Spotting symptoms of engine trouble

Engines have their way of manifesting problems.  Usually they come in the form of vibration or noise and even smell.  In this article, we enumerate the most common warning signs of early engine trouble before they get worse.

1. Unusual Noises - When you been driving your car for a while, you’ll be used to the normal operating sounds that it makes.  If your car’s engine starts making an unusual noise, have it checked by a reputable shop. Identifying the problem early is essential to save the engine from permanent damage.

2. Change of Performance -  Again, when you know your car, you’ll feel the slightest change of performance. If it feels like it’s starting to struggle as you drive, that’s usually a sign that there is an issue with your car. It might not be a serious problem at first but playing it safe will give you peace of mind.  By going to your trusted service center, any potentially damaging issue will be fixed before it can get worse or cause damage to other components.

3. The Check Engine Light - The introduction of electronics (engine control unit) in engine management in the late 80s has led to greater automotive innovations.  The Check Engine Light (CEL) is one of the modern innovations. The CEL only turns on when it detects an issue through the car’s On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) system via on-board sensors attached to the engine.  When it lights up in your dashboard, you will have to proceed to the service center.

The CEL can switch on for a variety of reasons, from non-critical issues such as a faulty sensor to more severe problems such as overheating or a faulty ignition system. You can check the error code if you have a diagnostic tool or bring it down to your trusted shop to have it scanned.

4. Stains on the Garage Floor - A leaking engine whether it be coolant or oil, is an unhealthy engine.  A small leak has the potential to do harm on the engine by either overheating or oil starvation.

Always monitor the garage floor for oil or coolant stains.  Do not delay having leaks fixed.

5. Smoke - The presence of smoke could mean a lot of things. Smoke can come from either the engine’s combustion chambers or from leaking oil. The color of smoke can vary depending on the cause too.

Identifying the color of the smoke going out of the exhaust pipe is probably the oldest way of diagnosing problems with the Internal Combustion Engine. Black smoke is an indication that your engine is either burning too much gasoline or is not burning correctly. White smoke might signify a coolant leak, and it is getting burnt up by the engine.  Blue smoke means that there is an oil leak or your engine is burning excessive amounts of oil.

Regardless where the source of the smoke is or what color, it would be best to proceed to your trusted shop immediately before the damage is irreversible. As the saying goes, where there is smoke, there is fire.