Keeping an eye on your car on daily basis is the best thing you can do. Although standard routine service is designed to keep your Opel Meriva running smoothly over time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. Today we’re going to focus on your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has made this content page to help you in the event you detect a burnt plastic smell originating from your Opel Meriva . To help you check that it is nothing significant, first we will highlight the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to discover the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Opel Meriva? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Opel Meriva
So we commence our content page with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Opel Meriva . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good sign. In truth, recent vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a important breakdown. Below we will review the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the most important possible origin of such an odor. In truth, the function of gear or transmission oil is to lubricate the different components of your gearbox so that all the gears and pinions are not damaged, it also has a second function as a temperature regulator. However, as time passes, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will cause the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Opel Meriva. 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 degrade and no longer rotate totally 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 Opel Meriva.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance arises specifically on Opel Meriva 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 think 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 might melt. The risk of this issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less common, specifically present on Opel Meriva’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body 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 originates from on a Opel Meriva?
And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you discover the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Opel Meriva . 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 fix your problem quickly. If your Opel Meriva smells hot, don’t hesitate to go through our content page on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be simpler, 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 replace it. Do not hesitate to seek advice from our content page to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Opel Meriva.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it might also make a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not hesitate to replace 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 circumstance, replace them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Opel Meriva, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
To discover more tips on the Opel Meriva, take a look at the Opel Meriva category.
