2020 Ram - Smells like burning plastic

[blairwilder97]

I’ve got a 2020 ram 1500 and just rolled over 20k miles. These past few days, I’ve noticed a burnt plastic smell coming fr my truck when I get out after driving for roughly 15 minutes or longer. Any idea what this could be? I’ve looked all around the truck and don’t see any smoke nor do I have any issues with the way the truck is running.


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[NorthernArea51]

Did you take a look underneath to see if a plastic shopping bag got caught up?


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[ChadT]

This might sound silly but, check your enginebay/ airbox to see if a critter made a house in there.

People often lift up their air filters and find out a mouse is hard at work on a development for him and his whole family.

 

[RamCares]

I’ve got a 2020 ram 1500 and just rolled over 20k miles. These past few days, I’ve noticed a burnt plastic smell coming fr my truck when I get out after driving for roughly 15 minutes or longer. Any idea what this could be? I’ve looked all around the truck and don’t see any smoke nor do I have any issues with the way the truck is running.


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Sorry for the trouble, @blairwilder97. Should you need to address this with your dealer, our team is just a private message away and more than willing to provide you with further support for that process.

Mark
RamCares

 

[STR]

Investigate all of the heat sources, i.e., engine, exhaust, etc., and see if any plastic has come into contact...

 

[Scram1500]

I worry about the plastic transmission cover myself. If one were to bottom out or have something knock into the exhaust it could come into contact with the cover

 

[BlueRamGT]

Any update on this? I'm having the same burning plastic smell with my 2023 ram 1500

 

[mikedmusso]

Any update on this? I'm having the same burning plastic smell with my 2023 ram 1500

Same here with my 2021. Been making the smell for over a year now and decided to research forums and bring to dealer before warranty expires. Really look to forums for expertise but only found two things that looked like a fix. 1.Accelerator Sensor and 2. AC compressor. Be good to see a definite consensus with this issue.

 

[fireman-175]

Add me to the list of stumped folks. Seems to smell worse from passenger side, but who knows. It is an acrid smell for sure. I sniffed the tailpipe after shutting off and not the same smell as up front.

 

[seaward]

add me as well i have a 2023 rebel and i have the same burning smell as well and no one can figure it out

 

[EAB]

Same with my 2 month only 2023 RAM...funny thing is I also smelled the same thing on a different used Longhorn I test drove with 6K miles late last year

 

[CountryboyNC]

Anyone ever find a fix? My 19 does this. I thought it was going to be a heater core but the dealer “can’t replicate” it’s an obvious burning odor

 

[Rambo 2024]

Anyone ever find a fix? My 19 does this. I thought it was going to be a heater core but the dealer “can’t replicate” it’s an obvious burning odor

I have the same issue and thank god others do as I was going crazy trying to figure it out.

Happens when I have the heater on. Smells like melting plastic as if you ran over a bag that got stuck on the exhaust. Not the case. Definitely coming from inside or through air vents? Popped the hood, no smell at all in engine bay.

Very obnoxious odor to the point it makes me sick to my stomach. Anyone find the source?

2024 Ram Laramie 5.7 V8 roughly 6,500 miles on it.

 

[Bkelly401]

I have the same issue and thank god others do as I was going crazy trying to figure it out.

Happens when I have the heater on. Smells like melting plastic as if you ran over a bag that got stuck on the exhaust. Not the case. Definitely coming from inside or through air vents? Popped the hood, no smell at all in engine bay.

Very obnoxious odor to the point it makes me sick to my stomach. Anyone find the source?

