23 Trail Boss w/3.0l Duramax - random "burning" smell

[Haufski762]

Hello everyone. 

 

I randomly get a burning rubber smell on my truck. It sometimes does it, sometimes it doesnt. It is completely random. The truck has a little over 10k miles, I bought it used and have only had it for 1k. 

 

I don't see any smoke. I haven't crawled under it yet. Has anyone else experienced this?

[DubVBenz]

DPF regen will make a unique smell. If I park in my garage and interrupt it, I can smell it very easily. Same thing on my Mercedes diesel engined car as well.

[Haufski762]

It could be that but isn't it supposed to tell me when its in regen?

[TrailBossMike]

It won't tell you unless there's an error 

[redwngr]

As TrailBossMike says, no message unless it is having problems. 

Regen can be triggered by miles, soot level, fuel burned or engine hours.

At 10,000 miles it's had lots of regens. 

Exhaust is hotter during regen. 

Was it undercoated by you or previous owner? Could be burning off overspray. 

 

I have an aftermarket monitor on mine. I logged its regens for awhile. 

It was averaging about 220 miles between regens.

Truck getting a little over 29 mpg during this time.

 

[Niklasbraun]

On 1/31/2024 at 5:27 PM, Haufski762 said:

Hello everyone. 

 

I randomly get a burning rubber smell on my truck. It sometimes does it, sometimes it doesnt. It is completely random. The truck has a little over 10k miles, I bought it used and have only had it for 1k. 

 

I don't see any smoke. I haven't crawled under it yet. Has anyone else experienced this?

Check the undercarriage for any signs of wear, especially if you haven't done that yet. Look out for wear and tear, especially around the exhaust system. That funky smell could be from a loose or wonky heat shield.
Also, give the engine bay a once-over for any obvious problems, like oil leaks or parts that seem to be heating up too much.