Keeping an eye on your car all the time is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional routine service is supposed to keep your BMW 3 Series running smoothly over time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. Today we’re going to speak about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has created this article to help you in the event that you detect a burnt plastic smell coming from your BMW 3 Series . To help you check that it is nothing significant, first we will highlight the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to find the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your BMW 3 Series? .
The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a BMW 3 Series
So we begin our article content with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a BMW 3 Series . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good sign. Indeed, modern vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a significant breakdown. 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. Indeed, the action 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 action as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its performance and will not lubricate the auto parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will cause the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your BMW 3 Series. 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 mainly done of rubber, will degrade 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 unit block of your BMW 3 Series.
- Faulty hose wear: This case happens especially on BMW 3 Series 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 believe will cause the plastic auto 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 may possibly melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less common, especially present on BMW 3 Series’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that may possibly have been bent may possibly 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 comes from on a BMW 3 Series?
And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you find the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your BMW 3 Series . 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 fix your problem quickly. If your BMW 3 Series smells hot, don’t think twice to browse our article 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 see debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to replace it. Do not think twice to seek advice from our article to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a BMW 3 Series.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may possibly also make a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not think twice to replace it.
- Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually check all your hoses to see if any are frayed or melted. If this is the case, change them.
- Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your BMW 3 Series, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
If perhaps you have any additional questions about the BMW 3 Series, do not hesitate to consult our BMW 3 Series category.
