Taking care of your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Although classic maintenance is designed to keep your Chevrolet Captiva running smoothly with time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle 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 made this content page to help you in the event you notice a burnt plastic smell caused by your Chevrolet Captiva . To help you verify that it is nothing serious, first we will detail the different things that can produce a burnt plastic smell on your motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to locate the source of this burnt plastic smell on your Chevrolet Captiva? .
The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Chevrolet Captiva
So we start our guideline with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a Chevrolet Captiva . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good sign. Obviously, recent vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a significant breakdown. Below we will review the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the main possible source of such an odor. Obviously, the function of gear or transmission oil is to lubricate the different elements of your gearbox so that all the gears and pinions are not damaged, it as well has a second function as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the parts and control the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Chevrolet Captiva. 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 principally done of rubber, will degrade and no longer rotate entirely on its axis. With the friction that this will trigger the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your Chevrolet Captiva.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance happens especially on Chevrolet Captiva 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 trigger the plastic parts to wear out more 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 melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less common, especially present on Chevrolet Captiva’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body parts that may have been bent may 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 Chevrolet Captiva?
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 Chevrolet Captiva . 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 issue quickly. If your Chevrolet Captiva 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 verify that your oil is reddish in colour and fluid enough. If you find out 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 Chevrolet Captiva.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it may also make a whistling sound if it is in poor condition. Do not think twice to change it.
- Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually verify all your hoses to find out if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, change them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Chevrolet Captiva, a body part, verify all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
If you have any additional questions about the Chevrolet Captiva, do not hesitate to consult our Chevrolet Captiva category.
