Your car, truck, crossover, or SUV’s fuel injectors deliver gasoline into your vehicle’s combustion chamber where it is mixed with air and used to ignite the spark generated by the spark plugs. These actions start your engine. If you have clogged injectors, your engine will not get the fuel it needs. Village Autoworks cleans injectors and lists five signs below that it’s time for an injector cleaning.
1. Engine Is Misfiring
If your injectors are dirty and/or clogged, your vehicle’s engine might misfire. This will feel as if your engine is sputtering, which will make your vehicle lurch or vibrate. Your engine is misfiring and sputtering because the fuel injectors are not providing enough fuel for the air/fuel mixture.
2. Idling Is Rough
The engine misfires usually happen while you’re driving. If your engine isn’t getting enough fuel from the injectors, you will notice your engine idles roughly when you’re at a stop. This will also cause your vehicle to buck and vibrate. If the injectors are almost completely clogged, your engine might die.
3. Poor Gas Mileage
If your engine isn’t getting enough gasoline for the air/fuel mixture, it will burn more fuel. It might seem as if clogged injectors would improve your gas mileage since there isn’t as much fuel being pushed through but the opposite is true. The fuel-starved engine will use more gas to function.
4. Dancing Tachometer Needle
This is an odd but common sign of clogged injectors. Your vehicle’s tachometer – the gauge that shows how many RPM’s your vehicle is generating – will dance higher and lower if your injectors are clogged. This is because your vehicle’s RPMs are being affected by the unpredictable fuel flow.
5. Dead Engine
Finally, if your fuel injectors are completely clogged your engine won’t start. As we explained in the introduction to this blog post, the injectors spray fuel into the combustion chamber so the spark plugs can ignite. Clogged injectors mean no fuel in the combustion chamber and no engine start.
Preventative Maintenance
Add fuel injector cleaning to your preventative maintenance checklist to avoid clogs and their problems. Most automobile manufacturers recommend you get your vehicle’s injectors cleaned every 15,000 miles. Check your automobile’s owner’s manual for your recommended mileage milestone.
Once you hit that milestone, bring your car, truck, or SUV into Village Autoworks in Roseville, MN. We’ll clean your injectors. Contact us to set up an appointment.
