Taking care of your car permanently is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless classic routine service is designed to keep your Mercedes Vito running smoothly over time, some unexpected breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. Today we’re going to talk about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has written this content page to help you in the event that you detect a burnt plastic smell originating from your Mercedes Vito . To help you check that it is nothing severe, first we will outline the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to locate the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Mercedes Vito? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Mercedes Vito
So we begin our article with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Mercedes Vito . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good indicator. In fact, recent cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a major breakdown. 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 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 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 parts and control the temperature as well, which will cause the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Mercedes Vito. 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 deteriorate and no longer rotate completely on its axis. With the friction that this will cause 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 Mercedes Vito.
- Defective hose wear: This case arises specifically on Mercedes Vito that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your vehicle unlike what you might presume will cause the plastic parts to wear out more fairly quickly. Hoses are the first to be impacted 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 melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less basic, specifically present on Mercedes Vito’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body parts that may have been bent may 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 originates from on a Mercedes Vito?
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 Mercedes Vito . Now that you know the different possible roots 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 Mercedes Vito smells hot, don’t think twice to go through our content page 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 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 Mercedes Vito.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may 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 case, change them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Mercedes Vito, a body component, check all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
If you have any additional questions about the Mercedes Vito, do not hesitate to consult our Mercedes Vito category.
