How do you know when your car needs a tune up; top 5 signs to know

I believe you know what an engine tune-up means, basically its a kind of routine maintenance repair sevice that is aimed at improving engines performance, fuel economy and reduces bad emission, altogether bringing power and efficiency back to the engine.

engine tune-up symptoms

  When you Begin to notice your engine misfiring, stalling, hard starting, reducing fuel economy, hesitating and fails emission test, any of these afore mentioned faults is a clear sign that your car needs a check up, just like human beings visit the clinic for checkups, in the automotive repair field, service performed on a car that has developed any of these faults or multiple is called engine tune up, a regular tune-up covers diagnostics both computerized and visual inspection, replacement of worn out parts and servicing.

 In this discussion i will talk about the five common symptoms that shows that your car needs a tune-up.

• A misfiring engine (when spark plugs ignite at the wrong time) could be caused by worn or fouled spark plugs. Bad spark plugs can also cause low fuel economy, hard starting and sluggish acceleration. Most plugs, though, should last 100,000 miles or more, and engine computers do a remarkable job of compensating for worn plugs, so that might not be the main or only culprit.
• 
A dirty or clogged engine air filter is more likely to reduce acceleration than fuel economy. Because filters get dirty gradually over time, you might not notice a small but steady loss of performance until your car is accelerating like a turtle. But if you haven’t changed the filter in a couple of years (or sooner in areas that have a lot of soot in the air), that could be part of the problem.

Read also; importance of air filter change

•  Engine deposits caused by low-quality or contaminated gasoline create drivability problems, and the cure for that might be a fuel system cleaning, either by a repair shop or with a gas-tank additive.
• An illuminated check engine light signals when something is amiss in the emissions control system, but depending on what the issue is it could also affect fuel economy or engine performance, so don’t ignore it. 

Read also; important warning lights you should never ignore

• A faulty oxygen sensor, for example, leaves the engine computer in the dark about how to set the air-fuel mixture, and that can result in poor fuel economy. An old oxygen sensor (say, 90,000 miles or more) may still work well enough that it doesn’t trigger the check engine light but could still hurt fuel economy. Engine performance can also be reduced by more serious internal problems, such as valves that don’t seat properly or worn piston rings, or by restrictions in the exhaust system.

Read also; What are the causes of high fuel consumption 

Because the same symptoms can suggest different problems, and there are often several possible causes and cures, it’s better to consult a professional mechanic than to try to be one if you have neither the experience nor the right equipment to diagnose drivability problems.In short, rather than ask for a tune-up, tell a mechanic what you’re experiencing and ask him or her to diagnose the faults and find out what solution to the problem..