Taking care of your car on daily basis is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless classic routine service is designed to keep your Buick Encore running smoothly over time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. Today we’re going to look at your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has made this content page to help you in the event you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your Buick Encore . To help you check that it is nothing severe, first we will highlight the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to find the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Buick Encore? .

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The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Buick Encore

So we commence our content with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Buick Encore . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good indicator. Obviously, recent cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a important breakdown. Down below we will review the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:

  • Transmission oil: This is the main possible origin of such an odor. Obviously, 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, in the long run, the oil will lose its effectiveness 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 Buick Encore. 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 entirely 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 Buick Encore.
  • Defective hose wear: This circumstance happens especially on Buick Encore 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 affected 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, especially present on Buick Encore’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 Buick Encore?

And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you find the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Buick Encore . 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 solve your issue quickly. If your Buick Encore smells hot, don’t think twice to browse 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 see debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to change it. Do not think twice to consult our content page to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Buick Encore.
  • 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 check all your hoses to see if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, replace them.
  • Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Buick Encore, a body component, check all wheel arches, that no component rubs against

    To discover more tips on the Buick Encore, take a look at the Buick Encore category.