Taking care of your car at all times is the best thing you can do. Although standard routine service is supposed to keep your Dodge Grand Caravan running smoothly with time, some unforeseen 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 malfunction, that’s why our team has created this content page to help you in the event that you identify a burnt plastic smell originating from your Dodge Grand Caravan . To help you verify 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 origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Dodge Grand Caravan? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Dodge Grand Caravan
So we start our article with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Dodge Grand Caravan . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good sign. In actual fact, 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 actual 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 also has a second action as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its performance 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 Dodge Grand Caravan. 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 mainly made of rubber, will decline 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 produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your Dodge Grand Caravan.
- Defective hose wear: This case happens specifically on Dodge Grand Caravan 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 think will cause 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 may melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less basic, specifically present on Dodge Grand Caravan’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that may have been bent may 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 comes from on a Dodge Grand Caravan?
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 Dodge Grand Caravan . 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 problem quickly. If your Dodge Grand Caravan smells hot, don’t hesitate to read our content page on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be less complicated, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and verify 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 hesitate to seek advice from our content page to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Dodge Grand Caravan.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may also produce a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not hesitate to replace it.
- Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually verify all your hoses to see if any are frayed or melted. If this is the case, replace them.
- Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Dodge Grand Caravan, a body part, verify all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
To get more tips on the Dodge Grand Caravan, take a look at the Dodge Grand Caravan category.
