Burned plastic smell coming from engine bay passenger side

[kinkin80]

Hello guys,
I am hoping someone will give a little insight to my issue. I have been smelling burned plastic like odor coming from my engine bay after each drive. Yesterday I opened up the hood and was able to catch a bit of smoke coming from the passenger side engine bay. Take a look at the attached images to give you an idea of where the smoke is coming from. Any help in identifying the issue would be greatly appreciated.

[dubs]

Have you checked under the car as it could be some sort of object attached onto under carriage happened to me before as part of a ripped up garbage bag melted onto my mid pipe I had smoke coming out of my driver side front wheel well and you could smell burning plastic coming out from interior vents.

[kinkin80]

Originally Posted by dubs

Have you checked under the car as it could be some sort of object attached onto under carriage happened to me before as part of a ripped up garbage bag melted onto my mid pipe I had smoke coming out of my driver side front wheel well and you could smell burning plastic coming out from interior vents.

That could be an option. I will check under the car tomorrow

[Megatr0n]

I hope I'm wrong but It could be that your car is leaking oil somewhere and it's dropping in plastic parts and that why you're getting a plastic smell.

[kinkin80]

Originally Posted by gerson

I hope I'm wrong but It could be that your car is leaking oil somewhere and it's dropping in plastic parts and that why you're getting a plastic smell.

I was also thinking about that possibility. how can I verify this? it certainly didn't smell like burnt oil. more like something is about to catch on fire type of smell.

[The Libertine]

Was the car recently serviced? Maybe a fluid (or oil) spilled onto part of the engine bay that is causing the odor?

Can you discern whether the smell is always present, or just occurs once the engine reaches operating temperature? Does the smell get worse the more you drive, or is at a consistent odor? What causes it to dissipate? Does it linger (residual odor) after you turn off the engine?

Just trying to put a bit more context around your concern.

[Megatr0n]

Originally Posted by kinkin80

I was also thinking about that possibility. how can I verify this? it certainly didn't smell like burnt oil. more like something is about to catch on fire type of smell.

When mine was leaking I didn't get an oil smell but a "like" plastic smell. If you're under warranty just take it in and have them check it for you. If you are out of warranty, go under the hood, check around the filter housing, and all the usual gaskets. It wouldn't hurt to see what an obd2 scanner says.

[kinkin80]

Originally Posted by The Libertine

Was the car recently serviced? Maybe a fluid (or oil) spilled onto part of the engine bay that is causing the odor?

Can you discern whether the smell is always present, or just occurs once the engine reaches operating temperature? Does the smell get worse the more you drive, or is at a consistent odor? What causes it to dissipate? Does it linger (residual odor) after you turn off the engine?

Just trying to put a bit more context around your concern.

No, the car was not recently serviced. The smell is not always present. smells occurs once the engine reaches operating temperature. I do not smell it inside the cabine. only when I step out of the vehicle so I cannot tell if it gets worse the more I drive it. the odor dissipates when engine has been turned off for a good hour. right after I turn off the engine, the smell is definitely present and when I pop open the hood, I can see smoke come off the passenger side ( Look at the image showing where the smoke emanates from).

[kinkin80]

Originally Posted by gerson

When mine was leaking I didn't get an oil smell but a "like" plastic smell. If you're under warranty just take it in and have them check it for you. If you are out of warranty, go under the hood, check around the filter housing, and all the usual gaskets. It wouldn't hurt to see what an obd2 scanner says.

I checked the filter housing and all gaskets. They are all dry. I am out of warranty. I was just hoping to find someone with similar issues and see how they resolved it so I wouldn't have to take the vehicle to a shop If I can address it on my own.

[RED_Y_]

Happened to my wife's Subaru a while ago, she caught a giant plastic bag on the highway that melted on the exhaust.

[kinkin80]

Originally Posted by RED_Y_

Happened to my wife's Subaru a while ago, she caught a giant plastic bag on the highway that melted on the exhaust.

I will lift the vehicle up and check underneath. I sure hope this is my case. Fingers crossed.

[kinkin80]

Originally Posted by gerson

When mine was leaking I didn't get an oil smell but a "like" plastic smell. If you're under warranty just take it in and have them check it for you. If you are out of warranty, go under the hood, check around the filter housing, and all the usual gaskets. It wouldn't hurt to see what an obd2 scanner says.

