Burning smell help

[Harordr]

Hey guys,

I just purchased my 2nd rs3 and it has 27k miles. It’s a 2018 and all regular maintenance was done on it by Audi up to the 50k mile service. I just received shipment of it today and after they pulled it off the truck and I pulled in it my driveway and let it run, I noticed a slight burning smell coming more from the passenger side engine. The motor is clean and I cannot see any leaks. I thought maybe they detailed it before shipping it and the products are burning off so I washed the engine bay. Tomorrow morning I am going to drive it again then check the rotor temps to see if a brake is sticking. Oil level is good and was just changed at Audi a few thousand miles ago. I called Audi before purchasing to see if they ever noted anything wrong with the car and they said everything always looked good at every service. If it’s not the brake sticking, I was thinking about driving it for a couple hundred miles and monitoring fluid levels to see if maybe something just needs to burn off.

Any ideas?

[dillybacon]

long shot but if the car had a different turbo installed and the previous owner swapped it back to the stock turbo that's been sitting collecting dust right before selling, it would have a minor burning type smell from that area for a bit. done that swap a few times. probably not that, but first thing i thought of

[Harordr]

Thanks for the response. From what I’ve been told, car is completely stock and never modded. Still has the oem tires which makes me believe that is true because everyone knows that’s the first thing to change

[Rod Paine]

I'd make some good runs in cooler weather and see if the smell goes away. Now at 48,116 miles of
which 34,616 miles have been fast country back road runs 3 days a week as weather permits, our
2019 Audi RS 3 runs perfectly clear of odd smelling problems. And some of our runs here in VA
have been mid 90 degree runs, with no 'smell' issues at all.

[Harordr]

Thanks, Rod. I know this smell isn't normal because my previous RS3 never made this smell. I just took it out for a bit in 63 degree weather and when I came back I could still smell it. One thing I did notice is the coolant level is right at the minium mark, if not a hair below it. I am going to add more coolant before driving it again, but could that potentially cause this issue? I think I might also do an oil change and run LiquidMoly through it along with maybe a LiquidMoly engine flush before hand.

[Alex D]

Thanks, Rod. I know this smell isn't normal because my previous RS3 never made this smell. I just took it out for a bit in 63 degree weather and when I came back I could still smell it. One thing I did notice is the coolant level is right at the minium mark, if not a hair below it. I am going to add more coolant before driving it again, but could that potentially cause this issue? I think I might also do an oil change and run LiquidMoly through it along with maybe a LiquidMoly engine flush before hand.

Check around the water pump area to check for any coolant leaks. If its a burning smell, something is making contact with something hot enough to burn. Can you describe the smell?

[Harordr]

Check around the water pump area to check for any coolant leaks. If its a burning smell, something is making contact with something hot enough to burn. Can you describe the smell?

I associate it with a oil burning. Zero leaks on my floor so if something is dripping, it is hitting something hot like you said and burning right away. It does seem to be more prominent on the passenger side of the engine bay than the drivers side. Once the engine cools down, I am going to try and get a rag down to the water pump to see if there are any leaks. Makes me wonder since the coolant level is at min.

[Alex D]

I associate it with a oil burning. Zero leaks on my floor so if something is dripping, it is hitting something hot like you said and burning right away. It does seem to be more prominent on the passenger side of the engine bay than the drivers side. Once the engine cools down, I am going to try and get a rag down to the water pump to see if there are any leaks. Makes me wonder since the coolant level is at min.

Also check around the oil pan as these cars are notorious for the oil pan seal leak. If you see any film, you should reseal the oil pan at your next oil change. Its a fairly easy task to do but just another area to address if it hasn't already been done.

[Harordr]

Also check around the oil pan as these cars are notorious for the oil pan seal leak. If you see any film, you should reseal the oil pan at your next oil change. Its a fairly easy task to do but just another area to address if it hasn't already been done.

