Taking care of your car at all times is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional maintenance is supposed to keep your Fiat 500 L running smoothly with time, some unexpected breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle 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 written this content to help you in the event that you notice a burnt plastic smell caused by your Fiat 500 L . 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 motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to discover the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Fiat 500 L? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Fiat 500 L
So we begin our guideline with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Fiat 500 L . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good indicator. In actual fact, modern vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a major breakdown. Down below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the main possible origin of such an odor. In actual fact, 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 broken, it as well has a second action as a temperature regulator. However, with time, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Fiat 500 L. 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 specifically done of rubber, will deteriorate and no longer rotate totally 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 Fiat 500 L.
- Defective hose wear: This case occurs especially on Fiat 500 L 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 trigger the plastic 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 might melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less general, especially present on Fiat 500 L’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body parts that might have been bent might 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 comes from on a Fiat 500 L?
And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you discover the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Fiat 500 L . 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 issue quickly. If your Fiat 500 L smells hot, don’t think twice to browse our content 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 discover debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to change it. Do not think twice to consult our content to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Fiat 500 L.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it might also produce 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 discover if any are frayed or melted. If this is the case, replace them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Fiat 500 L, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
Whenever you have any further questions about the Fiat 500 L, do not hesitate to consult our Fiat 500 L category.
