Taking care of your car on daily basis is the best thing you can do. Although conventional routine service is designed to keep your Volkswagen Transporter 4 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 content to help you in the event you detect a burnt plastic smell caused by your Volkswagen Transporter 4 . To help you verify that it is nothing serious, first we will outline the different things that can produce a burnt plastic smell on your car, then, in a second step, how to find the cause of this burnt plastic smell on your Volkswagen Transporter 4? .
The different possible roots and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a Volkswagen Transporter 4
So we commence our article with the different possible roots of burnt plastic smell on a Volkswagen Transporter 4 . Generally, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is hardly ever a good signal. Obviously, modern cars are full of it and it could be the sign of a critical breakdown. Below we will talk about the different possible origins of burnt plastic smell:
- Transmission oil: This is the most important possible origin of such an odor. Obviously, 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 also has a second objective as a temperature regulator. Nevertheless, with time, the oil will lose its efficiency and will not lubricate the auto 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 Transporter 4. 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 done of rubber, will decline 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 produce a strong smell of burnt plastic or rubber in the engine unit block of your Volkswagen Transporter 4.
- Defective hose wear: This circumstance arises especially on Volkswagen Transporter 4 that are starting to get a few years old or that have stayed a long time without rolling. In reality, storing your vehicle unlike what you might presume will trigger 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 melt. The risk of this issue is the breakage of the accessory belt.
- A body component: Less general, especially present on Volkswagen Transporter 4’s that have suffered a small shock. Following a front or rear impact, wheel arches, bumpers or other plastic body auto parts that may have been bent may 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 Volkswagen Transporter 4?
And now, to finish our content, we’re going to try to help you find the origin of the smell of burnt plastic on your Volkswagen Transporter 4 . 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 solve your problem quickly. If your Volkswagen Transporter 4 smells hot, don’t hesitate to go through our content on this topic.
- Transmission oil: Nothing could be simpler, 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 seek advice from our content to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a Volkswagen Transporter 4.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor state, it may 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 verify all your hoses to discover if any are frayed or melted. If this is the circumstance, replace them.
- Body auto parts: Last but not least, the last element that can trigger the smell of plastic or burnt rubber on your Volkswagen Transporter 4, a body part, verify all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
To discover more tips on the Volkswagen Transporter 4, take a look at the Volkswagen Transporter 4 category.
