burning smell

The most common cause for an unknown burning smell is a plastic bag stuck on the exhaust system. Check the underside of your 2002 Dodge Stratus for any debris on the exhaust system. If you find melted plastic you can scrape most of it off with a razor blade and the rest will burn off fairly quickly.

i had the same problem and found out that there is an oil leak on the bottom end that you can't see. They have to remove a bunch of stuff on the bottom of the car to get to the part that needs fixing. The part itself is cheap but the labor to do it takes half a day. My mechanic who is very reasonable with pricing said it would cost approx. 520.00 to fix!