Burning smell - any idea what it may be?

[Alejandro_2294]

Midwest22, Sorry to dig up an old thread, but did you ever get this fixed? I have a similar issue (burning plastic smell from the vents). I suspect it is the positive temperature coefficient heater, but that's just a guess. It's been at the dealership for 2 weeks and they are still stumped...

hi, did you find a fix? I have the same problem

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[MountiesNGamecocks]

hi, did you find a fix? I have the same problem

I finally got the jeep back Friday, and I am still not sure if it is fixed or not. The smell seems a lot less intense, but is still detectable. I am hoping with a few weeks of driving it will completely dissipate.

The dealer believes the smell was tied to the clutch/ W12 recall. They cleaned the bell housing out before they gave it back, and said that once the recall fix is in, it will hopefully go away completely. (As a side note: the smell never seemed like a burning clutch smell to me, but if this fixes it, I'm happy).

 

[Midwest22]

Midwest22, Sorry to dig up an old thread, but did you ever get this fixed? I have a similar issue (burning plastic smell from the vents). I suspect it is the positive temperature coefficient heater, but that's just a guess. It's been at the dealership for 2 weeks and they are still stumped...

No, I never figured it out. I just put a fire extinguisher in the Jeep and lowered my insurance deductible. I kind of gave up caring.

 

[MountiesNGamecocks]

I asked about the electric heater. I bought the MOPAR Tech Authority repair manual, and it shows an electric heater (referred to as a PTC heater). I asked the dealer to unplug it, and see if they got the smell to go away. The dealer said that they couldn't find the heater in mine and speculated it is only for the diesel. That said, I am hoping to have time to pull the glovebox this weekend and see if I find a wiring harness myself.

 

[Kluk Ztopolovky]

I searched the other posts on this topic where the heater core was replaced and it still didn’t fix the issue.

About 3-5 minutes after starting, I begin to smell a burning plastic odor. It goes away in about 20 min. But, this happens all the time.

Any clues you can give me would be great! I’m on the road for a year so going to the dealer would be difficult...need to fix this myself.

Do a test. First close all the windows and turn on the fan and see if you can smell it and then shut the fan and open the windows. Just go through different types of scenarios, heat, defrost etc. and see. Sometimes you have to become Sherlock Holmes to get to the bottom of the mystery but that's not why I bought a Jeep. True enough.

 

[Alejandro_2294]

I asked about the electric heater. I bought the MOPAR Tech Authority repair manual, and it shows an electric heater (referred to as a PTC heater). I asked the dealer to unplug it, and see if they got the smell to go away. The dealer said that they couldn't find the heater in mine and speculated it is only for the diesel. That said, I am hoping to have time to pull the glovebox this weekend and see if I find a wiring harness myself.

Hi, did you find the problem?

 

[MountiesNGamecocks]

Hi, did you find the problem?

So far, it's looking (or smelling) like my problem was related to the clutch (possibly originating with the same issues as the clutch recall). After cleaning out the bell housing, the smell seems to be gone. That said I haven't been driving it that much lately due to the coronavirus. Once I start driving regularly again, I plan to repost if the smell returns.

Just wondering, is yours a manual?

 

[geem03]

2 door manual- I have a manual and since owning it, have had about 3 to 4 episodes of a burning plastic/ rubber smell from inside the cab...

I just chalked it down to my winter floor mats getting heated up by the floor ducts in the back.... the jeep throws off crazy heat!!!!

But this is just a theory if mine....I really don't know what the cause is.

 

[Kluk Ztopolovky]

2 door manual- I have a manual and since owning it, have had about 3 to 4 episodes of a burning plastic/ rubber smell from inside the cab...

I just chalked it down to my winter floor mats getting heated up by the floor ducts in the back.... the jeep throws off crazy heat!!!!

But this is just a theory if mine....I really don't know what the cause is.

same here, I think it's the clutch

 

[geem03]

same here, I think it's the clutch

I didn't think burnt clutch smelled like burning rubber though...I would have thought more of a brake pad sorta smell....

 

[MCJA]

+1 for a plastic burning smell. My details:

• Brand new - less than 400 on the clock
• EcoDiesel, automatic (here come the diesel trolls)
• Cold weather package (but not in use when the smell started)
• Smell and faint smoke coming from front passenger side wheel well
• Sweet smelling, plastic odor - not rubber, clutch (obviously), antifreeze, or brakes. I'm familiar with all of those smells, it wasn't any of them.
• I have no mods under the hood, on the exhaust, etc. I've done very little to the vehicle so far - and nothing in the area where the smell and smoke were coming from.
• No odors inside the cab. I didn't notice it until I got home and parked in the garage. It was very strong.

I got underneath and looked, but I couldn't find anything. I didn't look fully, everything was pretty hot. My first suspicion was that it was one of the many white plastic part number labels that are on all of the wiring harnesses. For those who found burnt stickers and tags, would you mind posting some pictures of where you found them?

 

[Alejandro_2294]

+1 for a plastic burning smell. My details:

• Brand new - less than 400 on the clock
• EcoDiesel, automatic (here come the diesel trolls)
• Cold weather package (but not in use when the smell started)
• Smell and faint smoke coming from front passenger side wheel well
• Sweet smelling, plastic odor - not rubber, clutch (obviously), antifreeze, or brakes. I'm familiar with all of those smells, it wasn't any of them.
• I have no mods under the hood, on the exhaust, etc. I've done very little to the vehicle so far - and nothing in the area where the smell and smoke were coming from.
• No odors inside the cab. I didn't notice it until I got home and parked in the garage. It was very strong.

I got underneath and looked, but I couldn't find anything. I didn't look fully, everything was pretty hot. My first suspicion was that it was one of the many white plastic part number labels that are on all of the wiring harnesses. For those who found burnt stickers and tags, would you mind posting some pictures of where you found them?

i have the same problem tell if you find a solution, I realized that even though it is parked without the vehicle running, the smell always persists more than anything if it is hot

 

[JeepCares]

+1 for a plastic burning smell. My details:

• Brand new - less than 400 on the clock
• EcoDiesel, automatic (here come the diesel trolls)
• Cold weather package (but not in use when the smell started)
• Smell and faint smoke coming from front passenger side wheel well
• Sweet smelling, plastic odor - not rubber, clutch (obviously), antifreeze, or brakes. I'm familiar with all of those smells, it wasn't any of them.
• I have no mods under the hood, on the exhaust, etc. I've done very little to the vehicle so far - and nothing in the area where the smell and smoke were coming from.
• No odors inside the cab. I didn't notice it until I got home and parked in the garage. It was very strong.

I got underneath and looked, but I couldn't find anything. I didn't look fully, everything was pretty hot. My first suspicion was that it was one of the many white plastic part number labels that are on all of the wiring harnesses. For those who found burnt stickers and tags, would you mind posting some pictures of where you found them?

i have the same problem tell if you find a solution, I realized that even though it is parked without the vehicle running, the smell always persists more than anything if it is hot

We're sorry to hear that you are both experiencing this. Should you decide to have your dealer take a look, please feel free to loop us in via PM. We would be happy to provide additional support.
Alex
Jeep Cares

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