[Darthbladerni]

Today have a little bit of spirited driving there was a strange smell coming from the car when i stopped.

Only way to describe it is the smell of cutting pavint stones?? lol weird I know.

There are no problems with the car though, everything is fine and it accelerates just as well and changing gear is no different.

I left the car for about an hour and thendrove to work, no smell whatsoever.

What would have caused this??

the car is a 2001 Mini one that just hit 50k.

Thanks.

[Darthbladerni]

I just took the car for a quick drive there, when i got back to work i opened the bonnet and there was a slight hint of the smell again??!!

Once again nothing wrong. Im worried incase it is the clutch or something.

i will leave it a few days and watch temperatures and see if any warning lights come on then decide.

Anyone have any ideas?

[mab01uk]

At that age and mileage of MINI be on extra alert for anything which might be the electric power steering pump / wiring loom getting hot and about to burst into flames ! I have a 2002 MINI on 40K and carry a 10mm spanner for disconnecting the battery in a hurry and a fire extingusher just in case the worst happens.
(Ignore this if you've recently had a new ps pump).

[Darthbladerni]

lol, well nothing has gone wrong thus far so hopefully it is nothing to worry about.

Everything is fine at the moment though. i think I may get it checked out over the weekend just to be on the safe side.

Any other ideas on what it could be??

The smell comes from the right side of the car in the heat waves if that helps.

im going to get it checked out anyway so I will let everyone know.

Im worried about it but it drives well so I will keep an eye on everything

[Darthbladerni]

Everything is ok, no smell after hard driving home for parts so no worries.

Going to keep an eye on things during the week and then get it checked out if necessary,

[cooperSMark]

i reckon it's just coolant that you can smell... I've had a couple of Rovers (from the BMW batch) and a couple of BMW's and they all smell the same when they get hot. They don't necessarily have to be so hot that the fan has kicked in, just hot from town or motorway driving. Never had any problems caused by it..

[NeuroBeaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Darthbladerni (original)

Today have a little bit of spirited driving there was a strange smell coming from the car when i stopped.

Did it smell like fish? (explanation: running joke with me recently)

Quote: Originally Posted by Darthbladerni (original)

Only way to describe it is the smell of cutting pavint stones?? lol weird I know.

Just throwing an idea out here... what do brakes smell like when they get really hot and heavily used? I've never really paused to sniff them too heavily after a hard drive, knowing they contain asbestos - but should anyone know offhand, that might be helpful in this instance.

All the best,
Andrew.

[cooperSMark]

similar to a hot clutch... a bit like cutting paving stones i suppose. You'd have to cook the brakes to make the smell a lot though

[mab01uk]

Quote: Originally Posted by ARCrawford (original)

Did it smell like fish? (explanation: running joke with me recently)

Just throwing an idea out here... what do brakes smell like when they get really hot and heavily used? I've never really paused to sniff them too heavily after a hard drive, knowing they contain asbestos - but should anyone know offhand, that might be helpful in this instance.

All the best,
Andrew.

When driving in the French Pyrenees last year the car park in a village where we stopped at the foot of a mountain was full of cars with the aroma of very hot brakes, including my MINI but quite hard to describe !
Brakes and clutches are Asbestos free now (fitting and supply in the UK of asbestos based materials was prohibited since about Jan 2005) but even so probably best not to sniff them too heavily. Might also look a bit odd if anyone should see you crouched down sniffing at your wheels............

[MINIMANIAUK]

2The smell comes from the right side of the car in the heat waves if that helps."

It may be worth checking your alternator belt . they can be misaligned and worn at 50000 miles.
If the battery was down and needed a lot of charge current it puts a load on the belt and alternator and could cause slipping and smell from the belt. This would dissapear once the battery had more charge in it .after running for a few miles -but will return once the battery drops again or just after an engine start - simple enough to check anyway