Burned toast smell

[George]

Recently, I’ve been noticing a smell like burnt toast during driving. I’m driving a 1993 Mazda MPV. I’ve been trying to locate the smell after driving. I couldn’t locate the smell in the engine compartment or under the vehicle, but finally got a whiff of the a similar smell coming from my tailpipe. I’m wondering if the source is coming from my catalytic converter? Is there anyone with an idea of what could be producing such a smell? Thanks in advance for your responses.

Topic

[Jack Patteeuw]

Auto trans ? Smell the ATF. If it smells like burnt toast or is dark red, get the ATF changed immediately. Only use Mazda specified ATF.

[Mike]

The sensation of smelling burnt toast is a precursor to a stroke.

[Yan Ling]

Did the smell come only when you are driving above a certain speed for sometime? I had this smell coming into the car when I drive above 120km/h for more than 15 mins and I still could not find the source of the smell. I drive a Mazda 2 and use Mazda atf but it could be due to the age of the atf.

[Mike]

Does the engine leak or burn oil? The odour of burnt oil can bring burnt toast to mind.

[George]

I checked the transmission oil: no smell and no color change from normal. Fortunately, the smell seems to be gradually going away which is a good sign. Thanks for your suggestion.

[George]

No, the vehicle does not burn oil. I didn’t mention that I had stored it for the last three months at my dad’s acreage, so perhaps there was a nest built somewhere near the engine or exhaust during this time. However, it doesn’t make sense that I could smell it from the tail pipe. Anyway, the smell has tapered off, so hopefully there won’t be anything to worry about. Thanks for your input.

[George]

Thanks for your input yanbros. The smell occurred during city driving up to 90 kms/hr. I might just change the trans filter and oil as a preventative measure since I doubt it hasn’t been changed for years.

[Author]

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