The health and safety of our staff, customers, and community is our top priority. Read an important message from Rick Roush Honda.
On average, your car’s catalytic converter will work effectively for ten years. A converter can become blocked, damaged, or burned out due to a problem in your engine. If your converter isn’t working correctly, your exhaust will produce higher emissions. A failed converter will also decrease fuel efficiency and damage other engine components. These are a few signs you need to visit your Honda dealer for a repair.
Blocked Converter
Once combustion in a cylinder is complete, the cylinder opens and dumps the remnants of the fuel-air mixture into your exhaust system. These gases flow into the converter, and they’re changed into harmless chemicals and water through a combination of pressure, heat, and chemical reactions. Carbon is a byproduct of the conversion process.
Over time, carbon will accumulate in the converter, and it can block the exit into the tailpipe. If this happens, engine gases are forced back into your engine. These gases contain fuel vapor, and this presence will alter the fuel-air ratio in the intake manifold. The excessively high quantity of fuel can cause your engine to shut down as there is insufficient air for combustion. We’ll remove the converter, clear the blockage, and reinstall it.
Check Engine Light
The check engine light is a vital early warning of a problem in our engine. All your Honda’s important systems have sensors attached to them. These sensors monitor the components they’re attached to and report the component’s health and any unusual activity to your computer. If a problem is identified, your computer will generate an error code and the check engine light will illuminate.
Some situations that can cause the warning light to illuminate include a blockage, overheating, or converter failure. An illuminated check engine light might not be caused by a converter problem. Our technicians will connect your car’s computer to our diagnostic system. The diagnostic system will identify the engine component that has a problem, and we’ll repair or replace the component.
Rattling Noises
The converter is a relatively small component, and converting gases requires a large surface area. The interior of the converter is designed as a honeycomb, which provides the necessary large surface area. A honeycomb is strong when it’s intact, but age and damage can weaken the structure. Parts of the honeycomb can crack and break off.
Broken honeycomb sections can rattle inside the converter as you drive. These broken components will cause further damage to the converter. If you hear rattling noises when you’re driving, we’ll investigate. A damaged honeycomb can’t be repaired, but we can replace the converter to fix this problem.
Converter problems worsen over time, and your car will fail an emissions test. Call us today at Rick Roush Honda if your vehicle is showing any of the signs listed above.
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