Taking care of your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Although conventional routine service is designed to keep your Audi Q8 running smoothly with time, some unexpected breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle budget. Today we’re going to look at your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible malfunction, that’s why our team has written this content to help you in the event that you identify a burnt plastic smell coming from your Audi Q8 . To help you verify that it is nothing severe, first we will detail the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to find the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Audi Q8? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Audi Q8
So we start our article with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Audi Q8 . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good signal. In actual fact, modern vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a important malfunction. Below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the most important possible origin of such an odor. In actual fact, 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 as well has a second objective as a temperature regulator. However, over time, 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 Q8. 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 made of rubber, will deteriorate and no longer rotate totally 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 Q8.
- Faulty hose wear: This circumstance happens specifically on Audi Q8 that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your vehicle unlike what you might believe will cause the plastic parts to wear out more quickly. Hoses are the first to be impacted by 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 problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less basic, specifically present on Audi Q8’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 as well pre-wear out your tyres.
How to identify where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Audi Q8?
And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you find the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Audi Q8 . 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 resolve your problem quickly. If your Audi Q8 smells hot, don’t hesitate 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 see debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to replace it. Do not hesitate to consult our content to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Audi Q8.
- 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 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 circumstance, change them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Audi Q8, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
If you need more tutorials on the Audi Q8, go to our Audi Q8 category.
