Your car’s muffler is a lot more important to keeping your car functioning properly than you might realize. When any piece of the exhaust system, like the muffler, stops working properly, the entire performance of your car’s engine suffers. Here’s what West Omaha Auto Service wants you to know.
Loud Engine Sounds
The main job of your car’s muffler as part of the exhaust system is to lessen the noise coming from the car’s engine. When there’s a problem somewhere in the muffler, that means that you’re going to hear more engine noise. It’s going to be louder for you inside the engine compartment, and it’ll be a lot louder to people outside your car.
Poor Gas Mileage
The exhaust system is frequently misunderstood, but it’s a huge part of keeping the engine running properly. The exhaust gathers up the remains of combustion, spent fuel and carbon residue, and shuttles it along with fumes out of the car’s engine. That leaves the engine free and clear for the next round of combustion. When those fumes stay in the engine, it has to work harder and it burns fuel inefficiently, which you see as bad gas mileage.
Stinky Exhaust
Along the way, engine fumes get converted from harmful, smelly gases to ones that are slightly better all the way around. The muffler is part of that process. When there are problems with the muffler, you might start smelling much stinkier exhaust coming out of the tailpipe. If you’re smelling exhaust fumes inside the car while you’re driving, that’s a big sign that you need to have the exhaust system inspected right away.
Excess Exhaust
But those exhaust fumes aren’t just smellier. You might think you’re seeing more exhaust smoke than usual and you’re probably right. Exhaust smoke is something that you really shouldn’t see too much off if the system is working properly. So, if you are seeing more exhaust than usual, it could be a sign. That’s even more true if you’re seeing black smoke. It’s a good idea to get your car’s exhaust system inspected to see what could be causing the additional smoke.
Don’t let your exhaust system issues get worse. Contact West Omaha Auto Service in Omaha, NE today and set up an appointment. We’ll thoroughly inspect your car’s muffler and the rest of your car’s exhaust system. We’ll be able to let you know what’s going on and what your car needs in order to operate safely again.