GRK

I just had both the exhaust on my E320 replaced which has only about 36000 miles on it at the dealership because there was a rattling sound from under the car. The dealer said it was a bad exhaust pipe and replaced both of them. The rattling sound has gone, but since I got my car back a very strong burning smell, like burning oil smell is coming from under the car. I took it back to the dealer after about 5 days and had them check it out. The technician said that it was normal since I had 2 new exhausts and the smell would go after a month. It has been about 45 days and the smell is still there and I also checked under the car for plastic bags stuck on the exhaust but there was nothing there. Does anybody know or had the same kind of problem and what can I do to fix it.

Thanks

MB Fanatic

Cat convertors might be bad.

rjm

I have had an identical problem with another brand of car....bad smell and rattling sounds from under the car...it was a bad catalytic converter. This was several years ago, and as I recall, the smell was like rotten eggs.

GRK

I already took the car to the dealer and they said it was normal because of the new exhaust. Is there any way of finding out if the converter is bad. It smells like burning oil.

Thanks

mw231

Usually, new exhausts are coated so that they don't rust while stored in a warehouse. When the exhaust gets hot from the exhaust fumes, the coating evaporates and you could smell chemicals. If you can, take the car on a longer trip, maybe 100+ miles. It should burn off a bit sooner due to higher exhaust temps. Can't come up with any other ideas, but I hope this helps!

GRK

Since I got my car back from the dealer I have just put about 40-50 miles on it. May be I will drive it a little more upto a 100 miles and see if it still smells.

Thanks

konigstiger

I agree the smell is normal in that the chemicals need to be burned off.

Smell story - I got “burned” for $66.50 because of being lazy in not wanting to take a quick look under the car! My wife came home complaining about a burning smell coming from beneath the car near the exhaust when she parked in the garage. Since the car was only a month old I told her to bring it in the next day. They call and said they had to grind a melted plastic grocery bag from the exhaust pipe.

vtec26

I agree with the others here. After a few hundred miles, the smell should be gone. I've had the same thing occur on other cars in the past, not a big deal unless the smell remains.

On a side note, 40-50 miles in 45 days is amazing. Here I thought i had a low mileage car...almost 12 months and only 6.5k miles.

SAguirre

GRK, what model E do you have? Is it a 4-matic? Because if it is there could be a totally different issue with it.

When I drove my car home for the first time and it only had about 20 miles on it I also smelled something burning from under the car. I brought the car back the next day because I also found one drop of clear fluid on my garage floor.

As it turned out, the inside front right ring seal for the drive axel was seeping ever so slightly on to the exhaust. The fixed it promptly and the small never came back.

Steve

GRK

I am driving a E320 2001 without 4Matic. Nothing is leaking in the car and the burning smell goes away once I turn off the ignition. But once I start the car in about 5 minutes I can get the burning oil smell, but I only get the smell when the car is in park not when I am driving.

SAguirre

OK, then I guess this can not be the issue. BTW, if you have a 2001 E320 then you have a w210 and you are actually posting in the wrong forum. I mean, this could also happen on the W211, but try the W210 forum and they might have even more experience with this issue.

Hope that the problem was that the oil coating needed to burn off the new exhaust.

Steve