Does Your Toyota Need a New Car Air Filter in Baltimore, MD?

Air flows through your radiator into the air filter. This filter traps pollen, dirt, and other impurities and allows clean air into the intake manifold. Over time, this filter will clog up and will need to be replaced. As your Toyota dealer, we can replace your car air filter for you. We’d like you to know some of the signs that your filter needs replacement.

Black Smoke From the Exhaust

Black smoke belching from the exhaust is a sign that something is wrong. Normal exhaust smoke is white, and it’s been cleaned of dangerous chemicals. If the smoke is black, this means much of the fuel in the combustion chambers isn’t being burnt. The main reason for unburnt fuel is a lack of air in your engine, and this means an air filter problem.

Combustion requires a 14:1 ratio of air to fuel to operate efficiently. If there isn’t enough air in the intake manifold, combustion will be fuel-rich. This means there’s more fuel than air, and much of this fuel won’t burn. The unburnt fuel will be dumped into the exhaust system, and it will exit as black smoke.

Your Filter Looks Dirty

The air filter is one of the components in your car that you can easily check without special knowledge or tools. It’s housed in the air filter box near the radiator grille. Your car manual will show you the position of the box. All you need to do is pop the hood and find and open the box.

If the filter is brown or black, this means it needs to be replaced ASAP. Sometimes the filer can look clean, but it’s still clogged. The numerous folds in the filter that trap dirt can also hide the trapped dirt. Our technicians can remove and check the filter for you and replace it if it’s blocked.

Strange Engine Sounds

Coughing or slurping sounds from your engine usually point to a lack of air. Air enters the intake manifold through the air filter, and fuel enters as you step on the gas. The air and fuel will mix in the manifold and are then injected into the cylinders. Once inside the cylinders, this mix will be compressed and then ignited by the spark plugs.

If the filter is blocked, this process doesn’t work correctly. The fuel-rich environment makes combustion difficult as the spark plugs can’t ignite correctly due to the lack of air. The coughing or slurping sounds are caused by the spark plugs trying to spark.

Replacing a damaged air filter will dramatically improve your engine performance. You can trust your DARCARS Toyota service center to care for your car filter needs. Click here to learn more about your Toyota’s engine air filter today!

Tags: Baltimore Toyota Service, Maintaining Your Toyota
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