trout

have just started to notice a burning smell from front LHS of the car. 2012 cayenne. no odours inside from A/C, but strong smell when stopped. No obvious leaks spotted in engine bay and no drips spotted on driveway. Car runs on 22" alloys and unsure if wheel bearing issue but no excessive heat from wheels/discs etc. any ideas would be helpful

deilenberger

trout - welcome to the forum!

I'm moving this over to the 958 specific subforum since that's what you own. Better chance someone else may have experienced this.

Hang on/..

deilenberger

Whew - we got here.

To answer your question it probably would be helpful to know which model Cayenne you own (engine type, etc..) Just offhand - is it parked outside at night? I'm assuming you're not in the US due to your spelling of "odorus"? Could an animal have crawled up in the engine bay? What does the burning smell smell like? Different things burning make different odorus.

wkearney99

Everything that leaks or wears usually has a specific smell. If you really drive hard, using the brakes a lot, then you'll definitely get a smell from the pads. Using them wears them and using them hard does so with a lot of heat. That'll show up as dust on the rims and that acrid smell from the wheel area. It'd generally be both sides, and favor the front.

The only other wear point up front would be the serpentine belt. But that'd usually be coupled with a whine that changes based on engine RPMs.

Then there's stuff that can leak, steering, brake, transmission fluids and engine oil. If anything leaks and drips down onto something hot (like the exhaust system) that'll make it smell.

If you're not familiar with all this then you're best plan it take it to a shop and have them find the source of the smell. But if you've got a friend that's a car nut, have them take a look first.

r553

Trout,
Using Don's theory of troubleshooting: what was the last thing done to your car?

Rob

sundown

Im having the same issue! Recently purchased a 2012 Cayenne (base) 3.6, with 20k miles --- after some moderate driving (~20 miles) and parking it in the garage, there is a very distinct smell of "burning oil". Not sure that it is burning oil, but thats kinda what it smells like. I haven't owned this car very long and need to know if this is a sign of a serious situation, or something like "normal". (No recent work, oil changes or anything to my knowledge.)

CAVU

If the "oil burning" smell has a bit of plastic burning odor to it, I have found that burning synthetic oil is the source. Have a look at this earlier thread. https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...and-p1031.html