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Home / Symptoms / Burning Oil Smell

Four common causes for a burning oil smell from the vehicle and their related parts.

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Does your Car Have a Burning Oil Smell?

The burning oil smell in cars comes from oil leaks in the engine, transaxle seal, brake booster, vacuum pump, cooler hoses, or other seals, which then come into contact with hot surfaces, like the catalytic converter.

The burning oil smell varies depending on its cause. The reason can range from oil dripping on the exhaust system to leaks in the oil filter and Engine oil pan. Moreover, sludge build-up or improper procedures from a prior service can lead to an intense burnt rubber, burnt carpet, or burning oil smell.

Watch out: A burnt oil smell can mean serious safety issues if it has been around for a long time. Imagine that all your vehicle’s systems need oil to properly function; so, if there’s a burning oil smell, there’s a leak, and you’re losing oil. This can lead to numerous failures that can leave you stranded.

A car smells like burning oil when there’s oil leaking somewhere. Here are some of the main risks:

Lubrication problems: Oil lubricates your vehicle’s components, making mechanical movements — gear spinning, piston movement, differential rolls — smoother. Therefore, it’s vital to keep your vehicle healthy and durable. A car with a low oil level is prone to major damage and a critical breakdown.
Safety Issues: A burning oil smell can mean many things. Yes, it’s mostly related to an oil leak, but it can also be a power steering fluid leak or a brake fluid leak. In these cases, you’re at risk of losing power steering and braking, which are vital for vehicle control and safety.
Health Concerns: The burning oil smell has toxins that can cause headaches and ill feelings if someone breathes them for too long.

Let's Get To The Bottom Of It!

Do you notice the smell coming mainly from under the hood?

The car's engine runs on large quantities of oil. So, it has various sealings to ensure none of its oil leaks. However, through wear, tear, and age, these sealings can become weak, loose, or cracked.

A deteriorated sealing component in the car's engine is one of the most common causes of a burning oil smell. In this case, these components leave small cracks and gaps for oil to seep, causing oil seepage. Then, the oil falls into hot parts of the vehicle, burning and leaving a smell.

Do you typically notice it after driving long distances?

After driving long distances, the car might produce a burning oil smell due to overstressing of engine-related parts. In most cases, this relates to the catalytic converter, a component that converts gases during the combustion process. This component relates to the exhaust system and works with the engine to reduce emissions.

The catalytic converter's surface is pretty hot and can quickly burn any fluid that comes in contact with it. Hence, depending on the location of oil drips, fluids can seep toward the converter and burn, causing a smell.

Are you noticing leak points in the garage?

The transmission system relates to those various metal rods and cylindrical structures under the vehicle; this relies highly on oil and fluids. Since this system has many connections to different parts, it contains plenty of seals and joints to help fixate sections and prevent oil from escaping.

A bad transmission seal will allow oil to leak through your car's underside and contact any hot component. Usually, when this leak develops, you'll spot stains on the garage.

Is your car's transmission feeling odd?

If the car's transmission is feeling strange and you feel a burning oil smell, there may be a connected issue. The transmission system is full of seals connecting components to different structures under the car; this requires oil and transmission fluid to work. One of these seals is the transaxle seal, which connects the transmission to the wheels.

A faulty transaxle seal might allow oil to seep through the output shaft. In this case, leaking oil will contact the hot exhaust, burning and causing a smell. In addition, the car's transmission becomes rougher and can feel different.

Have you checked your car's underside for burning stains?

When a brake booster vacuum pump breaks, it drips oil on the car's hot exhaust. This leak typically stains the car's underside, leaving a trail of burnt oil. The brake booster vacuum pump is on the vehicle's front area; it can be close to the engine compartment or to the wheels.

This type of issue should also leave trails on the floor. So, oil smears in your garage's floors might be evidence of this problem.

Does the smell gets stronger when driving in hot weather?

Your car's oil cooler hoses might be too worn or loose, allowing oil to seep. These hoses stay under the hood and belong to the cooling system, helping regulate the engine's temperature. However, if they're loose or old, fluid escapes them, reaching the car's underside, and burning when falling on hot components. Usually, this type of issue leaves stains on the vehicle's underhood.

Driving in hot conditions or car overload can make the symptoms more obvious.

The most common causes for a burning oil smell from the vehicle

Here are the most common issues causing a burning oil car smell:

Faulty brake booster vacuum pump: Leaks in the vacuum pump area are pretty standard, causing burning oil. This component assists the power brake booster, among other functions. These leaks usually leave trails under the hood and below the car. Lifting the car in an elevator to inspect provides a better view.
Faulty transmission rear seal: A faulty rear transmission seal lets transmission fluid leak, causing burning oil smells and staining your garage floor. Consider taking the car to a shop and having a mechanic lift it to check the seal's status. A rear transmission seal can last between 50,000 to 100,000 miles, depending on their material, brand, and driving conditions.
Faulty transaxle seal: A car's transaxle output shaft commonly has seal problems over time due to wear and tear. Still, they typically last longer than 50,000 miles before developing a leak, depending on driving conditions.
Engine oil leak: If the engine is dripping oil, we recommend an ultraviolet oil dye test to locate the leak's origin. Oily fluids can come from a bad valve cover gasket, valve cover bolts, a head gasket, an exhaust manifold, timing cover gaskets, a cylinder head, front or rear camshafts from the seals, oil pressure sensors, oil coolers, motor oil seals, exhaust pipes, etc. These parts have seals that can lose their grip; they are also prompt to corrode and allow oil seepage.
Faulty oil cooler hoses: Oil cooler hoses run from the engine to the radiator, and they're essential for the cooling system. These hoses can develop seal or corrosion damages, blowing fluids under the car and resulting in a burning smell.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do you notice the smell coming mainly from under the hood?

