For the last week I had been getting a burnt rubber smell coming through the HVAC. It was most noticable when rolling away from a complete stop. It definitely smelled like rubber, not clutch, so I was sorta perplexed.

I took it to my worthless dealer, they put it on the lift and looked for bags on the exhaust (which I had already done), and shined a flashlight quickly through the engine bay, looking for leaks. Found nothing. They ended up telling me it was probably the coating on the heater core. Which was odd, since I had the temp on full cold, and I really doubt any protective coating would still be there after 2500 miles.

Going through the engine bay again yesterday, I noticed that the outer hose that surrounds the clutch line coming from the master cylinder had popped off its nipple. Since this hose is pretty close to the HVAC air intake, I thought this could be the problem. I slipped it back on, and while I don't really notice the smell any more I think I can smell it occasionally, being a hypochondriac and all.

It got me thinking, though, what is the hose for? The hydraulic fluid is contained within the inner line, is the outer one just for heat protection? Could this have been the cause of the smell, or should I keep looking, especially since I'm not getting any dealer support?

'10 Sport if it makes a difference.

 

how new is the car? I was test driving an mx5 the other day and it had rubber smell real bad.