New here with a car I've only had since Monday. (2007SC430) After driving around and getting the car up to normal temperature, when I park it there is a slight smell of burning rubber. What might this be? I had a Porsche 911 once that had a similar issue. That turned out to be rubber dust from spirited driving landing on the hot exhaust system. Could this be what I am smelling? Thanks guys...

 

welcome to CL…I would investigate under the hood and under the car.
if rubber catches on fire…we’ll, let’s just hope this doesn’t happen.
I have had two SC430s and they never smelled like burning rubber.

could it be brake pads?

 

It was serviced by Lexus in Phoenix a month before I bought it. If something was wrong you'd think they would have noticed it. Nothing leaks, Smell only seems to be at the rear of the car. Wish I had bought that lift I've always wanted. Exhaust hanger perhaps? Previous owner had just put on new run flats. I doubt if anything is rubbing.

 

If the smell only occurs once, I would ignore it. It could be something like plastic bag caught on exhaust system or it could be the smell from someone else car. But if the smell occurs again and persistently, then you should seriously investigate the source.

 

Sorry to hear about the new run flats.

Dennis

 

Are you sure the smell is rubber and not the smell of burning oil? Burning oil smells are common with valve cover gaskets and power steering fluid leaks on many makes/models.

You didn't describe your vehicle well as far as condition, previous accidents and such. It would help to have more info in order to make more-educated guesses.

 

2007 SC430, no accidents, 63k miles, excellent condition, always serviced at Lexus dealerships, (I have the records), most recently in June. No leaks that I could see. No stains on exhaust pipes or muffler. Yesterday I moved the rubber exhaust system hanger 'donuts' to the outermost edge of the hanger pins as they were near the pipes. I will check the tightness of the cam cover bolts. Thank you.

 

As Gmansc mentioned, very possible a plastic bag on the roadway got sucked up under your car onto the hot exhaust. If you can get under the car you might see some of the melted residue on the pipe

 

I took both rear wheels off yesterday and had a look around. Didn't find anything. Wanted to see the top of the muffler for debris. Nothing.
Is the rear jacking spot really the bottom of the differential or the small crossmember behind the diff? Downloaded owners manual looks like it's the diff housing.
Any side jacking points? I'd rather crawl in one side at a time. That is one heavy vehicle. No lifts available around here that will let the customer under the car..Thanks.

 

six jacking points…here is the link for the owners manual, electronic search is faster than paper ;-)
https://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/d...12.pdf#page215

 

Thanks for the info...

 

I wouldn't do this without an inch-pound torque wrench. These nuts are easily over-tightened, causing more trouble. Let me know if you need me to look up the torque spec for you. Too, it's best to torque the middle ones first, working your way out to the ends.