Honda Exhaust System Care: Ensuring Efficiency and Performance

Despite its crucial role in maintaining performance and efficiency, few drivers consider their Honda exhaust beyond admiring snazzy-looking tailpipes. As a leading Honda dealership, here’s our guide to understanding and caring for your car’s exhaust system so both you and your Honda can breathe easy.

Where Does Exhaust Come From?

Your Honda’s engine combines air and gasoline to create an explosion (known as combustion) and uses the energy from that explosion to drive the piston, transmission, and your car. The byproduct of that process is exhaust: a mixture of hot air and harmful combustion byproducts. Your car must successfully treat and vent this exhaust to help the system run smoothly and efficiently, and to meet environmental standards.

What Does the Exhaust System Consist Of, and How Does It Work?

First, the exhaust exits the engine and enters the exhaust manifold, which collects it and passes it to the catalytic converter, which helps convert harmful pollutants into less harmful emissions. The exhaust is then transmitted to the muffler, which reduces noise, and is finally vented out of the tailpipe.

How Does the Exhaust System Impact Engine Performance?

Maintaining the correct amount of flow through, and back pressure from, the exhaust system ensures your engine can bring in the correct amount of air to optimally perform combustion. Change either flow or back pressure too much (through leaks or obstructions) and performance, fuel efficiency, and emissions can all suffer.

What Can Go Wrong with My Exhaust System?

Your exhaust system is resilient, but vulnerable. Located on the bottom of the car to protect occupants from hot exhaust, it’s exposed to mud and water (plus road salt in winter). Rust can damage the system. A leak can also develop, which may vent exhaust before it passes through critical components of the system and can also decrease engine performance. Catalytic converters can also become blocked or clogged, which also reduces performance.

When Should I Schedule Exhaust Service?

Your Honda’s owner’s manual will recommend mileage intervals for exhaust checks, and California law requires routine smog checks for vehicles more than 8 model-years old (which acts as a check on your exhaust system), but your Honda may need service sooner if an issue develops. If your engine suddenly becomes louder, performance decreases, fuel efficiency drops, you experience a burning or rotten-eggs smell, you start feeling vibrations, or your exhaust begins to smoke, schedule service immediately.

Your Honda’s exhaust system is a crucial part of your vehicle’s health and performance. Trust it to the pros. Schedule your next exhaust service today at Perry Honda in Bishop, CA, and let our Honda experts care for your car so it can keep caring for you. 

Tags: Honda Exhaust, Vehicle Performance in Bishop CA
Posted in Bishop Honda Service, Perry Honda Service | No Comments »