Taking care of your car on daily basis is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional maintenance is supposed to keep your Ford Fiesta running smoothly with time, some unforeseen 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 made this content to help you in the event you notice a burnt plastic smell coming from your Ford Fiesta . To help you check that it is nothing significant, first we will detail the different things that can produce 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 Fiesta? .
The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Ford Fiesta
So we start our content page with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a Ford Fiesta . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good signal. Indeed, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a major malfunction. Down below we will review the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the most important possible source of such an odor. Indeed, the function 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 function as a temperature regulator. However, with time, the oil will lose its performance and will not lubricate the auto parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will bring about the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Ford Fiesta. 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 principally made of rubber, will deteriorate and no longer rotate entirely on its axis. With the friction that this will bring about 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 Fiesta.
- Faulty hose wear: This circumstance occurs specifically on Ford Fiesta that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your car contrary to what you might presume will bring about the plastic auto parts to wear out more fairly 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 may possibly melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less general, specifically present on Ford Fiesta’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that may possibly have been bent may possibly 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 Ford Fiesta?
And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you find the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Ford Fiesta . Now that you know the different possible roots 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 Ford Fiesta smells hot, don’t think twice to go through 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 find out 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 Ford Fiesta.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may possibly 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 check all your hoses to find out if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, replace them.
- Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can bring about the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Ford Fiesta, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
To discover more tips on the Ford Fiesta, take a look at the Ford Fiesta category.
