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by Eddie Carrara

I’ve been working on cars for over 35 years.

I’m an ASE-Certified Master Technician, and I’ve spent most of my life diagnosing and repairing vehicles—starting right out of high school and continuing ever since.

But this site isn’t about me.

It’s about helping you understand your car—and avoiding unnecessary repairs.

Eddie Carrara

My car smells

by Prateek
(India)

Have a weird problem with my car.


It is a 2006 Suzuki Swift VXi(Petrol) 1.3

What’s the issue?

Whenever I try to accelerate quickly on my car, I get a faint to moderate burning smell in my car. I have shown this to the authorized service center folks. They recommended a replacement of the clutch assembly as it was worn out and was getting weaker and hence the smell. Now I have gone ahead with their advice and the clutch assembly was replaced. The acceleration of the car seems better but, the burning smell is reoccurring. Now, this is an intermittent issue, and seems to come up after driving for a few minutes. 5-10. And when this happens the car seems to drag. I can feel the pressure on the engine. But the clutch does not slip for sure.

What have I tried?

Clutch assembly replaced(pressure plate, flywheel, releaser bearing, cable).
Throttle body cleaned.
All car fluids/oils changed.

Any help on this would be appreciated.

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May 23, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Hello Prateek
by: Eddie Carrara

I'm sorry it took so long to answer your question, I'm in the process of building this site and I'm just learning how the comment box works,lol, you are my very first comment, so thank you for being patient.
It sound's like your brakes may be sticking, it's possible one or two of the calipers are frozen. When brake pads get hot, they smell just like clutch disc and it's very common to confuse the two smells.
You said it feels like your car is dragging, that is another indication of a frozen caliper. I recommend having all 4 brakes checked for normal operation. Let me know what you find, I'll be checking the comments daily from now on. Thanks again Prateek for being patient :)
May 24, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		discs and drums
by: Prateek

Hi Ed,

My car sports front discs and rear drums. I will get the front discs and pads checked. What are the chances that the rear drums have gone bad?
May 26, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Rear Drums
by: Eddie Carrara

Hi Prateek,
The chances are slim to none that your drums are bad, unless you drove the car with the e-brake on for several miles. The rear brakes only do about 20-30% of your braking, where as the front brakes do about 70%. Let me know what happens with you front brakes, take care for now Prateek.

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This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

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