Keeping an eye on your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Although standard maintenance is designed to keep your Ford Ecosport running smoothly with time, some unexpected 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 content page to help you in the event that you identify a burnt plastic smell coming from your Ford Ecosport . To help you check that it is nothing serious, first we will outline the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to find the source of this burnt plastic smell on your Ford Ecosport? .
The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Ford Ecosport
So we begin our content page with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Ford Ecosport . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good sign. In fact, recent cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a major 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 fact, the objective 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 objective as a temperature regulator. However, as time passes, the oil will lose its efficiency 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 Ford Ecosport. 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 specifically done 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 unit block of your Ford Ecosport.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance arises especially on Ford Ecosport that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your vehicle unlike what you might presume will trigger the plastic auto parts to wear out more quickly. Hoses are the first to be suffering from 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 Ford Ecosport’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 also pre-wear out your tyres.
How to identify where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Ford Ecosport?
And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you find the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Ford Ecosport . Now that you know the different possible origins 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 Ford Ecosport smells hot, don’t think twice to go through our content page on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be simpler, 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 content page to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Ford Ecosport.
- 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 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 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 Ford Ecosport, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
If you wish more guides on the Ford Ecosport, go to our Ford Ecosport category.