The car's engine runs on large quantities of oil. So, it has various sealings to ensure none of its oil leaks. However, through wear, tear, and age, these sealings can become weak, loose, or cracked.

A deteriorated sealing component in the car's engine is one of the most common causes of a burning oil smell. In this case, these components leave small cracks and gaps for oil to seep, causing oil seepage. Then, the oil falls into hot parts of the vehicle, burning and leaving a smell.
Do you typically notice it after driving long distances?

After driving long distances, the car might produce a burning oil smell due to overstressing of engine-related parts. In most cases, this relates to the catalytic converter, a component that converts gases during the combustion process. This component relates to the exhaust system and works with the engine to reduce emissions.

The catalytic converter's surface is pretty hot and can quickly burn any fluid that comes in contact with it. Hence, depending on the location of oil drips, fluids can seep toward the converter and burn, causing a smell.
Are you noticing leak points in the garage?

The transmission system relates to those various metal rods and cylindrical structures under the vehicle; this relies highly on oil and fluids. Since this system has many connections to different parts, it contains plenty of seals and joints to help fixate sections and prevent oil from escaping.

A bad transmission seal will allow oil to leak through your car's underside and contact any hot component. Usually, when this leak develops, you'll spot stains on the garage.
Is your car's transmission feeling odd?

If the car's transmission is feeling strange and you feel a burning oil smell, there may be a connected issue. The transmission system is full of seals connecting components to different structures under the car; this requires oil and transmission fluid to work. One of these seals is the transaxle seal, which connects the transmission to the wheels.

A faulty transaxle seal might allow oil to seep through the output shaft. In this case, leaking oil will contact the hot exhaust, burning and causing a smell. In addition, the car's transmission becomes rougher and can feel different.
Have you checked your car's underside for burning stains?

When a brake booster vacuum pump breaks, it drips oil on the car's hot exhaust. This leak typically stains the car's underside, leaving a trail of burnt oil. The brake booster vacuum pump is on the vehicle's front area; it can be close to the engine compartment or to the wheels.

This type of issue should also leave trails on the floor. So, oil smears in your garage's floors might be evidence of this problem.
Does the smell gets stronger when driving in hot weather?

Your car's oil cooler hoses might be too worn or loose, allowing oil to seep. These hoses stay under the hood and belong to the cooling system, helping regulate the engine's temperature. However, if they're loose or old, fluid escapes them, reaching the car's underside, and burning when falling on hot components. Usually, this type of issue leaves stains on the vehicle's underhood.

Driving in hot conditions or car overload can make the symptoms more obvious.

Typical fixes to address the cause(s)

These are typical processes and repair services that fix a check engine light issue

The most common cause: Engine oil leak

The most common reason for a car making a burning oil smell is because of an oil leak from the engine. The engine has various seals that can wear over time or present failures, allowing oil to seep through. Commonly, oil leaks from the engine trail under the vehicle until reaching the catalytic converter, which is burning hot, resulting in the smell.

Engine oil leaks are common in vehicles after the 50,000-mile mark, and they’re usually related to a faulty or loose seal.

Origin of the sound: Under the vehicle.
Symptoms it causes: Apart from the burning oil smell, you might notice oil stains where your vehicle was parked and low oil levels.
High risk of priority: The engine might be losing oil at a quick pace, risking it to start developing damage due to bad lubrication.

How exactly does an engine oil leak happen?

An engine oil leak can happen due to oil overfill, loose or faulty seals, damaged oil pan, loose oil filter, bad pressure from the PCV valve, etc. But, most commonly, the oil leak comes from loose or worn gaskets and seals.

What happens is that these seals (like camshaft seals and crankshaft seals) deteriorate over time, loosen up, crack, or shrink. This commonly happens after the 50,000-mile range, but regular maintenance can prevent that from happening.

Go safe: Ask for a mechanic to inspect your vehicle to track the burning oil smell’s location and see if it means further damage. Many shops do transparent vehicle inspections and lay out your options after investigating your vehicle’s conditions.

What’s a vehicle inspection? It’s “detective work” on your vehicle, checking its systems to find if anything is preventing the car from working as expected. In this case, mechanics examine different parts of your vehicle to track where the burning oil smell is coming from and what’s causing it. They’ll also check the condition of components during their inspection, noting which are causing the problem and which got affected by it, recommending to replace them in order of priority.

Transparency example in an engine oil leak service

Let’s see how a vehicle inspection defines the car service needed to fix an engine oil leak causing a burning smell.

In this scheduled service, the customer stated their car was making a burning oil smell, especially after driving long distances. The technician inspected the car by putting it in a lift and checking under it.

While inspecting the vehicle’s underside, the expert found burnt oil in the catalytic converter; the burning smell was stronger in that area, too. Therefore, the technician started to follow the oil trail, like a detective following a suspect’s footprints.

The oil trail was leading to the engine compartment. After popping up the hood and checking the engine, the technician found a loose crankshaft seal. With these findings, the technician will also look at surrounding components to see if the leak caused any excess grease. Then, they'll plan a fix for the problem.

The image below shows the initial moment when the technician saw the leak trail leading to the engine.

Oil leaking under the vehicle's engine, causing oil to puddle up below the vehicle or burn on hot car poarts, releasing a burning smell

In this case, the mechanic put the “Immediate Action” tag on the loose crankshaft seal. They also recommended replacing the other seals since they’re as old as the faulty one and beyond the 50,000-mile mark.

Similar Symptoms

Below are just a few examples of typical Symptoms and Fixes your car might be experiencing

Most common causes for a burning rubber smell from the vehicle