BURNING SMELL COMING THROUGH VENTS

I have a 2008 tacoma, manual 4 cylinder. I have noticed over the past couple months that when i drive, a burning smell comes through the a/c vents. It almost seems to be like a burning rubber-like smell. Thats the closest I can get to describing it. The smell comes and then dissipates. It seems to occur randomly as well.

Any thoughts on what is causing this?

 

It's the raw envy of other drivers out there in their crappy driving appliances hating on you for driving a kick ass Tacoma.

On the other hand, is their moisture accumulating on your passenger side footwell? I had a similar experience in another brand car and it was the heater core giving up the ghost.

 

A couple months ago, I had lots of water coming out from behind the glove compartment. I thought it may be a leak because it was raining heavily. Maybe the rain was just a coincidence?

 

Fan connector burning out?

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...lower-motor-anyone-ever-had-this-issue.370962

 

Hard to armchair diagnose stuff like that but your description reminded me of my situation. Hope you can get it sorted soon.

 

How do i go about checking if thisis burned out? where is this located?

 

was it water or coolant accumulating on your passenger floor?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/replacement-of-hvac-blower-motor-resistor.8310

 

Are you running on outside air or recirculate?

If outside air it could be a simple oil leak in the engine bay burning off. Accounts for some of the randomness, but it will be more frequent as the leak worsens.

 

Im running on outside air... I inherited this truck from my father, who never rain synthetic oil in it... I just changed to synthetic about three/four months ago. Could this change have done something?

Should i first inspect the oil filter and drain plug for leaks?

 

I just found a thread online that pretty much states my problem... Im guessing it might be a leak in the rear valve cover gasket? I will be investigating today..

 

08 taco here too. 183k.
Getting same smell and problem.what was your fix or link to your article?