3 Signs You Need a New Car Air Filter in Frederick, MD

Your car’s engine requires enormous amounts of air to function efficiently, but this air must be sifted for impurities. Air that enters your engine must pass through the filter, which blocks dirt, dead insects, and other debris and keeps them out of your engine. The filter, however, will get blocked. As your Toyota dealer, we can fit a replacement car air filter for you.

Air Filter Is Dirty

The easiest way to tell if your air filter needs replacement is to examine it. Unlike many components in your car, you don’t require special knowledge or tools to check the filter. If you look in your Toyota’s manual, you’ll be able to find the location of the air filter box that houses the filter. Once you’ve done that, pop the hood and find the box.

When you open the box, you’ll be able to see the condition of your filter. A good filter is white or cream, but as it blocks up with dirt and debris, the filter will darken. If your filter looks brown or black, the filter is worn out and will need to be replaced ASAP. Not replacing this small item can cause damage to your engine and increase fuel costs.

Coughing Sounds

Coughing sounds from your engine automatically suggest a problem with the air in your engine. When you step on the gas, fuel and air enter the combustion chamber, and the spark plugs will ignite the mixture. For this process to operate efficiently, your engine requires a continuous supply of clean air. The mix of air to fuel needs to be fourteen parts air to one part fuel, but a blocked filter will restrict this supply of air.

Without enough air, the mix in your engine will be fuel-rich. Too much fuel makes combustion very difficult, as the plugs require oxygen to spark correctly. The coughing sounds you may hear are caused by the spark plugs attempting to fire correctly in fuel-heavy air. When we replace the filter, the coughing sounds should disappear.

Black Smoke From the Exhaust

Exhaust smoke is usually light gray. If you notice black smoke leaving the exhaust, this represents a problem with combustion. Black smoke is composed of pollution-heavy unburnt fuel, which is being forced out of your engine. As we saw above, a lack of air prevents the combustion from operating correctly. The lack of air means that much of the fuel that enters the chamber won’t be able to burn.

Unburnt fuel is dumped out of each cylinder to make way for the next inflow of fuel. This unburnt fuel will be pushed down the exhaust pipe and exit as black smoke. You may also see sparks or flames as some of the unburnt fuel touches the hot exhaust and ignites.

A replacement filter should save damage to your engine and increase its efficiency dramatically. Schedule your air filter replacement online today with us at DARCARS Toyota of Frederick. Our service team is standing by and ready to service your vehicle in Frederick, MD.

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