Taking care of your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Although standard routine service is designed to keep your Acura ILX running smoothly with time, some unexpected breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. Today we’re going to focus on your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible malfunction, that’s why our team has created this content page to help you in the event that you detect a burnt plastic smell originating from your Acura ILX . To help you check that it is nothing severe, first we will highlight the different things that can produce a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to discover the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Acura ILX? .

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The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Acura ILX

So we start our content page with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Acura ILX . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good sign. Obviously, recent cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a critical malfunction. Down below we will review the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:

  • Transmission oil: This is the most important possible source of such an odor. Obviously, the action 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 action as a temperature regulator. However, in the long run, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the parts and control the temperature as well, which will bring about the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Acura ILX. 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 principally made of rubber, will decline and no longer rotate totally on its axis. With the friction that this will bring about the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your Acura ILX.
  • Defective hose wear: This circumstance occurs especially on Acura ILX that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your vehicle contrary to what you might think will bring about 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 basic, especially present on Acura ILX’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 originates from on a Acura ILX?

And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you discover the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Acura ILX . 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 issue quickly. If your Acura ILX smells hot, don’t hesitate to read our content page on this topic.

  • Transmission oil: Nothing could be easier, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and check that your oil is reddish in colour and fluid enough. If you discover debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to replace it. Do not hesitate to consult our content page to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Acura ILX.
  • Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it may also make a whistling sound if it is in poor condition. Do not hesitate to replace it.
  • Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually check all your hoses to discover if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, replace them.
  • Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can bring about the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Acura ILX, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against

    To find more tips on the Acura ILX, take a look at the Acura ILX category.