Taking care of your car all the time is the best thing you can do. Although standard routine service is designed to keep your Dodge Nitro running smoothly with time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. In this article we’re going to talk about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has written this content page to help you in case you detect a burnt plastic smell coming from your Dodge Nitro . To help you verify that it is nothing significant, first we will detail the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to discover the source of this burnt plastic smell on your Dodge Nitro? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Dodge Nitro
So we commence our content page with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Dodge Nitro . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good indicator. Obviously, recent cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a critical breakdown. Down below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the main possible origin of such an odor. Obviously, the objective of gear or transmission oil is to lubricate the different elements of your gearbox so that all the gears and pinions are not broken, it also has a second objective as a temperature regulator. However, in the long run, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Dodge Nitro. You risk pre-wearing your gearbox if you don’t take care of it.
- The accessory belt: Although rarer, it is possible with wear and tear that your belt, which is mainly done of rubber, will deteriorate and no longer rotate entirely on its axis. With the friction that this will trigger the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will generate a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Dodge Nitro.
- Defective hose wear: This case arises specifically on Dodge Nitro that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your car contrary to what you might presume will trigger the plastic parts to wear out more fairly quickly. Hoses are the first to be troubled by this phenomenon. The rubber will disintegrate little by little and with the rise in heat of the fluid that circulates in it, it may melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less common, specifically present on Dodge Nitro’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body parts that may have been bent may rub against one of your wheels and give off that burnt plastic smell. This may also pre-wear out your tyres.
How to identify where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Dodge Nitro?
And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you discover the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Dodge Nitro . Now that you know the different possible origins of this smell, we’ll just have to do some checks to eliminate the tracks that don’t concern you and fix your problem quickly. If your Dodge Nitro smells hot, don’t hesitate to go through our content page on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be less complicated, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and verify that your oil is reddish in colour and fluid enough. If you see debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to replace it. Do not hesitate to seek advice from our content page to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Dodge Nitro.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may also make a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not hesitate to replace it.
- Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually verify all your hoses to see if any are frayed or melted. If this is the case, change them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Dodge Nitro, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
If you want more tutorials on the Dodge Nitro, go to our Dodge Nitro category.
