Taking care of your car on daily basis is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional routine service is designed to keep your Seat Tarraco running smoothly over time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car 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 content to help you in the event that you identify a burnt plastic smell caused by your Seat Tarraco . 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 find the source of this burnt plastic smell on your Seat Tarraco? .
The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Seat Tarraco
So we commence our article with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a Seat Tarraco . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good sign. Obviously, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a major 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. Obviously, 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 broken, it as well has a second action as a temperature regulator. However, as time passes, the oil will lose its performance and will not lubricate the auto parts and control the temperature as well, which will bring about the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Seat Tarraco. 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 mainly made of rubber, will decline and no longer rotate completely on its axis. With the friction that this will bring about 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 Seat Tarraco.
- Faulty hose wear: This case happens especially on Seat Tarraco 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 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 general, especially present on Seat Tarraco’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 as well pre-wear out your tyres.
How to identify where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Seat Tarraco?
And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you find the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Seat Tarraco . Now that you know the different possible origins of this smell, we’ll just have to do some checks to eliminate the tracks that don’t concern you and fix your problem quickly. If your Seat Tarraco smells hot, don’t hesitate to read our content 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 change it. Do not hesitate to consult our content to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Seat Tarraco.
- 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 hesitate to change 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 case, replace them.
- Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can bring about the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Seat Tarraco, a body component, check all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
To get more tips on the Seat Tarraco, take a look at the Seat Tarraco category.