2024 Ram Laramie 5.7 V8 roughly 6,500 miles on it.

Heater core leaking. Very poor design. The two aluminum pipes that are connected to the heater core have o rings in them so they can rotate for some unknown reason. After expanding and contracting for a period of time they begin to leak a little and then a lot. Very labor intensive to remove entire dash, steering column and HVAC box to replace heater core with the same lousy designed part. My 2019 with 70k miles began leaking all over passenger floor. Out of warranty now so I’ll be out about $2k for the repair.I'm going to try and epoxy the fittings with a heat resistant epoxy and see what happens. I have radio and glove box out and can get to the fittings. I bypassed heater core at water pump so I could still use the truck to get to work. Waiting 24-48 hrs for epoxy to harden then I’ll hook hoses back up and see what happens.

 

[Rambo 2024]

Heater core leaking. Very poor design. The two aluminum pipes that are connected to the heater core have o rings in them so they can rotate for some unknown reason. After expanding and contracting for a period of time they begin to leak a little and then a lot. Very labor intensive to remove entire dash, steering column and HVAC box to replace heater core with the same lousy designed part. My 2019 with 70k miles began leaking all over passenger floor. Out of warranty now so I’ll be out about $2k for the repair.View attachment 194457I'm going to try and epoxy the fittings with a heat resistant epoxy and see what happens. I have radio and glove box out and can get to the fittings. I bypassed heater core at water pump so I could still use the truck to get to work. Waiting 24-48 hrs for epoxy to harden then I’ll hook hoses back up and see what happens.

Sorry to hear that. Don’t think that’s what I’m smelling. Good luck

 

[DL3Greyghost]

Sorry for the trouble, @blairwilder97. Should you need to address this with your dealer, our team is just a private message away and more than willing to provide you with further support for that process.

Mark
RamCares

Mark,

How many of us are going to post on here about this problem before something gets done? These trucks are clearly having issues with an acrid, burning coolant type smell being described by dozens of people and all the same responses from dealers, including the 2 I have been to and am at today…again. No leaks found after a pressure test, we can’t replicate, etc, etc. does Ram really care or is this lip service so you can continue deny, deny, deny so the warranty runs out? I have barely a 3 yr old vehicle purchased brand new for $57K that is making me sick to even sit in for 5 min…all of my clothes stink like this odor after being in my truck…my wife can’t even walk by it from the outside without gagging… these are the kinds of issues that become class action lawsuits and I will be the first in line if this doesn’t get done under warranty

 

[kirbylsu]

Add me to this list. 2023 Laramie with 23,000 miles. Haven't really investigated deeper but going to check out some of the issues I have found on these threads.

 

[kolian2012]

I have a 24 ram 2500 tradesman. I have that same smell but it's only when I use remote start. I also upgraded to the 12 in screen I don't know if maybe that could be a part of this smell As well. When I get in the truck, it smells like an electrical short for the first 5 minites then goes away. Also noticed if I put my truck in to run position and not start the engine the check engine light flashes like 12 times and then stays solid. Can anyone else confirm when they put the truck in the run position if the engine light flashes? Not sure if that might contribute to something..

 

[chrisnorthnj]

Same here unfortunately. Just noticed it a few days ago. Now I can't un-smell it. 22 Laramie, 14k miles.

 

[DL3Greyghost]

Update on my situation…dealer had my truck for 3 days…did their own diagnostic test because they couldn’t count on another dealership’s assessment…same as before, no coolant leak after pressure test. Then they pulled up the TSB about the back glass and 3rd brake light leaking and determined that could be the problem…pulled up the carpet and pad and it was soaked, but they couldn’t do anything other than sop it up and put the wet pad and carpet back…and they “sealed” the back glass with apparently a magical sealant that was $50…here’s the part that made me chuckle a bit…if I want them to replace the 3rd brake light, it’s $1400…uh…ok. I felt bad for my service advisor who had to say all this to me with a straight face…she’s just the messenger and is trying hard to get FCA warranty and recall dept to do the right thing here and cover this nonsense…you have a known issue via TSB about this problem and you think I should pay for it? You got me… btw…smells worse than before now but they “fixed the leak…”
Amazingly my battery checked out bad too at a cost of $400 to replace…it must be made of gold too, like that brake light and sealant