Slight burning smell

[A4 Joe]

I have noticed a slight burning smell as I get out of the car in y garage. Have noticed this only a handful of times. Iirc I had this a few times on my 2012 S4 also. Any ideas on what this might be.??

[Pilfer]

Could it be burning plastic? I noticed that awhile ago and traced it to a plastic bag that got caught on the downpipes after running over it on the freeway at speed.

[Acejam]

Pop the hood and take a strong sniff. VW/Audi/Porsches are known to have a unique "burning" smell when their motors are hot.

[bronz]

I notice that on my 11 after spirited driving

[chaos2984]

is the car new? I had this issues for the first 2K miles until the converters got broken in. Enough heat cycles

[Mp0wer]

It's funny you mention this, I was rev lining mine through 1st 2nd 3rd and got a burning smell this morning, car has 1980 miles...she's got some pep

[CaptSlow]

I get it too when I rev above 5500 rpm. I've been told it's the exhaust getting hot. Not sure how it can smell right when you turn it on though

[mdeneso]

I get the same thing every once and a while as well. Was starting to get a little worried but sounds somewhat common. Kind of smells like burning clutch. I have a dsg. Do you have dsg or manual?


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[BirdmanQ5]

[zps123]

i get that smell too. mostly on highway ramps. it does smell like clutch though.. ive dsg

[AudiS4SD]

I get it too every once in a while. I think it's more front brake dust/heat more than anything.

[acturater]

It's funny you mention this, I was rev lining mine through 1st 2nd 3rd and got a burning smell this morning, car has 1980 miles...she's got some pep

This. The other day I accidentally downshifted while in 2nd gear sprinting off the line. I didn't over rev, but I did hit redline hard in 1st and smelled the burn for a few min.

[Dr GP]

Not sure if this could be the problem but I have noticed a continuous SLIGHT loss of coolant on all my 3 B8 S4s. Have not seen yet an explanation of where it goes and evaporation should not be a factor in a closed sysstem. Just wondering if slight coolant leakage could be the cause of the smell. If it was from the clutch, which I have experienced, the smell would be distictive. Not likely to happen is an DSG car?

[drevil2k2]

Not sure if this could be the problem but I have noticed a continuous SLIGHT loss of coolant on all my 3 B8 S4s. Have not seen yet an explanation of where it goes and evaporation should not be a factor in a closed sysstem. Just wondering if slight coolant leakage could be the cause of the smell. If it was from the clutch, which I have experienced, the smell would be distictive. Not likely to happen is an DSG car?

Three weeks ago, I had my coolant topped up at the dealership. A BMW tech said that most German cars (my old N55 335i) do consume coolant slightly and is expected. However, if the vehicle was Japanese, then it would be an issue. The coolant level was at the min mark but the system is pressurized and once the cap was off, the level increased slightly. After the top off, not much change in the coolant level despite noticing the slight burning smell about 2-3 times per week. Will monitor, but it there was anything major, it would be all over the garage floor.

[Dr GP]

Three weeks ago, I had my coolant topped up at the dealership. A BMW tech said that most German cars (my old N55 335i) do consume coolant slightly and is expected. However, if the vehicle was Japanese, then it would be an issue. The coolant level was at the min mark but the system is pressurized and once the cap was off, the level increased slightly. After the top off, not much change in the coolant level despite noticing the slight burning smell about 2-3 times per week. Will monitor, but it there was anything major, it would be all over the garage floor.

My coolant loss has been minimal but constant.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Could be a number of things.. Cats heating up, exhaust burning off residue, clutch, brakes.. Boosted engines tend to make exhaust parts HOT! So anything close to the headers/cats could produce a smell. Unless something is visibly smoking I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Jason

[vtbert3]

Where does our coolant go? I have no drips on my garage floor, no sweat smell of coolant vapors in the engine bay, no signs of a head gasket failure, but I slowly lose coolant in a closed system.

[acturater]

Where does our coolant go? I have no drips on my garage floor, no sweat smell of coolant vapors in the engine bay, no signs of a head gasket failure, but I slowly lose coolant in a closed system.

I believe it evaporates through the cap. I remember reading about it I think in the owners manual. If the coolant gets hot enough and enough pressure builds up within, the cap is designed to let it evaporate.

[A4 Joe]

As I mentioned had a similar deal on my 2012 S4. I noticed my thermostat went bad after I first and the smell. I guess there are others that have had this condition. Whatever the reason I don't like it.