Engine Failure signs: Warning You Must Never Ignore
Engine failure is a scary thing. You might be going someplace important and engine failure can ruin everything. The good thing is almost every time the engine is about to fail it will have some minor and major warning signs that it is not working correctly.
Check Engine Light
It was obvious with the name that this would make an appearance. The check engine light can mean a lot of things. From a loose fuel cap to a major fault. This engine failure warning can help diagnose other issues with the engine. When you see it glowing it’s best to get your car checked.
Smoke From Exhaust Due to Engine Failure
Modern cars are built for cleaner emissions and if you find out that your car is leaving a trail of smoke from the exhaust it can point to an engine failure problem. Black smoke points toward too much fuel being burnt while blue smoke means oil is burning. White, on the other hand, can mean a cold start but if the smoke is still white after the car has warmed up it could mean coolant is leaking into the cylinders. A little bit of smoke coming from the vehicle once in a while during winter is very normal. But if your car emits black, blue, or thick white smoke.
Whenever the engine is running, you might have to get it checked by an expert. Black smoke suggests a problem with the fuel supply or a disproportionate fuel mix. If the smoke tends to be somewhat grey. It indicates that the petrol/diesel is entering the combustion room, not a good sign. Thick white smoke indicates the burning of engine oil along with the fuel.
Frequent Overheating causes Engine failure
If your engine is prone to overheating a lot, it’s time to get it checked. Running an overheated engine failure can cause multiple problems. For example, A warped cylinder can cause coolant to leak and thus create the white exhaust smoke that we discussed earlier.
Engine Knocking
Engine knocking is when a small portion of the air-fuel mixture starts burning independently, without ignition. It may not be a loud sign, but if you can hear a constant knocking from the engine. It’s best to get it checked immediately. If ignored, it can result in a lot of damage to the engine hence, costly repair.
Apart from these, there are many other signs that you can look out for before engine failure as well, like foul smells coming out of the car. Oil patches on the ground below car parking, excessive overheating, and loud noise. And excessive vibration of the vehicle. Trivial issues can be rectified easily. But when it comes to issues such as drastic mileage drop and poor car performance. It is best advised by experts not to ignore them. It’s highly advisable to go to your nearest car service center and get your car’s engine checked by a professional.
Servicing your car at regular intervals and timely replacement of engine oil, oil filter, coolant, air filter. And plugs are the key to the engine’s longevity. CARS24 offers expert car service at the lowest prices, that too with a free pick up and drop! Try now
Decreased Fuel Economy
A sudden increase in fuel consumption can point to a faulty engine. It could have other reasons as well but if you find the check engine light on and a drop in fuel economy it’s probably going to be an engine fault. When you get this possible engine failure warning it might be a good idea to get it checked.
Engine Stall At Idle
If your engine is stalling at idle it points towards a probable engine failure. Stalling at idle usually means there is an issue with fuel delivery. It is a good idea to get your engine checked if this turns into a frequent problem.
Rough Idle
When an engine is not consistent with its RPM while idle it’s called a rough idle. You may notice it has a different RPM even without accelerating. This is a major issue and you need to get your engine checked whenever you can.
Oil Patches
If you have your car parked and notice oil patches on the ground it might be due to a gasket or an oil pan leak. This can and will cause damage to the engine as it won’t have enough oil thus increasing friction in the combustion chamber which will cause damage to components.
Engine Stalling At High RPM
A probable cause for this can be a faulty fuel pump. The fuel pump is probably clogged or it simply is broken and not working anymore. In any case, if you experience frequent engine stalling, it is recommended that you get your engine checked.
Excessive Vibration Or Noise
The main reason for an engine to vibrate is a faulty sparkplug. This faulty sparkplug will cause the engine to misfire and thus cause vibrations and noise. The noise mentioned here is what we discussed earlier, the knocking sound. This can be corrected by changing the sparkplug but if you let this engine failure warning unchecked it may cause damages that will be costly to repair.
Loss of mileage and poor performance.
Over time, a car tends to lose its mileage (fuel economy) and power gradually due to wear and tear. However, if the car loses its power drastically or mileage drops significantly, the car’s engine needs attention. Sometimes minor problems might be lurking behind the engine failure, causing significant damage to the vehicle over some time
Problems while driving
A smooth car is a good car. When a vehicle starts facing problems while driving, there might be an underlying issue. Fuel lines getting clogged, spark plugs fouled, damaged ignition coils, and dirty fuel/air filters are all causes of a car’s poor performance. Cars nowadays have well-equipped systems to manage air to fuel ratio and airflow sensors, but to leave them alone to work is not a good practice. Regular checkups and cleaning can help you avoid major engine failures.
There are more ways your engine failure might tell you that it needs some attention but these are the ten major ones that can help you avoid an engine failure by acting on them before they cause serious damage.