Taking care of your car all the time is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless conventional routine service is designed to keep your Volkswagen Routan running smoothly with time, some unpredicted breakdowns can add heavily to your annual motor vehicle budget. In this article we’re going to focus on 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 you detect a burnt plastic smell coming from your Volkswagen Routan . 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 cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Volkswagen Routan? .

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The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Volkswagen Routan

So we start our content with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a Volkswagen Routan . Generally speaking, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good indicator. In actual fact, modern vehicles are full of it and it could be the sign of a important malfunction. Down below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:

  • Transmission oil: This is the main possible origin of such an odor. In actual fact, 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 also has a second function as a temperature regulator. However, with time, the oil will lose its effectiveness and will not lubricate the auto 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 Volkswagen Routan. 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 deteriorate 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 produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Volkswagen Routan.
  • Faulty hose wear: This circumstance arises specifically on Volkswagen Routan that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your vehicle contrary to what you might presume will bring about the plastic auto 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 general, specifically present on Volkswagen Routan’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that might have been bent might rub against one of your wheels and give off that burnt plastic smell. This may also pre-wear out your tyres.

How to find out where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a Volkswagen Routan?

And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you locate the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Volkswagen Routan . Now that you know the different possible roots of this smell, we’ll just have to do some checks to get rid of the tracks that don’t concern you and resolve your issue quickly. If your Volkswagen Routan smells hot, don’t think twice to browse our content 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 discover debris inside, and it is darker, it’s time to replace it. Do not think twice to consult our content to find out how to change the gearbox oil on a Volkswagen Routan.
  • 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 think twice 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 circumstance, change them.
  • Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can bring about the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Volkswagen Routan, a body component, verify all wheel arches, that no component rubs against

    To get more tips on the Volkswagen Routan, take a look at the Volkswagen Routan category.