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"heated plastic" smell from engine bay and front wheel wells
Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just went for a routine (non-spirited) drive ~30 minutes at city speeds/traffic and when I got home I smelled not a burning plastic smell, but like a heated smell of plastic.
It doesn't smell like burning brakes. Engine cover has been removed for half a year and new tires put on about a week ago. Did not exceed 70 kmph throughout drive. Back wheel wells smell different from front wheel wells and engine bay.
Engine temperature was normal all this time and coolant level full. There was significant heat emanating from the front, but maybe that's normal and I haven't notice it before?
Although the conditions aren't the same, I made some time this morning and drove the vehicle: 1) at highway speeds then stopped, open hood/bonnet and did the smell test, and 2) at city (<60 kmph) speeds for about 10 minutes and did the same test.
Ambient temperature was about 8-10 degrees Celcius lower (16'C) than yesterday and couldn't replicate it. Smelled like normal engine bay and new tires. This is my first high performance car, but is it normal for the engine to heat up fast?
Picture posted below: Circled in red are the areas where there was the most smell yesterday. A friend had also suggested garbage/bag stuck in the engine bay as the source of the smell.
Coolant level full. Engine cover removed since beginning of new year.
The only other thing that comes to mind is that I had washed the vehicle just prior the smelly drive and used Autoglym aquawax and may have oversprayed. It is possible some of the water/wax mixture got pushed through the heat extractor during the wiping process.
If it comes back, take a careful look at all the heat shielding. It can shift around exposing your plastic to exhaust heat. It will smell. This would also explain your perception of an elevated temperature. Plastic bags smell stronger and don’t change the heat in your engine bay.
Your car isn't AWD. The hood vents are in a different location and I believe those are to keep water from running directly onto the top of the shocks.
I can assure you it's AWD. The vents are spaced further apart and more forward than the 2014, 2105 V8s which had vents closer to midline and nearer to the windshield. 2016 and beyond model years in Canada at least were all AWD for V8s.
I have no background in engineering and my automotive IQ is relatively poor, but do you think there would be a significant difference in heat generation in "normal" vs "dynamic" mode, especially if the vehicle is not moving at speed?
In terms of "heat shielding", do you mean the 4 large flat plastic pieces located to the sides of the engine bay? I didn't notice anything on the underside of the hood. Thanks!
Dave
Last edited by Twitchf00t; Jul 26, 2019 at 10:49 AM.
No it’s metal insulation material that keeps the heat from the exhaust system away from the rest of the engine bay /car. If you do an internet search you can pull up more info on it. Here is an example:
I generally take my cars in to be repaired, so personally I haven’t replaced a heat shield before. However a friend had a similar issue with his car and that turned out to be the problem.
Best of luck
EDIT: Most of the shielding I see in my car is under the car, going the whole length of the car, separating the exhaust from the car. As this thin metal shielding is exposed to the outside elements, it may have gotten damaged. So you might want to check under the car near the engine to see how the shielding is holding up there. It might be bent back letting heat escape upward. Though again I haven’t done any of this personally, so it might be better to have a professional diagnose the shielding. All the best.
EDIT2: Just confirmed with independent shop that the heat shield is only under the car, starting where the exhaust pipes leave the engine bay. Thankfully they are easy to check and access. If this is your problem it should be fairly straightforward.
Interesting. My car never had those plastic covers over the shock towers.
I reckon it's an AWD thing - the hood vents on the AWD are further forward and further apart than those on the RWD and directly above the shock towers so those plastic covers are to stop water running in through the vents and onto the active suspension plugs/wiring.
Us RWD owners don't need the covers.
Your car isn't AWD. The hood vents are in a different location and I believe those are to keep water from running directly onto the top of the shocks.
Originally Posted by OzXFR
I reckon it's an AWD thing - the hood vents on the AWD are further forward and further apart than those on the RWD and directly above the shock towers so those plastic covers are to stop water running in through the vents and onto the active suspension plugs/wiring.
Us RWD owners don't need the covers.
Thanks! Have actually never looked under the hood of an AWD.
An update: brought car into dealer last week and had full inspection done (inquired about heat shields and excess engine temperature).
They diagnosed a faulty engine oil cooler and within a week had it replaced. Picked the car up today, and about 20 mins in traffic (26 degree C weather) on the way home an amber CEL came on.
Will bring it back tomorrow. On the plus side, the engine bay is cooler than before and it smells like regular F-Type again.
Oil was found in the valley (I don't know what that is) during the exam so they they used a borescope and determined the source was the oil engine cooler.
The little numbers next to codes like diagnostic or engine oil - drain and refill all add up to just over 4 hours.
I don't know if the 8-letter/digit codes are the actual part numbers, but according to the manual someone posted a while ago, there should be more parts than what was listed on the invoice sheet.
Valley??? Only two things can go wrong with an oil cooler. It either leaks to the pavement or it’s plugged.
In May, I had an oil change but something wasn't tightened so the car leaked > 1L of engine oil from where the filter cap attachment. This volume of loss occurred within a 20 minute period.
When I opened the hood/bonnet there was a lot of oil coating multiple surfaces on the engine. I suppose driving home also spread the oil. The car was returned to the dealer via flatbed. And the oil change redone. I don't think they were able to do a thorough clean of the engine bay, but finding oil in the engine bay during the recent inspection prompted them to investigate further.
I drove about 5000 km since the May 2019 event and didn't notice any oil on the garage floor. I have a suspicion that it's all related. Should I be concerned of a misdiagnosis? And how detrimental to the components if residual oil was not removed completely (i.e. the hoses and plastic surfaces)? Should I request an engine bay detail as well?
"heated plastic" smell from engine bay and front wheel wells
