Your fuel injectors should be cleaned every 30,000 miles. Yes, there are over-the-counter fuel injector cleaners but it’s better to get them cleaned professionally. This not only ensures every bit of carbon deposit is removed but also allows auto technicians to check and test your fuel injectors for cracks and leaks. Mechanic One Auto Repair & European Auto Repair lists below five signs that your fuel injectors are clogged or bad.
1. Bumpy Idling
Rough idling is a sign that your automobile’s engine is not getting enough gasoline, and one reason why it might not be getting enough gas is that your fuel injectors are clogged. You will feel your vehicle vibrate as you sit at an idle, and you may hear the engine cutting in and out. If the fuel injectors are clogged badly, your engine may stall. Your car, truck, or utility vehicle should idle smoothly.
2. Dancing RPM Needle
While you are sitting at an idle, take a look at your tachometer to see what the RPM needle is doing. If it is bouncing up and down or dancing, your vehicle is either getting spurts of too much air or too much gas. This could be a sign that your fuel injectors are leaking, that they are clogged and you have a lean fuel mixture, or that your engine has developed a vacuum leak and it is getting spurts of air.
3. Dead Engine
If you can’t get your vehicle started at all, this could be a sign that your fuel injectors are clogged to the point that they cannot spray gasoline into the intake manifold or directly into the cylinders. If you noticed engine performance issues prior to the dead engine, such as sputtering, hiccupping, and stalling, this could definitely be a sign of clogged fuel injectors or a clog somewhere else in the fuel system.
4. Low Gas Mileage
If your fuel injectors are leaking, you might notice a significant decrease in your vehicle’s fuel economy. This is because the fuel injectors are leaking extra gas into the engine and the engine is burning it off. You may have excess black exhaust if the problem is severe. If the fuel injectors are clogged and your engine is working too hard to generate power, this, too, will affect your fuel economy.
5. Misfiring Engine
Finally, as we touched upon briefly above, clogged or leaking fuel injectors can cause your engine to misfire. You will notice the sputtering when you press down on the accelerator and while you are in motion. You will also feel your vehicle vibrate because your engine is misfiring while you are sitting at an idle. If the problem isn’t the fuel injectors, a misfiring engine can also be caused by bad spark plugs.
Mechanic One Auto Repair & European Auto Repair is the best auto service shop in Canton, MI. Give us a call today to set up an appointment for a fuel injector cleaning.
