Taking care of your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless standard routine service is supposed to keep your Volkswagen Passat 7 running smoothly with time, some unforeseen breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle 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 created this content page to help you in case you notice a burnt plastic smell caused by your Volkswagen Passat 7 . To help you verify that it is nothing significant, 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 Volkswagen Passat 7? .
The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Volkswagen Passat 7
So we begin our article content with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Volkswagen Passat 7 . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good sign. Indeed, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a major breakdown. Down below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the most important possible source of such an odor. Indeed, the objective 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 objective as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, as time passes, the oil will lose its efficiency 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 Volkswagen Passat 7. 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 degrade and no longer rotate completely on its axis. With the friction that this will trigger 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 Volkswagen Passat 7.
- Faulty hose wear: This circumstance arises especially on Volkswagen Passat 7 that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In fact, storing your car contrary to what you might think will trigger the plastic parts to wear out more fairly 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 basic, especially present on Volkswagen Passat 7’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 originates from on a Volkswagen Passat 7?
And now, to finish our content page, we’re going to try to help you locate the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Volkswagen Passat 7 . 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 problem quickly. If your Volkswagen Passat 7 smells hot, don’t hesitate to go through our content page 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 change it. Do not hesitate to seek advice from our content page to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Volkswagen Passat 7.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it might also make a whistling sound if it is in poor condition. Do not hesitate to change 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 Volkswagen Passat 7, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
If you want more tutorials on the Volkswagen Passat 7, go to our Volkswagen Passat 7 category.
