The airflow into your car's engine needs to be kept clean of dust, debris, and other airborne contaminants. The air filter serves this vital function, making sure that only fresh, clean oxygen makes it into the combustion chambers. If your car air filter ever becomes clogged up or damaged, you may experience the following problems. You can have your filter quickly replaced at your local Ford dealership.
Your Engine's Losing Power
The combustion chambers inside a car's engine require a balanced mixture of oxygen and fuel at all times. If a clogged air filter prevents sufficient oxygen from entering the chambers, this balance becomes thrown off and the engine works less efficiently.
The result of this is a distinctive loss of power. You may find your car moving sluggishly on the highway. Acceleration will also be reduced, making it more difficult to overtake or cross busy intersections at speed.
Your Cylinders Start Misfiring
With a faulty filter, an excess of fuel builds up inside the combustion chambers. All this unburned fuel will start to coat the spark plugs in a sooty residue, fouling them.
This eventually prevents the spark plugs from generating sparks properly, causing them to misfire. This will cause your vehicle to shudder and cough, and perhaps even stall. You're most likely to first notice misfiring when you slow down your car to rest in idle while parking or at traffic lights.
You See Black Smoke Behind You
When an excess of fuel builds up inside an engine's cylinders as a result of a clogged air filter, the fuel often starts to travel back into the exhaust system. As the exhaust pipes of any car are so hot, fuel may partially ignite inside them. This causes black smoke to pour from the tailpipe.
Your Check Engine Like Appears
The various engine problems resulting from a clogged air filter will usually be detected by your car's internal sensors, which will trigger the check engine light to appear on your dashboard. This warning light should prompt you to visit a technician right away.
Your Air Filter Looks Filthy
If you experience any of the aforementioned engine trouble, you can pop the hood of your car to visually inspect the air filter. Make sure to check in between the filter's pleats. If the filter looks filthy with clear patches of clogging, it's probably time for a new one.
How Often To Visit Your Ford Dealer for a New Air Filter
Engine air filters usually need to be replaced once a year or so. However, if you put your filter through excessive stain with regular stop-and-go traffic or dusty out-of-town roads, then you might need a new filter every six months or even more frequently.
Have your air filter inspected and replaced today at Lundgren Motors Ford. We're a fourth-generation, family-operated dealership that's been diligently serving the region's drivers since 1929.
