Taking care of your car on a regular basis is the best thing you can do. Nevertheless classic routine service is designed to keep your volvo v40 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 breakdown, that’s why our team has written this article to help you in the event that you identify a burnt plastic smell coming from your volvo v40 . To help you check that it is nothing serious, first we will detail the different things that can generate 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 volvo v40? .
The different possible sources and risks of smell of burnt plastic on a volvo v40
So we start our article with the different possible sources of burnt plastic smell on a volvo v40 . In general, noticing a plastic or rubber smell is never a good signal. Indeed, modern vehicles 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 most important possible origin of such an odor. Indeed, 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 damaged, it as well has a second objective as a temperature regulator. However, with time, the oil will lose its efficiency 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 volvo v40. 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 specifically done 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 volvo v40.
- Defective hose wear: This case happens especially on volvo v40 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 auto parts to wear out more 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 basic, especially present on volvo v40’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 as well pre-wear out your tyres.
How to identify where the smell of burning plastic originates from on a volvo v40?
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 volvo v40 . Now that you know the different possible origins 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 volvo v40 smells hot, don’t think twice to read 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 replace it. Do not think twice to seek advice from our article to identify how to change the gearbox oil on a volvo v40.
- Accessory Belt: Visually check that your accessory belt is not in poor condition, it may also produce a whistling sound if it is in poor condition. Do not think twice 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 case, 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 volvo v40, a body part, check all wheel arches, that no part rubs against
To get more tips on the volvo v40, take a look at the volvo v40 category.
