Taking care of your car at all times is the best thing you can do. Although standard maintenance is designed to keep your Mercury Mariner running smoothly over time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle budget. Today we’re going to speak about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible malfunction, that’s why our team has written this article to help you in the event that you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your Mercury Mariner . To help you check that it is nothing significant, first we will highlight the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to discover the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Mercury Mariner? .

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The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Mercury Mariner

So we start our article with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Mercury Mariner . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good indicator. In fact, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a critical malfunction. Down below we will review the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:

  • Transmission oil: This is the main possible origin of such an odor. In fact, the action 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 as well has a second action as a temperature regulator. However, over time, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the auto parts and control the temperature as well, which will bring about the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Mercury Mariner. 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 decline and no longer rotate totally on its axis. With the friction that this will bring about the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will create a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your Mercury Mariner.
  • Faulty hose wear: This case happens especially on Mercury Mariner 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 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 melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
  • A body component: Less general, especially present on Mercury Mariner’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that may have been bent may 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 Mercury Mariner?

And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you discover the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Mercury Mariner . 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 Mercury Mariner smells hot, don’t think twice to go through our article 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 seek advice from our article to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Mercury Mariner.
  • Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it may also make a whistling sound if it is in poor condition. 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 case, 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 Mercury Mariner, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against

    To get more tips on the Mercury Mariner, take a look at the Mercury Mariner category.