Keeping an eye on your car permanently is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless standard maintenance is designed to keep your Mitsubishi Eclipse running smoothly with 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 breakdown, that’s why our team has made this content to help you in the event that you identify a burnt plastic smell coming from your Mitsubishi Eclipse . To help you check that it is nothing significant, first we will outline the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to discover the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Mitsubishi Eclipse? .

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The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Mitsubishi Eclipse

So we begin our guideline with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Mitsubishi Eclipse . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good sign. In actual fact, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a important breakdown. Below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:

  • Transmission oil: This is the main possible source of such an odor. In actual 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. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its performance and will not lubricate the auto parts and control the temperature as well, which will cause the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Mitsubishi Eclipse. 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 made of rubber, will decline 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 produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Mitsubishi Eclipse.
  • Defective hose wear: This case occurs especially on Mitsubishi Eclipse 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 think will cause the plastic auto parts to wear out more 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 might melt. The risk of this issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
  • A body component: Less common, especially present on Mitsubishi Eclipse’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that might have been bent might rub against one of your wheels and give off that burnt plastic smell. This may also pre-wear out your tyres.

How to find out where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Mitsubishi Eclipse?

And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you discover the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Mitsubishi Eclipse . 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 resolve your issue quickly. If your Mitsubishi Eclipse smells hot, don’t think twice to read 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 see debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to change it. Do not think twice to seek advice from our content to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Mitsubishi Eclipse.
  • Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it might also produce 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 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 cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Mitsubishi Eclipse, a body component, check all wheel arches, that no component rubs against

    If you wish more guides on the Mitsubishi Eclipse, go to our Mitsubishi Eclipse category.