I just got the car and have been driving it daily. Besides some stupid little things I am taking car of, it has one problem that is a bit annoying. On cold starts when the heater just gets warmed up and starts blowing it gives off a faint burning smell. It almost smells like burned oil. The smell lasts for a little while and then dissipates. It only does this on cold start up. Is this something I should be concerned with? The car is still under factory warranty for another 6 months, so I may just take it to the dealer.

 

i would definately take it to the dealer if it is still under warranty... these cars are expensive to fix on your own. Did you change your cabin filter... i had a funky smell on mine until I did that.... seems odd that it would only do it on cold days though

 

The car was Audi CPO, but without the extended warranty, so all of the filters should have been changed. Although, that is a good/easy thing to check. However, like you said if it was a filter I would think I smell it all the time.

It really smells like a burning belt, so my assumption is that the blower motor may need cleaning or is starting to go. I guess I will be visting my local stealership.

 

I noticed the same smell shortly after I bought myused00A6 2.7T with 69k miles. Picked it up In St. Louis and drove back to Cincinnati. The very next day I could smell the oil burning. I took it to the dealer and was told that it was abad injector/valve seal or something. All I know is that it was a $1200.00 repair. 70k miles later the problem is still there and the care runs fine. Apparently it's not a major issue. GOOD LUCK!!!

 

Take it back to the dealer. You should also look at the cabin filter.I had a mildewy smell on start-up and it disappeared as soon as thecabin filter was changed.

 

You might try switching off the fresh air filter option on the climate control as a way to check if it is the cabin air filter.

 

Hello

I expreienced the same issue.

It was an O ring on my return line for one of my turbos dripping oil on the exhaust manifold.

They fixed it under warranty no questions asked.

Hope that helps

 

As Jmpryor mentioned, leakikng oil from the lines feeding the turbos can cause this. Or it can be oil leaking down from bad cam tensioner seal on right, passenger side, cylinder head. These seals are known to leak oil onto the exhaust manifold below, causing burning oil smell, which is sucked into the cabin filter box right above it. When the heater blower is working it's blowing this burnt smell into the cabin.