Keeping an eye on your car permanently is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless classic routine service is designed to keep your Bmw Serie 3 E90 running smoothly over time, some unforeseen 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 page to help you in the event that you identify a burnt plastic smell originating from your Bmw Serie 3 E90 . 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 motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to locate the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Bmw Serie 3 E90? .

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The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Bmw Serie 3 E90

So we begin our content with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a Bmw Serie 3 E90 . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good indicator. In truth, modern vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a significant 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. In truth, 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 broken, it also has a second action as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its efficiency and will not lubricate the auto parts and control the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Bmw Serie 3 E90. 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 totally on its axis. With the friction that this will trigger the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will create a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Bmw Serie 3 E90.
  • Faulty hose wear: This circumstance happens especially on Bmw Serie 3 E90 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 think will trigger the plastic auto 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 issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
  • A body component: Less general, especially present on Bmw Serie 3 E90’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto 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 identify where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Bmw Serie 3 E90?

And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you locate the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Bmw Serie 3 E90 . Now that you know the different possible roots 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 issue quickly. If your Bmw Serie 3 E90 smells hot, don’t think twice to go through our content page on this topic.

  • Transmission oil: Nothing could be simpler, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and check that your oil is reddish in colour and fluid enough. If you find out debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to replace it. Do not think twice to consult our content page to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Bmw Serie 3 E90.
  • Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it might also produce 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 find out if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, change them.
  • Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Bmw Serie 3 E90, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against

    If you want more guides on the Bmw Serie 3 E90, go to our Bmw Serie 3 E90 category.