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      01-15-2018, 03:19 AM   #1
turboawd
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burning plastic smell

14 x5 35i

i drove to the gym(5 min drive) and i smelled a strong burning plastic smell. when i left the gym after 2 hours, i didnt smell anything.
was about 15F out and i had my seat heater on. could a seat heater smell like that? it seems to still work.
any other ideas?
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      01-15-2018, 06:41 AM   #2
nyalpine90
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did you check if you have plastic bag stuck on the exhaust?
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      01-15-2018, 10:26 AM   #3
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Were you near a fast food restaurant?
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      01-15-2018, 09:03 PM   #4
turboawd
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nyalpine90 View Post
did you check if you have plastic bag stuck on the exhaust?
i was driving thru fresh unplowed snow last night, and my x5 is a filthy snowy mess. i cant get under to see. but there is no smell today either. weird i guess.
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      01-15-2018, 09:05 PM   #5
turboawd
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Originally Posted by Chadmatic View Post
Were you near a fast food restaurant?
not really, and i opened the window while driving to see if the smell was in the air outside, but there was no smell.
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      01-15-2018, 11:28 PM   #6
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I started to get this smell as well. I was not able to pinpoint where it came from because it went away after a few minutes.
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      01-16-2018, 12:12 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbl_jeff View Post
I started to get this smell as well. I was not able to pinpoint where it came from because it went away after a few minutes.
I had this happening on my E70 and after inspecting the seat with my bare hands and the heating function on. I found a spot on the right side of the bottom cushion that was getting really hot. After writing to BMW NA and taking the car to the dealer to be inspected, they replaced it for free even though I was out of the warranty.
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      01-16-2018, 02:21 AM   #8
turboawd
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Quote:
Originally Posted by balasa0731 View Post
I had this happening on my E70 and after inspecting the seat with my bare hands and the heating function on. I found a spot on the right side of the bottom cushion that was getting really hot. After writing to BMW NA and taking the car to the dealer to be inspected, they replaced it for free even though I was out of the warranty.
so do i need to get an infared camera to see if the seat heats up evenly?
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      01-16-2018, 11:20 PM   #9
turboawd
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well i found the cause. it turned out to be my usb cable. boy am i glad it was that and not something else.
i had the cable laying between the seat and center console. i'm guessing the cable end touched something metal, like maybe the seat track. funny thing is no fuse burned out on the power outlet in the center console.
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      01-17-2018, 02:39 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by turboawd View Post
well i found the cause. it turned out to be my usb cable. boy am i glad it was that and not something else.
i had the cable laying between the seat and center console. i'm guessing the cable end touched something metal, like maybe the seat track. funny thing is no fuse burned out on the power outlet in the center console.
Never use aftermarket
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      01-18-2018, 01:31 PM   #11
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Glad you found it.
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      01-19-2018, 09:52 PM   #12
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I smell it also, especially after parking the vehicle inside the garage.
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      01-20-2018, 08:24 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chigger View Post
I smell it also, especially after parking the vehicle inside the garage.
Plastic? Burning? Otherwise, IMO. This could be normal. There are too many parts in the car which can generate unpleasant smell after the car is heated up. You may like to re-check around the car and see if you can identify where the smell may come out. People here may provide you additional culprit or info for you.
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      01-21-2018, 03:32 AM   #14
turboawd
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chigger View Post
I smell it also, especially after parking the vehicle inside the garage.
google "bmw x5 burning plastic smell" and you'll see many threads with people having the same issue, mainly on the previous generation x5. but many components are shared on the current x5, so it may give you some things to look at. like the one thing mentioned was a plastic shield in the rear of motor melting.
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