Keeping an eye on your car on daily basis is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional maintenance is designed to keep your Honda Odyssey running smoothly over time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. In this article we’re going to talk about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible malfunction, that’s why our team has created this article to help you in the event that you notice a burnt plastic smell originating from your Honda Odyssey . To help you verify 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 discover the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Honda Odyssey? .

smell-burnt-plastic-honda-odyssey

The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Honda Odyssey

So we begin our article with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Honda Odyssey . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good signal. In truth, recent vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a critical malfunction. Down 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. In truth, 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 as well has a second objective as a temperature regulator. However, with 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 Honda Odyssey. 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 trigger the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will create a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Honda Odyssey.
  • Defective hose wear: This case happens specifically on Honda Odyssey that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your car unlike what you might presume will trigger 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 may possibly melt. The risk of this issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
  • A body component: Less basic, specifically present on Honda Odyssey’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 find out where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Honda Odyssey?

And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you discover the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Honda Odyssey . 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 resolve your issue quickly. If your Honda Odyssey smells hot, don’t think twice to read our article 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 article to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Honda Odyssey.
  • Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it may possibly 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 Honda Odyssey, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against

    If you need more guides on the Honda Odyssey, go to our Honda Odyssey category.