Car servicing is an essential aspect of car maintenance. According to the instructions in the user manual, you have to visit a garage at regular intervals to improve the overall condition of your vehicle.
During the Car Service Newbury mechanic checks all the vital parts of the vehicle for minor or major faults. They make certain changes by repairing or removing faulty parts to improve the condition of your vehicle.
If we talk about a complete checkup of a vehicle, the role of the MOT test is also important to keep the car in good condition. MOT is a legal test that is compulsory for every car driver in the UK.
During the MOT test, the tester is going to check your car for minor, major, and dangerous faults. Your car will fail the test if it has major or dangerous mechanical issues.
Several parts of your vehicle are essential for both the car service and MOT.
In this blog, we are talking about the exhaust system and its importance for your vehicle. Because of the importance of an Exhaust system for your vehicle, the car mechanic / MOT tester checks this vital component during the car service session / MOT test.
What is the exhaust system?
The exhaust system is an essential part of a vehicle. This component keeps poisonous gases away from the vehicle to increase the level of safety in the vehicle.
The exhaust of a vehicle comes with different parts to provide a safe way to pass harmful gases. Moreover, this vital component decreases noise to control noise pollution as well.
Faults in the exhaust system may cause several issues like poor performance of the car engine and risk of air pollution inside the car’s cabin.
Leakage, rusting, loose parts, and faulty components are some major issues that may take place in an exhaust system.
Because of the vital place of the exhaust system, carmakers want you to maintain this part perfectly. Similarly, guidelines of the MOT test include the exhaust system in the list of components that the tester checks during the test.
What are the main functions of the exhaust system?
The basic design of combustion engines needs the assistance of an exhaust system. Nowadays, the main function of modern exhaust systems is gathering harmful gases from the cylinder and releasing them into the air. Modern technology allows the exhaust system to reduce sounds that cause noise pollution as well.
Modern exhaust systems come with mainly four parts: tail pipe, oxygen sensor, catalytic converter, and muffler.
The tailpipe is the last component of an exhaust system. The exhaust system may have multiple tailpipes to release harmful gases into the air.
The oxygen sensor, as the name suggests, measures the level of oxygen in the exhaust gas.
The catalytic converter is responsible for converting harmful substances, such as nitrogen and carbon oxides into carbon dioxide and water.
The muffler in the exhaust system is responsible for minimizing the level of noise pollution produced by the exhaust system.
Why is a healthy exhaust system important for your vehicle?
As you must assume, the role of the exhaust system is extremely important to keep the environment of a vehicle fresh and healthy. The engine is responsible for harmful emissions and something is needed to release the harmful gases safely in the open environment, an efficient exhaust system does the same job.
If the exhaust system has several faults and cannot perform its function properly, harmful gases may enter the car’s cabin to compromise the safety of the driver and passengers.
Therefore, a mechanic has to check the components of your exhaust system to improve its condition.
According to the MOT Newbury, the exhaust system may have major or dangerous faults. In both cases, the MOT tester would not allow you to drive your car.
When your exhaust system has mechanical faults, it may show the following signs:
Signs of issues in the exhaust manifold
There may be several issues in the exhaust manifold, such as failure of studs and bolts, cracks, sensor issues, etc. leakage is also a main issue in the exhaust manifold. A car owner may detect the issue with the help of a burning smell coming from the engine bay.
Signs and issues in the muffler
Corrosion is the main issue in the muffler and you can detect this issue with the help of hissing or popping sounds. If you ignore the condition for a long time, the muffler will produce louder sounds to convey the message that it needs help.
Signs and issues in the exhaust pipe:
Exhaust pipes may also face rusting over time because of heat, moisture, and road salt.
If you observe signs in your exhaust system, you must visit a garage to repair the exhaust system as soon as possible.
You may observe the health of some parts of the exhaust since they are easily accessible. However, other parts are not in your reach. Therefore, you have to take the help of your mechanic to check these parts.
You must check the health of your exhaust system before MOT to avoid failure in the test. The tester is going to check the exhaust system during the test. The bad health of the exhaust would not please the tester they would not allow you to use your car on roads.