Quick update. It was indeed an oil leak. Thanks for the help!

[Megatr0n]

Originally Posted by kinkin80

Quick update. It was indeed an oil leak. Thanks for the help!

Which location was it from?

[kinkin80]

Originally Posted by gerson

Which location was it from?

by the spark plugs. Looks like valve cover gasket needs to be replaced. Also need to do spark plugs. looks like the car needs a tune up. I was having too much fun with that mpe and mppk.

[virtualbong]

Originally Posted by kinkin80

by the spark plugs. Looks like valve cover gasket needs to be replaced. Also need to do spark plugs. looks like the car needs a tune up. I was having too much fun with that mpe and mppk.

Your symptoms sound exactly like what I am encountering right now. Burnt plastic smell after it gets to operating temperature and some smoke coming out of the hood in the same exact area.

I do have an appointment for an oil change this Wednesday at the dealership and I was going to have them do their courtesy check to see what I need to get done on my own or bring it to an independent shop.

Who identified the cause of the issue? And did you take it to a BMW dealership or private shop? Can you share costs to resolve?

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by virtualbong

Your symptoms sound exactly like what I am encountering right now. Burnt plastic smell after it gets to operating temperature and some smoke coming out of the hood in the same exact area.

I do have an appointment for an oil change this Wednesday at the dealership and I was going to have them do their courtesy check to see what I need to get done on my own or bring it to an independent shop.

Who identified the cause of the issue? And did you take it to a BMW dealership or private shop? Can you share costs to resolve?

I would not dare take it to the dealer, if you don't have a warranty.

[virtualbong]

Originally Posted by turboawd

I would not dare take it to the dealer, if you don't have a warranty.

Hahaha, I wasn't planning to unless they mentioned it would only be a few hundred dollars. I searched online and the costs depended on the engine but it was $200-$400 (parts and labor)

I did find a youtube video on the install (below) and based on this, it looks like it would take 3-4 hours and at the dealer rate, I would assume that would come out to about $600 (parts and labor).

Thoughts on my estimated pricing?

And you guys mentioned changing the spark plugs at the same time. Is there a preference to stick to OEM spark plugs or is there any benefit (costwise or performance) to purchase something different?

[MH20jy]

Originally Posted by virtualbong

Hahaha, I wasn't planning to unless they mentioned it would only be a few hundred dollars. I searched online and the costs depended on the engine but it was $200-$400 (parts and labor)

I did find a youtube video on the install (below) and based on this, it looks like it would take 3-4 hours and at the dealer rate, I would assume that would come out to about $600 (parts and labor).

Thoughts on my estimated pricing?

And you guys mentioned changing the spark plugs at the same time. Is there a preference to stick to OEM spark plugs or is there any benefit (costwise or performance) to purchase something different?

I bet it is at least 1k for parts and labor. It's a booked 8 hr job.

[virtualbong]

Originally Posted by MH20jy

I bet it is at least 1k for parts and labor. It's a booked 8 hr job.

Ouch. Private shop it is.

[virtualbong]

Quick update.

BMW Dealership quoted $1,300 for Valve Gasket Replacement (Parts and Labor) but could apply 15% off since the job is over $1,000.

Private shop quoted ~$700 for Valve Gasket and Spark Plug Replacement (Parts and Labor)

And the BMW Dealership confirmed that there is a valve gasket leak so it does need to be replaced which is nice to have that confirmation. This dealership now performs a video recording of the assessment so that owners can see what the mechanic is looking at. I thought that was pretty cool. They also identified my thrust arm bushings are cracked but not leaking yet but it will need to be replaced at some point. It's nice that they are being more transparent these days. It makes me feel better that they are not trying to screw me. Well...they will screw me if I end up having them perform the fixes, hahaha

[Speedemon_SA]

My car just smells. I do not see smoke.

Can anyone tell me if they can see the oil leak, or do you have to strip half the item sway to see.

Watched the attached Youtube video. BMW does not make anything easy.

[RED_Y_]

Every modern vehicle is pretty advanced, not only BMW. Try to put car on the lift and see if you can pinpoint the leak.