Taking care of your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional routine service is supposed to keep your Toyota 86 running smoothly with time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual car budget. In this article we’re going to speak about your sense of smell, and the clues it can give you about a possible breakdown, that’s why our team has written this article to help you in the event you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your Toyota 86 . To help you verify that it is nothing serious, first we will highlight the different things that can generate a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to find the origin of this burnt plastic smell on your Toyota 86? .

smell-burnt-plastic-toyota-86

The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Toyota 86

So we start our guideline with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Toyota 86 . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good signal. In fact, recent vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a major breakdown. Down 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 fact, the objective 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 objective as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its performance and will not lubricate the parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will bring about the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Toyota 86. 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 principally made of rubber, will decline and no longer rotate totally on its axis. With the friction that this will bring about the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will generate a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Toyota 86.
  • Defective hose wear: This case happens specifically on Toyota 86 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 presume will bring about the plastic parts to wear out more fairly quickly. Hoses are the first to be affected 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 problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
  • A body component: Less basic, specifically present on Toyota 86’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 find out where the smell of burning plastic comes from on a Toyota 86?

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 Toyota 86 . 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 resolve your issue quickly. If your Toyota 86 smells hot, don’t hesitate to browse our article on this topic.

  • Transmission oil: Nothing could be less complicated, 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 replace it. Do not hesitate to consult our article to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Toyota 86.
  • 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 verify all your hoses to discover if any are frayed or melted. If this is the case, replace them.
  • Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can bring about the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Toyota 86, a body part, verify all wheel arches, that no part rubs against

    If you wish more guides on the Toyota 86, go to our Toyota 86 category.