Your automobile relies on vacuum pressure as much as it relies on air and fuel to create combustion. Vacuum pressure is also used to power many of your vehicle’s accessories and components. If your automobile develops a vacuum leak, your engine performance will suffer. This is because the vacuum leak is throwing off your air and fuel ratio inside the engine. Central Auto Care lists five signs of a vacuum leak below.
1. Check Engine Light
Because the air and fuel mixture will either have too much gasoline or too much air in it, your vehicle will most likely turn on your check engine light. This catch-all warning light illuminates whenever there is an engine problem reported back to the engine control module that does not have a separate light on the dashboard.
2. High Idling
A vacuum leak adds air to the engine that it otherwise does not need. Consequently, this causes your engine to idle at greater RPMs than it should be. You may even notice the RPMs spike while you’re driving, but they are more likely to be noticeable when you’re sitting at an idle. The engine will sound as if you’re revving it.
3. Rough Idling
Your vehicle will also idle roughly because the excess air in the engine is creating a lean fuel mixture, which means there is more air than gas in the mixture – too much air, in fact. Unfortunately, this puts your engine into a fuel-starved condition, and it will idle as if it’s going to stall. You will likely feel and hear the rough idles.
4. Engine Stalls
If the vacuum leak is bad enough, your engine will actually stall. It may also fight you when you press down on the accelerator. You may notice the engine sputter and struggle to pick up speed even though you are giving it more gas. Again, your engine is being fuel-starved by the vacuum leak, which makes it struggle to perform.
5. Vacuum Sounds
You may also hear hissing or sucking sounds coming out of your engine. This sounds a lot like a shop vacuum. This is the sound of your engine’s vacuum leak, and it is also the sound of air being blown into the engine when it doesn’t need it. You may be able to pop your hood while your engine is running and see the vacuum leak.
Call Central Auto Care in Okotoks, AB, right away if you suspect that your vehicle has a vacuum leak or something else going on that is causing performance problems. We’d be happy to inspect your engine, find the issue, and fix it.