How to Determine Excessive Carbon Deposits in a Car?
2 Answers
The formation of carbon deposits is mainly related to incomplete combustion of gasoline and frequent low-speed operation of the vehicle. Symptoms of excessive carbon deposits are as follows: 1. Engine vibration: The engine produces intermittent and rhythmic vibrations under idle conditions. 2. Unstable engine idle: The engine's speed fluctuates erratically, sometimes high and sometimes low, during idle. 3. Weak engine acceleration: When carbon deposits accumulate severely, the engine may exhibit weak or sluggish acceleration, accompanied by abnormal vibrations and increased fuel consumption. 4. Engine knocking: Excessive carbon deposits in the combustion chamber can increase the engine's compression ratio, potentially causing premature combustion of the air-fuel mixture and resulting in knocking. 5. Cylinder scoring: If carbon deposits accumulate near the piston rings or if deposits from the cylinder head or valves fall onto the piston rings, it can lead to cylinder scoring. In severe cases, it may even cause "seizure" of the cylinder.
Having driven for over a decade, I've identified several clear signs of carbon buildup. Cold starts are particularly difficult, sometimes requiring two turns of the key to get the engine going, with the starter motor sounding noticeably strained. At idle while waiting at traffic lights, the entire car shakes like a phone on vibrate mode, especially noticeable through the steering wheel, and sometimes the tachometer needle jumps up and down. The most frustrating part is during acceleration – you press the gas pedal but the engine just roars without delivering power, making overtaking particularly unconfident. Fuel consumption has also quietly increased; where a full tank used to last 500 kilometers, now the low fuel light comes on after just over 400. The exhaust smell has become pungent too, especially noticeable when using the air conditioning in recirculation mode. When all these symptoms appear together, there's about an 80% chance it's time to clean the throttle body and fuel injectors.
