Taking care of your car all the time is the best thing you can do. Although standard maintenance is designed to keep your skoda octavia running smoothly over time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. Today we’re going to talk about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible malfunction, that’s why our team has written this article to help you in case you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your skoda octavia . To help you verify that it is nothing significant, first we will outline the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to locate the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your skoda octavia? .

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The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a skoda octavia

So we commence our article with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a skoda octavia . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good indicator. Indeed, modern vehicles 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. Indeed, 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 as well has a second action as a temperature regulator. However, with time, the oil will lose its performance 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 skoda octavia. 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 specifically made of rubber, will degrade 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 generate a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine block of your skoda octavia.
  • Defective hose wear: This circumstance arises specifically on skoda octavia that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your vehicle contrary to what you might think will trigger the plastic 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 may melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
  • A body component: Less general, specifically present on skoda octavia’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 as well pre-wear out your tyres.

How to find out where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a skoda octavia?

And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you locate the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your skoda octavia . Now that you know the different possible origins 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 problem quickly. If your skoda octavia smells hot, don’t think twice to browse 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 find out debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to replace it. Do not think twice to consult our article to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a skoda octavia.
  • Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may also produce a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not think twice to replace 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, replace them.
  • Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your skoda octavia, a body part, verify all wheel arches, that no part rubs against

    In the event that you have any additional questions about the skoda octavia, do not hesitate to consult our skoda octavia category.