It generally takes 10 years for the catalytic converter to go bad. If you don’t keep your automobile for that long, you may never need to replace the catalytic converter. If you do hang onto your vehicles, however, Journey Auto Repair advises that you may need to replace the catalytic converter once the vehicle is 10 years old. You will notice some symptoms of a bad catalytic converter that we are going to list below. Many of these symptoms are hard to ignore.
Constant Overheating
If your automobile is overheating constantly, it might be a problem with the catalytic converter rather than the cooling system. The catalytic converter is installed underneath your car, truck, or utility vehicle. If it is going bad, it will generate a tremendous amount of heat that will make its way to the engine. Consequently, your engine will overheat all the time.
Dark Engine Exhaust
You may also see dark exhaust smoke coming out of the tailpipe if the catalytic converter is unable to treat the exhaust. This is the catalytic converter’s function; it switches harmful emissions into safer ones. The catalytic converter generally clogs when it goes bad. Unfortunately, this prevents it from treating the exhaust and also affects the air and fuel balance in the combustion chamber.
Lagging Acceleration
If the exhaust is unable to make its way past the catalytic converter to be released via the tailpipe, your vehicle’s acceleration may start to lag. You may press down on the accelerator but the automobile will fail to speed up or fight you to speed up. This can be caused by a faulty catalytic converter as well as other problems such as a fuel delivery issue.
Lagging Performance
Alongside lagging acceleration, you will also end up with lagging engine performance. Again, this is because the exhaust is not being released out of the tailpipe. It is stopping at the catalytic converter and backing up into the combustion chamber. This affects your automobile’s ability to generate combustion in the engine.
Rotten Egg Smells
Finally, if you smell rotten eggs in the engine bay, coming from underneath your automobile, or in your vehicle’s exhaust, this is definitely a sign that your catalytic converter is going bad. In fact, this is one of the most common symptoms of a faulty catalytic converter.
Call Journey Auto Repair in New Hope, MN, today if you think your catalytic converter needs to be replaced. We can do so if necessary.