Taking care of your car on daily basis is the best thing you can do. Although standard maintenance is supposed to keep your Toyota Prius running smoothly with time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle budget. Today we’re going to talk about 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 coming from your Toyota Prius . To help you check that it is nothing severe, first we will outline the different things that can produce a burnt plastic smell on your motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to locate the source of this burnt plastic smell on your Toyota Prius? .
The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Toyota Prius
So we start our article content with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Toyota Prius . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good sign. In truth, recent cars 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 main possible origin of such an odor. In truth, 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. Nevertheless, over time, the oil will lose its efficiency and will not lubricate the 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 Toyota Prius. 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 decline and no longer rotate entirely 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 block of your Toyota Prius.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance occurs specifically on Toyota Prius that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your car unlike what you might think will bring about the plastic parts to wear out more 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 basic, specifically present on Toyota Prius’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body 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 Toyota Prius?
And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you locate the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Toyota Prius . Now that you know the different possible roots 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 Prius smells hot, don’t hesitate to read our article on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be easier, open your transmission oil cap (when cold) and check 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 identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Toyota Prius.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may possibly also produce a whistling sound if it is in poor state. Do not hesitate to replace it.
- Hoses: For hoses, you will need to visually check all your hoses to discover if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, change them.
- Body parts: Last but not least, the last element that can bring about the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Toyota Prius, a body component, check all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
If you want more tutorials on the Toyota Prius, go to our Toyota Prius category.
