Keeping an eye on your car permanently is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional routine service is designed to keep your Citroen C8 running smoothly with time, some unexpected breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. Today we’re going to talk about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has written this article to help you in the event you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your Citroen C8 . To help you check that it is nothing significant, first we will detail the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to locate the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Citroen C8? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Citroen C8
So we start our guideline with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Citroen C8 . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good signal. Indeed, recent cars 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 main possible source of such an odor. Indeed, 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, over 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 C8. 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 made 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 generate a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your Citroen C8.
- Defective hose wear: This case occurs specifically on Citroen C8 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 believe will trigger the plastic parts to wear out more fairly quickly. Hoses are the first to be troubled by 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 general, specifically present on Citroen C8’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body parts that may possibly have been bent may possibly 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 Citroen C8?
And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you locate the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Citroen C8 . 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 Citroen C8 smells hot, don’t think twice to go through our article on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be less complicated, 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 consult our article to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Citroen C8.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may possibly 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 see if any are frayed or melted. If this is the case, change them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Citroen C8, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
Whenever you have any additional questions about the Citroen C8, do not hesitate to consult our Citroen C8 category.
