Keeping an eye on your car permanently is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional maintenance is designed to keep your Audi Q5 running smoothly over time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle budget. Today we’re going to focus on your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has written this content to help you in the event that you notice a burnt plastic smell coming from your Audi Q5 . To help you verify that it is nothing significant, first we will outline the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to find the source of this burnt plastic smell on your Audi Q5? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Audi Q5
So we commence our article content with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Audi Q5 . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good signal. In actual fact, recent cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a important breakdown. Down below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the main possible source of such an odor. In actual fact, the objective of gear or transmission oil is to lubricate the different components of your gearbox so that all the gears and pinions are not damaged, it also has a second objective as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, in the long run, the oil will lose its efficiency and will not lubricate the parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will cause the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Audi Q5. You risk pre-wearing your gearbox if you don’t take care of it.
- The accessory belt: Nevertheless rarer, it is possible with wear and tear that your belt, which is principally done of rubber, will degrade and no longer rotate completely on its axis. With the friction that this will cause the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will generate a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your Audi Q5.
- Defective hose wear: This case arises especially on Audi Q5 that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your car unlike what you might think will cause the plastic parts to wear out more fairly quickly. Hoses are the first to be suffering from this phenomenon. The rubber will disintegrate little by little and with the rise in heat of the fluid that circulates in it, it might melt. The risk of this issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less general, especially present on Audi Q5’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body parts that might have been bent might rub against one of your wheels and give off that burnt plastic smell. This may also pre-wear out your tyres.
How to find out where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Audi Q5?
And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you find the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Audi Q5 . Now that you know the different possible origins of this smell, we’ll just have to do some checks to get rid of the tracks that don’t concern you and resolve your issue quickly. If your Audi Q5 smells hot, don’t think twice to browse our content on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be easier, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and verify that your oil is reddish in colour and fluid enough. If you discover debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to change it. Do not think twice to seek advice from our content to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Audi Q5.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it might also make a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not think twice to change it.
- Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually verify all your hoses to discover if any are frayed or melted. If this is the case, replace them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Audi Q5, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
To get more tips on the Audi Q5, take a look at the Audi Q5 category.
