Since last weekend, I've been noticing a faint but consistent burning smell from inside the car. I would describe the smell as similar to melting insulation/plastic, almost like an electrical wire burning.

After smelling it for a few days, I popped the hood and the smell seemed stronger from the engine bay, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. No leaks under the car, either.

Then I thought maybe the underside caught a plastic bag or something, and this caught my eye:






Anyone know what's going on there? Seems like whatever that plastic wrapping is could be the culprit, although it wasn't that melty or anything...

For reference, my car is mechanically bone stock (even suspension is OEM), just did some minor stuff like wheels, lighting, etc.

Know this topic has come up in the past, but seems each end up inconclusive or different issues.

 

looks like you picked up road debris. Let it cool and try to remove as much as possible. The rest will eventually burn away.

edit: as a matter of fact, the other day while driving, a large clear plastic bag was in the middle of the road, EVERYONE jerked to avoid it including me. The one car in my rear view mirror that did not try to avoid it got it stuck under their car and pulled over to remove it lol

 

thats melted plastic bag. i had that. i scraped off what i could with a putty knife and sanded off whats left. only way i knew how

 

Take a brass bristle brush and scrape it off