Taking care of your car permanently is the best thing you can do. Although classic maintenance is supposed to keep your Suzuki Grand Vitara 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 created this content to help you in the event that you notice a burnt plastic smell caused by your Suzuki Grand Vitara . To help you check that it is nothing serious, first we will outline the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to locate the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Suzuki Grand Vitara? .

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The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Suzuki Grand Vitara

So we commence our content with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Suzuki Grand Vitara . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good signal. Obviously, recent cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a important 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. Obviously, 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 broken, it as well has a second function as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its efficiency and will not lubricate the parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will trigger the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Suzuki Grand Vitara. 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 entirely on its axis. With the friction that this will trigger 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 Suzuki Grand Vitara.
  • Faulty hose wear: This circumstance arises specifically on Suzuki Grand Vitara 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 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 problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
  • A body component: Less common, specifically present on Suzuki Grand Vitara’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 as well pre-wear out your tyres.

How to identify where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Suzuki Grand Vitara?

And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you locate the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Suzuki Grand Vitara . 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 solve your issue quickly. If your Suzuki Grand Vitara smells hot, don’t hesitate to read our content on this topic.

  • Transmission oil: Nothing could be less complicated, 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 seek advice from our content to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Suzuki Grand Vitara.
  • 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 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 circumstance, change them.
  • Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Suzuki Grand Vitara, a body component, check all wheel arches, that no component rubs against

    To find more tips on the Suzuki Grand Vitara, take a look at the Suzuki Grand Vitara category.