That's a good idea, thank you. My dad has a set of QuickJacks so I plan on taking it there this weekend to pop the cover off and take a look.

[XMetal]

Thanks for the response. From what I’ve been told, car is completely stock and never modded. Still has the oem tires which makes me believe that is true because everyone knows that’s the first thing to change

The only way to know for sure is to have someone read the flash counter and/or see if you're running the factory tune. Swapping in a different turbo would require a reflash. I would take someone's word about "completely stock" with a grain of salt. Having OEM tires doesn't mean much since someone who swaps in a bigger turbo will also likely going to swap in lighter wheels with much more stickier tires than stock. As a matter of fact, having original OEM tires after doing 27k miles is a bit of a red flag. My wife has an S3 and she already went through a set in under 25k miles!

[Harordr]

I was surprised at this too but there is still a good amount of tread left on them. I am taking it to Audi on Thursday and I will have them check the flash counter. Generally when the car is tuned the redline increase and this one is still at the stock 6800.

[dillybacon]

I would always be skeptical. It is very easy to swap everything back to stock and almost leave no visible trace (i've done it but disclosed everything to the buyer). as xmetal mentioned - previous owner could have easily swapped the oem wheels/tires for a set of performance wheels and tires planning to one day swap the oem set back on quickly to sell the car. same thing with the turbo. and the redline can easily be returned to stock with a stock tune reflash. besides checking flash count and other software info, one giveaway of previous mods is the bolt that secures the pcv line to the turbo inlet. the stock one is a smooth head that has to be notched/cut to remove...so if yours is something like a 10mm or t25...or has a messy dremel like notch, the car was modded likely stage2 or beyond. as others have said though, check oil pan, water pump, and also turbo oil and coolant lines

[DumpsterRatz]

Hey guys,

I just purchased my 2nd rs3 and it has 27k miles. It’s a 2018 and all regular maintenance was done on it by Audi up to the 50k mile service. I just received shipment of it today and after they pulled it off the truck and I pulled in it my driveway and let it run, I noticed a slight burning smell coming more from the passenger side engine. The motor is clean and I cannot see any leaks. I thought maybe they detailed it before shipping it and the products are burning off so I washed the engine bay. Tomorrow morning I am going to drive it again then check the rotor temps to see if a brake is sticking. Oil level is good and was just changed at Audi a few thousand miles ago. I called Audi before purchasing to see if they ever noted anything wrong with the car and they said everything always looked good at every service. If it’s not the brake sticking, I was thinking about driving it for a couple hundred miles and monitoring fluid levels to see if maybe something just needs to burn off.

Any ideas?

can you describe the burning smell more? is it acrid or more of a oil burning smell? do you see any smoke whatsoever?

Id run it hot then pop the hood at night somewhere dark and flash light it sideways to try and see where smoke is coming from.

[Harordr]

To me, it’s definitely an oil burn smell. That’s a good idea about looking at night time, I’m going to do that tomorrow.

[AdamSheikh]

Could be as simple as a sloppy oil change when it was taken in on trade and "reconditioned" as dealers like to say. Maybe some residual oil burning off somewhere. Hope its nothing major - keep us posted.

[TheContrarian]

What's the point of checking the flash counter or worrying about previous mods, its a 5 year old car and its yours now. Unless there's clouds of smoke coming from the engine bay, you may be overthinking this. Car sales people are certainty not checking the flash counter or really caring beyond "it runs".

[Harordr]

I bought it from a private seller who has owned it since new. I hope I am overthinking it because it looks like the car has been very well maintained. Has 27K miles and they bought the service package and had all services done up through the 50K mile service. I did notice when I checked the oil before going for my initial drive that there was some dried up oil on the engine cover around the oil cap. I thought maybe that was getting hot and causing the smell so i washed everything but still smell it. I really dont think it is any major but if I dont get it figured out, it will bug me. I will take it for a long drive tonight if the rain here stops and hopfully it goes away so I can avoid a visit to Audi tomorrow.