Taking care of your car at all times is the best thing you can do. Although classic maintenance is designed to keep your Mini Cooper running smoothly over time, some unexpected breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car 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 created this content page to help you in the event you identify a burnt plastic smell coming from your Mini Cooper . To help you verify that it is nothing severe, first we will highlight the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to find the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Mini Cooper? .
The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Mini Cooper
So we commence our guideline with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Mini Cooper . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good sign. In truth, 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 main possible origin of such an odor. In truth, the objective of gear or transmission oil is to lubricate the different components of your gearbox so that all the gears and pinions are not broken, it as well has a second objective as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, as time passes, 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 Mini Cooper. 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 made of rubber, will decline and no longer rotate entirely on its axis. With the friction that this will cause 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 Mini Cooper.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance arises especially on Mini Cooper 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 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 general, especially present on Mini Cooper’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 as well pre-wear out your tyres.
How to find out where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Mini Cooper?
And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you find the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Mini Cooper . 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 resolve your issue quickly. If your Mini Cooper 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 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 consult our content page to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Mini Cooper.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may also make a whistling sound if it is in poor state. 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 circumstance, change them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Mini Cooper, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
To find more tips on the Mini Cooper, take a look at the Mini Cooper category.
