3 of a mile up this hill, it really wouldn't strike me as the engine getting hot from an extended workout. The trans should downshift and take a lot of the load off the engine anyway. How about a fluid leak?
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2011 Sportage EX
FWD Auto Silver/Black
Something is definitely getting hot, but I can't think of what would give off a burning hair smell. One thing it isn't is the cabin air filter. Considering that it happens after only 2/3 of a mile up this hill, it really wouldn't strike me as the engine getting hot from an extended workout. The trans should downshift and take a lot of the load off the engine anyway. How about a fluid leak?
Most vehicles slow down on this hill, I maintain my speed the whole way up.
Could it be something outside of the car in that area that is coming into the car? I have issues with strange smells coming into my car in certain areas of roads (welcome to NJ). In fact it happens so much that I usually keep the cabin air circulation button on most of the time. I've checked my air filter and its clean. This car is like a bad odor vacuum. I get skunk, cigarette smoke, and exhaust smells coming in all the time from outside. For some time I was even getting some strange raw meat smell too. I'm sure I had burnt hair smell too.
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Burning hair smell in cabin after long steep roads
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