How to Tell if Your Car Exhaust is Damaged

Whenever any component of your car gets damaged, goes wrong, or otherwise starts giving you trouble – it’s never a good day. But at least with exhaust damage you should get some fairly clear warning signs that something’s wrong before it becomes a particularly serious problem.

Here’s how to tell that your exhaust is damaged.

Odd or excessive engine noises

A lot of the “racer” car sound is from modified exhausts specifically designed to acoustically amplify certain sounds. But, for better or for worse, this can also happen when your exhaust has cracks, leaks, or holes in it. If you notice that your car is suddenly making lots of loud engine noises, have someone rev the engine while you’re stationary and stand at the back to see if you can hear the exhaust making the noise.

Increased fuel consumption

If you’re noticing that your car is using more fuel than it should be, your exhaust could be to blame. Fuel consumption is affected by a huge number of factors, but things like exhaust line blockages or broken components usually force the engine to work harder to clear the exhaust – which then means you end up using a lot more fuel.

Less power and slower acceleration

Related to the point above, when the engine has to work harder to clear the exhaust, it also results in a lot less power going into the wheels themselves. So acceleration tends to be a lot slower from static, and you may get sudden, brief losses of power if the exhaust is really blocked.

Rattling or knocking under the chassis

Most car exhaust systems are designed to have the exhaust hanging from the bottom of the chassis using thick rubber o-rings. This helps to dampen vibrations and knocks – from potholes or uneven road surfaces, for example – in order to stop the exhaust from breaking off. Over time, these o-rings can deteriorate to the point that they’ve broken off, and this can cause extra stress on other parts of the exhaust system, which can lead to those parts cracking or breaking.

In the best case scenario, banging or rattling under the car can be the exhaust cover. These are held on using circular clips, and when these occasionally fall off they can leave the cover banging up and down as you drive.

In a similar vein, you should usually be able to notice that the exhaust is hanging lower if the exhaust mounts have gone.

Smell of fumes

This tends to happen when there’s a crack or hole in the exhaust – either from rust or impacts. As the exhaust fumes aren’t properly burned, filtered, or captured, they can escape upwards into the car cabin or around the vehicle when stationary. These can be really dangerous if left, as they can cause you to get dizzy and lose consciousness in traffic. If you smell unusual fumes, bring your car to a professional for peace of mind.

Need help finding or fixing the problem?

If you don’t feel comfortable diagnosing the problem, simply take your car to your local Tyre Pros centre – where our expert technicians can inspect your car and fix any issues in no time!