Burning smell coming from engine, so strong it is inside the car. Got an oil change about 70 miles ago two weeks ago. It has been burning through oil pretty fast though lately. The smell is like a combination of oil and rubber. No other noises or issues at the moment. 235K miles, 140K on current engine thanks for any thoughts!

I had the same problem with my 2005 Honda Accord. I would happen only sometime but is a distant odor I smell from inside the cabin. Older Hondas sometimes have gasket problems that leak small amounts of oil onto the exhaust manifold. Ask the mechanic to go check the valve cover gaskets. They replaced a new gasket to my car at the Honda dealer and I haven't smelled that burning odor since then. Good luck.

I dont think there is a connection between an oil change and the gallons per mile.
With that age car, I suggest a Terra engine clean. It will blow away nine years of gunk from the spark plugs, fuel injectors, cylinders and exhaust. Should give you more power, more miles..

Blue smoke (how many miles on engine, 50k or 500K???????
to some this means, burning oil, others steam
it that blue smoke lingers a long time that is oil burning
and smells just like oil burning.
and means 2 things,
1: engine burns oil.
2: if car had autotmatic trans the vacuum modulator love fail
and suck ATF fluid to the intake plenum and burn it, and bingo burning oil like mad.
3: PCV valve packed solid,and forces engine to leak oil or burn oil. or both. this is a 50k miles service point, skipping this?
4: gas in the oil making it thin and not sneaks past valve stems.
does oil change cure this.>?

now engines.
worn out engines smoke. (burn oil)
as do bad valve guides and seals.
and bad piston rings.
100 years same story, and miles matter. History on engine too.
matters.

Did u notice the smell right after oil change ?I so they might have spilled some on the exhaust manifold or on the motor itself ... If this is a strong odor return to where the oil was changed and ask them to double check everything they didif it wasnt them maybe they can find out what is indeed making the smell.. good luck hope this helps

depending on the type of car, you might have oil leaking directly onto the exhaust system, which is dangerous as it could possibly ignite. I would take it back to the oil change place and have them double check the oil filter to make sure the seal isn't leaking. AutoZone or Advance Auto can hook a mini scan tool to the car and tell you why the light is on.

WHITE smoke? Or BLUE smoke? White smoke is usually caused by burning antifreeze (possible blown head gasket). Engine oil burning causes a bluish colored smoke.

Changing the oil two months ago means absolutely nothing to me. I have customers that travel 6000 miles or more in a month. Oil consumption is measured in volume over miles, not volume over months. It is normal for most 4 cylinder engines to use a little less than 1/2 quart in 1000 miles (even more than that for 6 cylinder and 8 cylinder engines).

Common causes of smelling "burning" oil are:

1. a leak in the valve cover gasket. When oil leaks from the valve cover gasket, it will often burn off on the manifold.
2. a blown oil seal causing oil to burn off on the exhaust system
3. check your exhaust for "blue smoke" a sign that the engine is actually burning oil. Just guessing here but a 16 year old Volvo is bound to have quite a few miles on it.

I hope you found this post helpful in diagnosing your problem. Thank you for using Fixya! Greg

It sounds like oil is getting past the rings. you can check the compression on each cylinder to see what one it is, or pull the spark plugs out and check each one you should be able to tell if oil is getting in the combustion chamber. If it is just the rings it wont be cheap to fix but the sooner the better.

go to Pep Boys and Auto Zone and have the code read for free.  and fix it now, as it doesn't sound like something you can wait on.
Also the oil change had absolutely nothing to do with the problems you are having now.
Cars cost money, and it doesn't sound like you are keeping up with the maintenance on this one, sadly you'll pay more in the end.