Burning Smell going UP a mountain road for 15-20 minutes

[ErikWood]

I drove up Mt Baldy road (about 20 minutes). Absolutely no use of brakes and started smelling a burning smell (maybe a little like skunk combined with hot braking smell). I have a 2024 XL Hybrid that just turned 2,000 miles.

Any ideas? Reddit is a crapshoot with people saying its "just burning in" a new engine all the way to "battery issues." Just trying to figure out if its worth a trip to the dealer to have them check it. Thank you in advance... - Erik

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[710-oil-614]

Probably worth a trip to the dealership.

How quickly did the smell start? Why not see if you can repro it or if it’s just a one off?

Id do so some additional testing and then get it into the dealer, that’s why you have a warranty.

I wouldn’t trust randos on MTC with your Maverick.

 

[Snox801]

Could be a lot of things. I would keep driving. If it persists then it is not break in. Or spilt fluids.
You have a warranty that’s a pretty decent length. Don’t sweat it to much

 

[Lugnut]

Little like skunk you say. Probably coming from the car in front of you.

 

[ErikWood]

Thank you for the replies... It started after about ten minutes into the part where we were climbing pretty fast from 2500 feet to 6000+

• No other issues with the truck.
• Popped the hood upon return and nothing to report. Oil looked new and smelled right

I can't really recreate the conditions around town so maybe I just wait until I go back to the mountains I guess. Still considering a trip to the dealer but what a time suck...

 

[notfast]

Without any metrics it's hard to advise. The dealer (or anyone with an advanced scan tool) could try looking at the historical data in the OBD to see if something went over temperature, but other than that, you may just get an "unable to replicate" and told to keep driving. I doubt something did go over temperature because I'm sure you would've gotten the "stop safely now" message.

My first F-150 with the good ole 4R100 (yup, special version that had it and not the 4R70W) made a noticeable burning smell on basically any freeway mountain pass. Trans temp and water temp were fine, so I just kept driving.

 

[Mr Pibb]

Entirely possible you were just smelling something in that area coming through the air vents. I know I can smell weed on the way to work in the same place every day really.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

Since your truck is almost new, had you pushed the gasoline engine very much at all, before that particular elevation climb? If not, it might have been the catalytic converter getting hotter than usual for the first time.

Or the smell of hot brakes on nearby vehicles going down the hill.

 

[ErikWood]

Again, great input and thank you each... To answer the question in line, I was basically driving it like a grandma going to the corner market since I got it. Not sure why... just a little enthralled with getting the MPG higher and higher (around 38 now)... So if the catalytic converter needs a little heat to "burn in" I think that is a viable theory.

The other ideas are less viable as I noticed it when we parked and got out. I smelled it outside but mostly inside... It disappated inside after we walked around for 15 minutes and then headed back down. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[Platinum2]

Is there a chance the smells were not actually coming from your truck?

 

[FlyGuy09]

My 23’ hybrid randomly made a burning smell from the vents when the gas combustion engine was working harder for the first 6-7000 miles. I know have 12K+ miles and haven’t smelled it in a while. I never got it checked out, but it seems to be gone now.

 

[topgun/goose]

Having worked on Fords for many years I would say it was the exhaust system burning off whatever they seem to get on it when it is being built. First time I had to checkin a newly arrived vehicle from the truck to make sure all was as it should be and smelled that bad smell after getting the engine up to operating temp I thought something was on fire. It quits doing that after a while.....

 

[JMJB]

Yeah , same thing here , first time I drove up to 6500' something smelled hot . I popped the hood , nothing to see .
Never smelled hot again ....

 

[NedF]

I noticed my ICE does not usually get any hotter than about 65 deg Celsius during normal driving. Most of the time it beardly cracks 55 deg unless I have the heat on for defrost. My bet is the demand for the ice was greater than usual, so it finally got up to max temp and started burning off some of the finishes they put on to keep the engine pristine looking after it made. A non-hybrid usually runs around 100 deg C.

 

[riparian]

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Yeah , same thing here , first time I drove up to 6500' something smelled hot . I popped the hood , nothing to see .
Never smelled hot again ....

Same for me first time I drove in the mountains. It was the first time the ICE was called upon to run continuously for twenty minutes or so, and I figured it was just burn-off/out gassing from surfaces that had gotten hot for the first time (engine temp was normal, no smoke coming from anywhere). Hasn't happened since.

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