How do Wonder Lake drivers know their car, truck or SUV’s catalytic converter is bad?

You pull out of your Wonder Lake driveway

and notice something just doesn't seem right.
Could your catalytic converter be bad?

Catalytic converters are costly enough that you might want to make sure you park your car, truck or SUV in your Wonder Lake garage so no one will steal it. Yes, this is a target for some thieves. They chop the pipes before and after the catalytic converter and cart it off to see to someone else.

On the other hand, you may need a new catalytic converter if the one you have has gone bad. A trusted auto repair shop in the Wonder Lake area replace it for you as this is seldom a DIY project folks do at home.

The catalytic converter is designed to lower the emissions of your car, truck or SUV. If it goes bad, you might just fail your vehicle’s next emissions test. But how do you know if it goes bad?

One way you’ll know is if you do fail the emissions test. But you probably don’t want to wait until that point.

There are a number of symptoms that might indicate a faulty catalytic converter

One potential symptom of a faulty converter is the Check Engine light. Of course, there are other reasons that the Check Engine light will come on. That trusted auto repair shop can hook your car, truck or SUV up for a scan that will tell you if it’s the catalytic converter, or if it’s something else causing the light to come on.

A bad odor like rotten eggs or sulfur is another indication that you may have a problem with the catalytic converter. You may notice this at approximately the same time that the Check Engine light comes on.

Your vehicle may not seem to run right. Often, this symptom will appear as a lag in acceleration. In the worst case scenario, it may actually stall leaving you stranded on the side of the road (a very good reason to replace a failing catalytic converter before it goes all the way bad).

It may also effect your ability to start the car, truck or SUV. Or, it may start and then die after a few seconds. The engine may misfire once you do have it running. It can even effect your vehicle’s fuel consumption.

Catalytic converters are expensive but waiting until they cause a problem can create a significant inconvenience, as well as the cost of towing your vehicle to a shop. It can also put undue stress on the engine.

As those emission tests suggests, a properly operating catalytic converter is also required by law on your Wonder Lake car, truck or SUV.

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Get out to McHenry Music Festival for a good time and music near to home

Some folks here in McHenry will load up the car and head out to Red Rock Amphitheater near Denver to see a show. Some will go to the MSG Sphere near Las Vegas. Some will go to the Bonaroo Festival Concert to see a show. That’s quite a bit of driving and you’d better make sure your vehicle is up to the trip. What happens, however, if something goes wrong – if your vehicle breaks down while driving there or back? What happens if the show is canceled, as happened this year with the Bonaroo Festival? We’re talking about some serious inconvenience, aren’t we? Wherever you go, whether your driving to Colorado, Nevada, Tennessee or anywhere else in this continent, you want to perform your due diligence and make sure the vehicle is up for the trip before you go. And it doesn’t really matter if you’re driving somewhere to see some live music or for any other purpose. A breakdown can be costly and may put you at the mercy of weather conditions or nefarious characters that come across you while y...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog