Keeping an eye on your car all the time is the best thing you can do. Although standard routine service is supposed to keep your Ford Explorer running smoothly with time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle 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 made this content page to help you in the event that you identify a burnt plastic smell coming from your Ford Explorer . To help you verify that it is nothing serious, first we will highlight 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 Ford Explorer? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Ford Explorer
So we commence our article content with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Ford Explorer . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good sign. Obviously, modern vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a important malfunction. Below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the most important possible source of such an odor. Obviously, 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 broken, it also has a second objective as a temperature regulator. However, with time, the oil will lose its efficiency and will not lubricate the auto parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Ford Explorer. 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 principally made 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 unit block of your Ford Explorer.
- Faulty hose wear: This case occurs specifically on Ford Explorer 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 believe 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, specifically present on Ford Explorer’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 find out where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Ford Explorer?
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 Ford Explorer . 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 solve your problem quickly. If your Ford Explorer smells hot, don’t think twice to browse 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 think twice to seek advice from our content page to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Ford Explorer.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it might also make a whistling sound if it is in poor condition. Do not think twice 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 trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Ford Explorer, a body part, verify all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
If you need more tutorials on the Ford Explorer, go to our Ford Explorer category.
