Keeping an eye on your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless classic maintenance is designed to keep your Nissan Sentra running smoothly with time, some unpredicted 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 made this article to help you in the event you notice a burnt plastic smell coming from your Nissan Sentra . To help you verify that it is nothing severe, first we will detail the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to find the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Nissan Sentra? .
The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Nissan Sentra
So we commence our article content with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Nissan Sentra . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good signal. In truth, recent cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a significant malfunction. Below we will review the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the most important possible source of such an odor. In truth, 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 damaged, it also has a second action as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the parts and control the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Nissan Sentra. 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 degrade and no longer rotate totally 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 block of your Nissan Sentra.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance occurs specifically on Nissan Sentra that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your vehicle unlike what you might think will trigger the plastic parts to wear out more 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 problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less general, specifically present on Nissan Sentra’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body parts that may possibly have been bent may possibly 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 originates from on a Nissan Sentra?
And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you find the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Nissan Sentra . 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 problem quickly. If your Nissan Sentra smells hot, don’t hesitate to read our article on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be simpler, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and verify 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 hesitate to seek advice from our article to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Nissan Sentra.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may possibly also produce a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not hesitate to change it.
- Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually verify all your hoses to find out if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, change them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Nissan Sentra, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
If you want more tutorials on the Nissan Sentra, go to our Nissan Sentra category.