Keeping an eye on your car at all times is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional maintenance is supposed to keep your Fiat Stilo running smoothly over time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. In this article we’re going to focus on your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible malfunction, that’s why our team has written this article to help you in the event that you detect a burnt plastic smell originating from your Fiat Stilo . To help you verify that it is nothing severe, first we will outline the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to locate the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Fiat Stilo? .
The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Fiat Stilo
So we begin our content page with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a Fiat Stilo . 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 important malfunction. 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 actual fact, the objective of gear or transmission oil is to lubricate the different components of your gearbox so that all the gears and pinions are not damaged, it as well has a second objective as a temperature regulator. However, as time passes, 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 Fiat Stilo. 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 degrade and no longer rotate totally 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 unit block of your Fiat Stilo.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance arises specifically on Fiat Stilo that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your car contrary to what you might presume will cause the plastic auto parts to wear out more fairly 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 issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less general, specifically present on Fiat Stilo’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 find out where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Fiat Stilo?
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 Fiat Stilo . 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 problem quickly. If your Fiat Stilo smells hot, don’t think twice to go through our article 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 find out debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to change it. Do not think twice to consult our article to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Fiat Stilo.
- 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 think twice to change it.
- Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually verify all your hoses to find out 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 cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Fiat Stilo, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
If you need more tutorials on the Fiat Stilo, go to our Fiat Stilo category.
