Taking care of your car at all times is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional routine service is designed to keep your Volkswagen Rabbit running smoothly over time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle budget. Today we’re going to look at 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 notice a burnt plastic smell originating from your Volkswagen Rabbit . To help you check that it is nothing significant, first we will highlight the different things that can create a burnt plastic smell on your motor vehicle, then, in a second step, how to discover the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Volkswagen Rabbit? .
The different possible origins and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Volkswagen Rabbit
So we begin our article with the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell on a Volkswagen Rabbit . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good signal. In actual fact, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a critical 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. In actual 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 broken, it as well has a second objective as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, over time, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the auto parts and regulate the temperature as well, which will cause the oil to overheat and thus give off that burnt plastic smell on your Volkswagen Rabbit. 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 done of rubber, will decline and no longer rotate totally on its axis. With the friction that this will cause the plastic will heat up and burn out, this reaction will produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Volkswagen Rabbit.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance occurs specifically on Volkswagen Rabbit 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 believe will cause the plastic auto 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 may possibly melt. The risk of this problem is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less basic, specifically present on Volkswagen Rabbit’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that may possibly have been bent may possibly 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 originates from on a Volkswagen Rabbit?
And now, to finish our article, we’re going to try to help you discover the source of the smell of burnt plastic on your Volkswagen Rabbit . 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 fix your issue quickly. If your Volkswagen Rabbit smells hot, don’t think twice to browse our article on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be simpler, 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 change it. Do not think twice to consult our article to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Volkswagen Rabbit.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it may possibly also produce a whistling sound if it is in poor condition. Do not think twice to change 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 auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can cause the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Volkswagen Rabbit, a body component, check all wheel arches, that no component rubs against
If you want more guides on the Volkswagen Rabbit, go to our Volkswagen Rabbit category.
