Ace Hi Oil

OUR BLOG

Detect a Problem in Your Car By Its Smell

It may sound strange, but when you notice a new smell in your car, it may be your car letting you know something isn't quite right. Use these tips from Ace Hi Oil in Southlake to learn what common smells mean.

Learn to Identify Where These Odors are Coming From

If you're driving around and start to smell something odd, you're not going crazy. Cars can often develop odd smells that can alert you that something isn't working as it's supposed to. Rather than ignoring it, figure out what it is so you can get it fixed as soon as possible.

A synthetic oil change in Southlake can keep your car at its best. Use AMSOIL's Signature Series 0W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil to keep it running strong. Contact the pros at Ace Hi Oil at (888) 459-9958 to learn more. You can also shop their online store at your convenience.

Rotten Eggs

The smell of rotten eggs or sulfur will be present when there's an issue in the catalytic converter. This part works to turn hydrogen sulfide into sulfur dioxide in the engine's exhaust. When something is going wrong, the smell of sulfur can escape and alert you. The smell can be hard to ignore because it's very unpleasant. Either way, it's important that you get your car checked out as soon as you can to get this fixed.

Sweet Syrup Type Scent

If you have any experience with coolant or antifreeze, you may already know this bright fluid can smell quite sweet. This sweet smell can be deceiving because this fluid is very toxic. If you start to smell a syrup-like scent in your car, this is a good reason to get your cooling system checked out. You may have a leak, so take a look under your car to see if you can spot any coolant drops. If not, still get your car checked since there may another issue in the system.

Burning Oil

This is quite obvious because the smell of burnt oil is probably coming from your oil. If you notice this smell, it's a good idea to check if your engine has enough oil in it. If you have a leak or haven't had your oil changed in a long time, you may be running low. You can top it off so you aren't driving around with too little oil, but you will still need to get your engine checked out to ensure there's no serious issue there. Even if you don't see obvious signs of a leak, keep in mind that internal leaks are also possible. These can lead to more smoke coming from your exhaust pipe, so look out for that.

Keep your car riding strong with a synthetic oil change. Click here to purchase Signature Series 0W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil and keep your engine healthy. Contact Ace Hi Oil at (888) 459-9958 to learn more or stop by their online store to check out their full range of products.

Burning Carpet

This is an odd and very specific smell, so you may be alarmed when you notice it. While your carpet may not be on fire, your brakes may not be at their best. First, make sure you're not driving with your hand brake on. If you're sure this is disengaged, then it's time to get your brakes checked out by a professional. Your brake pads may be overheating, leading to this strong smell. If you're driving downhill and using the brakes aggressively, this may be temporary. However, if this happens on a casual drive where your brakes aren't being called into action too much, definitely get those brake pads serviced.

Burning Rubber

When you smell burnt rubber you may automatically think it was caused by someone's tires screeching on the asphalt. However, if the smell just won't go away while you're driving, then chances are you have some rubber in your car that is getting heated up. There are rubber parts under your hood that may be coming into contact with metal parts that heat up while you drive. If these are coming into contact, the hot metal may be causing the rubber to burn and melt. This isn't ideal, especially if this is happening to things like hoses. Before there is any serious damage done, take a look and see if you identify the culprit.