What are the symptoms of excessive engine carbon buildup?
4 Answers
Engine carbon buildup can manifest in several ways: 1. Engine vibration, where the engine exhibits intermittent and rhythmic shaking under idle conditions; 2. Unstable engine idle, where the engine's RPM fluctuates unpredictably during idle; 3. Poor acceleration, as severe carbon buildup can lead to sluggish or weak acceleration, often accompanied by abnormal engine vibrations and increased fuel consumption; 4. Engine knocking, where excessive carbon deposits in the combustion chamber increase the engine's compression ratio, causing premature combustion of the air-fuel mixture and resulting in detonation; 5. Cylinder scoring, which occurs when carbon deposits accumulate near the piston rings or when carbon from the cylinder head or valves falls onto the piston rings, potentially leading to severe engine damage or even cylinder seizure in extreme cases.
Last time my car acted up due to carbon buildup, the symptoms were particularly noticeable. At idle, the entire body shook like it was tap dancing, with the tachometer needle bouncing up and down. When accelerating, it always felt sluggish, as if someone was holding the car back from behind, and there was a half-second delay when flooring the gas pedal. Cold starts became extremely difficult, making me suspect the battery was failing multiple times. The most ridiculous part was the sudden spike in fuel consumption - even though I drove the same routes, a full tank would run out 70-80 kilometers sooner. When the mechanic opened up the engine later, the intake valves had black carbon chunks caked on their backs. After cleaning, it felt like driving a completely different car - even the throttle response became much more lively.
I know all about engine carbon buildup—my old ride fell victim to it. At first, it struggled to accelerate on the highway; stepping on the gas just made the engine roar without any real speed gain. Stoplights became torture, with the car shaking like it had Parkinson's at idle, the steering wheel trembling along. Running the AC made it worse—the engine felt like it would stall every time I started moving. Eventually, the exhaust stank so bad it failed emissions testing. The mechanic showed me black sludge caked on the pistons, crowding the combustion chamber so badly the fuel couldn't burn completely. Now I religiously use fuel additives and clean the intake system every 20,000 kilometers.
A car with severe carbon buildup drives terribly. In the morning, it takes several seconds of turning the key to start, and black smoke comes out of the exhaust pipe when it finally fires up. Even when flooring the accelerator on an uphill slope, the tachometer barely responds. The most annoying part is the jerking motion when coasting, as if someone is pushing the car from behind. At a red light with the AC on, the car shakes so much that the rearview mirror becomes blurry. Later, the engine warning light came on, and the fault code indicated a lean mixture and cylinder misfire. The mechanic said this was due to carbon buildup blocking the intake. After cleaning the throttle body and fuel injectors, it returned to normal. The carbon deposits scraped from the combustion chamber were as thick as soot from a pot bottom.
