Keeping an eye on your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Although standard maintenance is designed to keep your Citroen C4 running smoothly with time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle budget. Today we’re going to talk about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible malfunction, that’s why our team has made this content page to help you in the event you identify a burnt plastic smell caused by your Citroen C4 . To help you check that it is nothing severe, 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 find the source of this burnt plastic smell on your Citroen C4? .
The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Citroen C4
So we begin our article with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a Citroen C4 . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good indicator. In fact, recent vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a major malfunction. Down below we will review the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the main possible source of such an odor. In fact, the action 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 action as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its efficiency 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 Citroen C4. 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 made of rubber, will degrade and no longer rotate completely 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 block of your Citroen C4.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance occurs especially on Citroen C4 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 presume will trigger the plastic 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 melt. The risk of this issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less basic, especially present on Citroen C4’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 find out where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Citroen C4?
And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you find the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Citroen C4 . 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 resolve your issue quickly. If your Citroen C4 smells hot, don’t hesitate 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 hesitate to consult our content page to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Citroen C4.
- 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 hesitate 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, replace them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Citroen C4, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
If you wish more tutorials on the Citroen C4, go to our Citroen C4 category.
