Keeping an eye on your car all the time is the best thing you can do. Although conventional routine service is designed to keep your Fiat Panda running smoothly over time, some unpredicted 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 malfunction, that’s why our team has created this content page to help you in the event you notice a burnt plastic smell coming from your Fiat Panda . 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 cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Fiat Panda? .
The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Fiat Panda
So we start our guideline with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a Fiat Panda . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good indicator. In actual fact, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a significant malfunction. Below we will review 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. Nevertheless, over time, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the auto parts and control the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Fiat Panda. 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 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 produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Fiat Panda.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance happens specifically on Fiat Panda that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your car unlike what you might presume will trigger the plastic auto parts to wear out more quickly. Hoses are the first to be affected 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 common, specifically present on Fiat Panda’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto 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 originates from on a Fiat Panda?
And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you locate the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Fiat Panda . 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 resolve your issue quickly. If your Fiat Panda 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 verify that your oil is reddish in colour and fluid enough. If you discover 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 Fiat Panda.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it might also make 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 discover if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, change them.
- Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Fiat Panda, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
To get more tips on the Fiat Panda, take a look at the Fiat Panda category.
