How Can You Tell that Your Car’s Catalytic Converter Needs Replacing?

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Catalytic Converter | ER Autocare

Your car’s catalytic converter is the unsung hero of the exhaust system. It serves multiple really important purposes and when it fails, you’ve got a big problem on your hands. ER Auto Care wants you to be prepared with these signs of a failing catalytic converter.

The Engine Seems to Be Struggling

Your car’s exhaust system and the engine work together. So if a piece of the exhaust system isn’t doing it’s part, that affects how well the engine performs. What the catalytic converter does is funnel the worst of the exhaust fumes out of the engine and converts them to less harmful gases before shuttling them further along the exhaust system. A failing catalytic converter allows a lot of exhaust to back up into the engine, fouling the fuel to air ratio.

Your Car Is Overheating

When your car overheats, the first culprit you probably check in with is the engine coolant. But if that’s okay, what could be causing your car to overheat? Engine oil helps with cooling the engine, but if that checks out, too, you might be looking at a catalytic converter failure. That’s because those gases that the catalytic converter handles probably aren’t being ushered out of the engine like they should be.

There’s a Lot of Bad Smells in the Passenger Compartment

Because of what the catalytic converter does, a lot of really awful smells are also reduced before they get to a place where people are likely to encounter them. In the case of a failing converter, those smells aren’t getting where they need to go. They may even back up into the passenger compartment, which can be downright dangerous.

There’s Also a Lot More Exhaust Smoke

Something else that you might notice is a lot more exhaust smoke than you’re used to seeing. If that exhaust is really dark or even black, that’s another bad sign. It means that there was probably more fuel in the exhaust than there should be, and it didn’t get burned off properly. It also is probably a little more noxious than it would be if the converter were fully functional.

Not sure if it’s your catalytic converter giving you trouble or something else? Give us a call at ER Auto Care in Plain City, OH and we’ll be happy to diagnose the issue for you. Then we can get you safely back on the road.

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