How to tell if your catalytic converters are bad

Thus, if one of the car components starts failing, the central computer would get the signal and display the respective warning icon for that issue on your car dashboard. Actually, there are quite many actions that can cause the check engine light to come on. When your engine is filled with harmful molecules — that should have been released into the air through the exhaust system — the engine would tend to use more fuel to keep running at its possible best.

Again, it is important to note that there are other scenarios that can cause a decrease in fuel efficiency or economy. Related Post: Muffler Vs Resonator.

Yes, the exhaust system is meant to remove the engine emissions into the air as gases. The dirtiness is a result of the carbon buildup inside the exhaust system due to a bad cat converter.

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In this section, we answer the most frequently asked questions about the bad catalytic converter. Bad catalytic converter does not affect the drivability of the vehicle , especially if the converter is partially clogged. However, you will experience issues with vehicle performance like low fuel consumption.

On the other hand, if the catalytic converter is completely bad, you might not be able to drive your vehicle, and you must have it inspected and replace it immediately. The catalytic converter can last between 7, and , miles, according to automobile experts.

However, this number differs significantly by your driving style and the environment that you are driving it. As we mentioned earlier, and under normal operations, the catalytic converter is expected to last for about ten years. Once the catalytic converter goes bad, you must replace it to avoid further complicated issues with the engine that could lead to high repair costs.

While experts suggest that the catalytic converter can last up to 10 years, there are a couple of actions that you can do to extend the lifetime of the catalytic converter.

Since the catalytic converter converts harmful emissions into less harmful pollutants, having a bad converter results in clogging the exhaust system with toxic gases. Therefore, it's never a good idea to ignore a bad catalytic converter. Finally, if your vehicle has a bad catalytic converter, there's no way you can pass the emission test. Even if repairing the catalytic converter can cast costs a lot of money and effort, think about how much effort and time and money will be spending to fix complicated problems like complete engine failure.

The catalytic converter plays a major role in your vehicle. It converts the bad missions coming out of the combustion system into less harmful pollutants that can be safely released to the environment. With an OBD2 scanner, your reading should be around 0. While with an exhaust backpressure gauge, the normal backpressure should be around 1.

Credits to Scotty Kilmer for the images and the instruction! To measure the exhaust backpressure and determine if it clogged or not, do the following procedure:.

If it still has high pressure behind the catalytic converter, then your muffler is clogged. This happens if your catalytic converter is so clogged that pieces of debris break off and get stuck in the muffler. As for the simple answer, if the O2 exhaust sensor voltage fluctuates a lot, your catalytic converter is clogged.

Although do keep in mind that it is also possible for the muffler to be clogged if your catalytic converter got so bad that parts of the debris flew out into the muffler. To check what voltage your O2 sensor is, and determine if it is clogged or not, do the following procedure:. If so, pay attention, this is often the first and most common sign that your catalytic converter is starting to fail. Catalytic converters have been standard on vehicles since the mids. It was then that people had become more concerned with the effect that automobiles were having on the environment and took action to control it.

Catalytic converters are a very sturdy part of the vehicle, and they will usually last for the duration of its life. For that reason, most people are unsure of what to look for when a catalytic converter goes bad, even though they have been a vehicle standard for nearly 40 years.

Catalytic converters break down gases that go unburned during the combustion process. Carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, and unburned hydrocarbons can all cause smog and are toxic to humans.