burning smell!!!!!!!!!

hi, i have a 2002 30 i petrol x5 thats done 88,000 miles,i got out of it after driving about 20 miles today and i could smell plastic burning? i had a look but coulnent see any thing so drove it back home and again i could smell the same,iv had a good look all over the engine with a torch but still nothing, any ideas? thanks,paul

I'd say it's the torch!



(I kid, I kid... us Yanks call it a flashlight.)



Sure it wasn't a brake pad/caliper stuck? You can usually walk around the car and get an idea- or the wheel/hub will get warm

overheated/burning electrical connector??? were you using heated seats???

I had simiar problem, with an electrical burning smell and it was the radiator cooling fan, apparently it's quite common according to mechanic. took 3 weeks to get part in as it was on back order or something.

yeh i checked the brakes and felt the wheel but it was cold ,it definatly smelt electrical and was comming from the front passanger side,its not done it today for some reason? thanks for the replys,i will have to wait till it happens again i suppose,

thats exactly how the smell was from mine, there 1 day and not the next, eventually there was a small amount of smoke visible and thats when i took it to the garage. God luck hope u locate the problem.

ok,so i drove the x5 today and it started vibrating on the motorway as if the wheel balance was out, i pulled over and the burning smell was back and disc was hot, i put the steering on full lock to pull off and there was a slight clunk and it seemed to release ,has any one had this problem? how do you fix it ??????

Dirty caliper pin, calipers not releasing.

How hot did it get?

Personally I would now replace the caliper, both front pads, rotor on siezed side, probably the pair. Flush brake fluid.

Take me 2 hrs.

You could just take you caliper off, clean up all the crud, lubricate everything... check pads and rotors for wear. Bleed.

Once the rotor/caliper overheats I get concerned with the seals...

A

hi,the disc got hot but not that bad as i pulled over straight away ,i will strip it down and clean it all both sides i think and see what happens, thanks for the advise

Guys, I had the same problem. It was just last week when I started smelling plastic burning after driving my X3 around. First I thought it was the disc brakes (brake pads) but normally you would hear the grinding sound when you brake. Second theory was I thought it was something to do with the heater or internal engine issue.

Well, yesterday I googled what other things that could have caused this smell..."PLASTIC BAG". How ridiculous does it sound. Surprisingly enough, I went to check under my car and saw a black hardened plastic stuck on the exhaust pipe.

I pulled most of it off, but there are still bits and pieces stuck on the actually piping itself. So yep, just FYI...and yes it surely can happen. Everytime you see a plastic bag (that's been littered by a fool) on the road while you're driving...make sure to look in your rear view mirror to see that it is still wondering in the air. If you don't see it in your rear view mirror...damn it, pull over and check under car, pull off the bag...before you really do get some plastic toxin in your lungs!