When should I replace my fuel injectors?
Diane’s Question: "How
do I know when my cars fuel injectors need to be
replaced?"
Generally
speaking, most auto manufacturers don’t give a recommended
interval for replacing fuel injectors, but we all
know that they don’t last forever. A good way to
look at fuel injector replacement would be as follows:
If the vehicle has relatively low miles, say under
50,000 and the check engine light comes on or it
just doesn’t run right and the mechanic finds a fault
code in the cars computer for a failed fuel injector,
then you may want to replace just the one that showed
the failure. If however, the car has higher mileage,
say 80,000 or more, then it’s a good idea to replace
all of the fuel injectors as soon as any one of them
becomes a problem. Fuel injectors have several small
internal moving parts and they just wear out after
time and miles. If there is an early failure of one
injector, then it’s probably just a fluke defect,
but as time and miles increase it’s more likely that
they will all need to be replaced.
Routine maintenance like having the fuel injection
system professionally flushed at regular intervals
can help make them last longer. That’s a good thing,
considering that replacing a complete set of injectors
can run anywhere from just a few hundred dollars
to well over a thousand.
Some of the symptoms of fuel injector problems could
be:
- Hard Starting
- Poor fuel economy
- Rough Idle
- Car runs fine when cold and terrible when warm
- Car will start just fine when cold and not when
warm
- Getting a fuel smell inside the car
- Loss of power in acceleration
- Fuel leaking from injector seals or injector
- If you have any of these symptoms, it’s a good
idea to schedule a diagnostic appointment with
your nearest AAA Approved Auto Repair shop
