I figure it's the rubber mounts that hold exhaust system get hot and produce this smell or possibly chassis undercoating. Anyways there's nothing really to be concerned much about.

 

My 07 Outlander did have a burning smell for the first few months but not now......

I don't think that the rubber mounts would cause any kind of smell.............



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You might be right on this one. I have a 2010 4cyl 4x4 CVT. After a 40 mile ride home last night (wet roads and cool temperature) we got a very strong wiff of burning rubber, a bit different from a slipping clutch or hot brakes. I popped the hood thinking belt, and then checked all around the car. The strongest smell was from the right rear wheel well. The tire was cool and so was the wheel and the brakes, and we had not been using the 4WD. But the exhaust on the 4 cyl is a single pipe and it runs along the right side, and probably up and over the axle. I have to look in to it some more and find out exactly what is going on - it does smell hot enough to catch something on fire.

 

An update: A Mitsubishi service person suggested the burning rubber odor was chemical liquid road de-icer being sprayed up by the right rear tire onto the hot exhaust. Makes some sense because that happened to be the conditions I was driving in.

 

I have exact same rubber smell, i thought it was specific to my outlander.
On the warm day if i go full throttle for a bit, to heat things up, i can distinctly smell it. I have not yet found the source. I live in LA where roads are dry and chemical free. I doubt Mitsu SP really knew what he was talking about.

So far exhaust rubber mounts seemed to make more sense.