Taking care of your car all the time is the best thing you can do. Although conventional routine service is designed to keep your Seat Ateca running smoothly with time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle budget. In this article 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 article to help you in the event that you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your Seat Ateca . To help you verify that it is nothing significant, first we will detail the different things that can produce a burnt plastic smell on your motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to find the source of this burnt plastic smell on your Seat Ateca? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Seat Ateca
So we start our article with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Seat Ateca . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good indicator. Indeed, modern vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a critical breakdown. 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. Indeed, 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, in the long run, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the auto parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Seat Ateca. 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 entirely 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 Seat Ateca.
- Defective hose wear: This case arises especially on Seat Ateca 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 believe will trigger the plastic auto parts to wear out more fairly 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 possibly melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less common, especially present on Seat Ateca’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto 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 identify where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Seat Ateca?
And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you find the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Seat Ateca . 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 Seat Ateca smells hot, don’t hesitate to go through our article on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be easier, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and verify that your oil is reddish in colour and fluid enough. If you discover debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to change it. Do not hesitate to seek advice from our article to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Seat Ateca.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may possibly also make 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 discover if any are frayed or melted. If this is the case, change them.
- Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Seat Ateca, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
To get more tips on the Seat Ateca, take a look at the Seat Ateca category.
