It's been going on for a while, I'm not sure why... it only happens after a cold start and after driving it a couple miles... like less than 5. After that, it goes away. It's been getting better, the worst time there were clouds of smoke coming in thru the vents and also out of the engine bay while I was at a stop light. It smells kinda like burnt rubber or ashpalt, after shutting off the vents, it came thru my steering column.. the weirest thing.

I searched the forum and one member said it could be a leaking valve cover gasket... anyone else have any ideas? Should I take it to a shop to get it checked out?

Also another small problem, my shifter(automatic) clicks whenever its set in "D". When I'm at a full stop, and I let go of the brakes, it clicks... (slow speeds only) I think the gear selector cable is loose, cuz when I try to engage cruise control, it sometimes just shuts off automatically since I think the shifter kinda goes into Neutral. Should I just adjust my gear selector cable?

does it do it when you use the hvac system or after just starting your car?

You may want to pull off the road and open the hood to see where all this smoke is coming from. It could turn out to be a disaster if oil is leaking on something like a hot exhaust manifold.

Get you hands in there when the engine is cold and feel around. Get your hands dirty. Run then all around the seam between the head and block. All around the exhaust manifold etc. Find the problem before :firedevil

It happens regardless of whether or not I'm running the A/C vents or not. If I keep the A/C vents shut off, the smoke oozes thru the steering column and firewall I think.

The part I don't get is it goes away after the car is warmed up after driving it for a while.

I'll check for oil leaks, thanks for the tip!

this may sound strange but...

Do you park in an area where there are "little critters"?
Does it smell like burnt fur?
I know this seems funny but I've definitely heard of this:D

I found a thread where someone got a plastic bag stuck on the header, but I checked for any remains and i don't think there are any. I hope I didn't run over any critters, at least I seriously doubt it lol. It smells really similar to ashphalt(or something to do with construction), since my school is under construction in some places, i noticed they smell alike.