Your car, truck, crossover, utility vehicle, or van’s oxygen sensor is responsible for measuring the amount of oxygen that is in the vehicle’s exhaust. As such, this sensor is located at the beginning of the tailpipe. If this sensor goes bad, you will notice the following signs below. Willoughby Hills Auto Repair can replace your car’s oxygen sensor if it needs it.
Black Exhaust Smoke
Oftentimes, when the oxygen sensor goes bad, it sends incorrect oxygen readings to the engine control module and, as such, the module increases the fuel being delivered to the combustion chamber. Consequently, you end up with a rich fuel mixture that has too much diesel fuel or gasoline in it, and the engine will burn it off which causes black exhaust smoke to pour out of the tailpipe.
Check Engine Warning
This rich fuel mixture will also cause the engine control module to turn on the check engine light on your vehicle’s dashboard. This light turns on for many reasons, and a bad oxygen sensor is one of them. It will also turn on if you have a problem with your catalytic converter, your fuel system, your mass airflow sensor, the spark plugs, or your vehicle’s transmission.
Engine Performance Issues
A rich fuel mixture can also cause your engine to surge even though you have not pressed down on the accelerator. If the engine control module sends more air to the combustion chamber rather than fuel, you will have a lean fuel mixture and your engine will sputter and stall. Either way, you’ll have these engine performance issues until you replace the oxygen sensor.
High Emission Levels
When your oxygen sensor is bad, your vehicle will not pass any emissions tests because there are too many carbon gases in the exhaust. This can be caused by the rich fuel mixture created by the bad oxygen sensor or, if the excess fuel has damaged the catalytic converter, the emissions test failure will be caused by that.
Reduced Fuel Economy
As your vehicle burns off the excess fuel, you will notice a significant reduction in your fuel economy. This, too, can point to a problem with the oxygen sensor. You may also have leaking fuel injectors or another issue in the fuel system that is causing the reduction in your gas mileage.
Rotten Egg Smell
Finally, as we mentioned above, the oxygen sensor can cause a rich fuel mixture that will damage your vehicle’s catalytic converter. If the catalytic converter has gone bad, as well, you will smell burning sulfur. This often smells like rotten eggs.
Willoughby Hills Auto Repair in Willoughby Hills OH, can test your vehicle’s oxygen sensor and replace it if it needs it. Call us today for an appointment.