Keeping an eye on your car permanently is the best thing you can do. Although standard maintenance is designed to keep your Opel Insignia running smoothly over time, some unforeseen 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 case you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your Opel Insignia . To help you check that it is nothing significant, first we will highlight the different things that can produce a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to locate the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Opel Insignia? .

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The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Opel Insignia

So we start our content with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Opel Insignia . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good signal. Indeed, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a significant malfunction. 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. Indeed, the action 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 also has a second action as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, in the long run, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will bring about the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Opel Insignia. 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 mainly made of rubber, will deteriorate 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 produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your Opel Insignia.
  • Defective hose wear: This circumstance arises specifically on Opel Insignia that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your car contrary to what you might believe will bring about the plastic parts to wear out more fairly quickly. Hoses are the first to be troubled 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 Opel Insignia’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 find out where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Opel Insignia?

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 Opel Insignia . 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 issue quickly. If your Opel Insignia smells hot, don’t think twice to read our content page on this topic.

  • Transmission oil: Nothing could be easier, 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 seek advice from our content page to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Opel Insignia.
  • Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it may also produce a whistling sound if it is in poor condition. 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 circumstance, change them.
  • Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can bring about the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Opel Insignia, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against

    To get more tips on the Opel Insignia, take a look at the Opel Insignia category.