How a Dirty Air Filter Can Affect Your Car’s Performance

The air filter in your car may be small, but it has an important job. The air filter is your car's first life of defense against dirt, leaves, and dust. Its purpose is to bring clean air into the vehicle by capturing all those contaminants and not allowing them into the engine. Unfortunately, with use and over time, the filter becomes dirty and loses its ability to filter the air moving to your engine. When it becomes dirty and clogged, it can have negative impacts on your engine.

Lack of Acceleration

If it feels like your car is not responding quickly or is sluggish when you press the accelerator, this could mean that dirty air is getting to the engine. Your engine does not work well with contaminated air. The engine does not put out enough power or performance when it is dirty. If your car jerks when you try to accelerate, it may not be getting enough oxygen. The horsepower in your vehicle is dependent entirely on the amount of oxygen the engine receives. A reduced level of oxygen means less horsepower from the engine.

Poor Engine Performance

If you are noticing rough idling, hard starts, or a misfiring engine, they all could be signs that the air filter is dirty and clogged. When there is not enough air getting to the engine, that means the air to fuel ratio is imbalanced. You will have too much fuel and not enough oxygen. Any fuel that is not burnt creates a sooty residue that collects around the spark plugs. This residue causes the spark plugs to be unable to deliver the spark that is needed for the combustion process. Changing out the air filter will make a significant impact on the spark plug's ability to work correctly.

Engine Noise

As you drive your car, you become familiar with all the noises it makes. When you begin to hear strange sounds coming from your vehicle, chances are something is off. The cause of the strange noise could be as simple as a dirty air filter. If you start to hear popping or coughing noises while you are driving, it could be a spark plug that is damaged because of a dirty air filter. The same is true if you feel a vibration while you are driving. Your car makes a particular noise while in park; usually, it is a smooth purr. If suddenly your vehicle sounds like it is rattling or hiccupping, you might have a dirty air filter.

Check Engine Light

No one likes the check engine light when it comes on. It is scary to see that on your dash, but it could be as simple as a dirty air filter. When there is not enough oxygen getting to your engine, it can cause carbon deposits to build up. These are impurities that will cause your check engine light to come on. While your car uses a gallon of gas, it is taking in thousands of gallons of oxygen.

Reduction in Gas Mileage

When you begin to notice that you are not getting the same gas mileage as you did in the past, that is a clear indication there is a problem. If your car has a carburetor, it mixes the oxygen and fuel to make sure it is appropriately balanced. When there is not enough air going to the carburetor, it causes an imbalance. To compensate for this, your car burns fuel instead of using it to fuel the vehicle. If you have a fuel injection car, it has a computer that controls the amount of air and gas, so a dirty air filter does not have as much of an impact on gas mileage.

If you are experiencing any of these problems, please visit Puklich Chevrolet to have a technician perform an inspection on your car. The technician will check your air filter to see if it needs to be replaced or if there are any other problems with your vehicle. If you are having any other issues with your vehicle, schedule an appointment with a qualified service technician at Puklich Chevrolet to keep your car running in top shape.