Last week we received the ever rare coastal N.C. snow storm. When I started my car, I noticed a burning plastic/rubber smell, I checked all belts,no oil leaks nor smoke. I also checked the exhaust for stuck plastic bag/debris. The smell was seemingly coming from the rear. Is there anything that snow pack & ice under the car that can cause this ?! Snow's finally cleared & the smell is gone. Of note it was also the 1st time I've ran the heat @ a high temp. IE 88 fh as opposed to the normal 71 fh.

Even my son noticed it, so I know it's not just me.

 

Snow was nasty -- 10.5 inches in Virginia Beach.

But to put it in perspective

 

Mine also makes the same smell sometimes in similar conditions, snowy and nasty outside. Almost like the heater core is getting so hot it is melting some plastic around it and that is blowing through the ventilation, or kind of like an extremely dusty space heater firing up for the first time in a while. It's always been faint, and only in those snowy conditions, maybe once or twice in very cold (20f or below) weather. It also only happened noticeably when I had the heat turned up higher than usual to warm the inside up quicker. Maybe if the snow is blocking the air intake grate it is pulling in air through some gaps around the engine bay causing that smell? Or the snow is restricting airflow and that causes the smell?

 

Its more than likely residue on your heater core that you've never used

....or that mouse house you never noticed until now...lol.

 

That's spot on for my assumption as well, because it really reminded me of a melting wire casing in electronics smell. I usually keep my thermostat @ 71 FH but the kids & snow = 88 fan on highlol.

Yes I spent time in the tri-state region lol. Thing is they are suited to deal with it, here everyone panics & they close down the city @ the sight of a snowflake lol.