Does Your Porsche Need a New Oxygen Sensor? Here are The Signs?

Now a days it’s highly important to have various sensors and control modules in luxury cars especially. Because these sensors and control modules provide many sophisticated features and also help the car in performing better and provide a relaxing and comfort feeling to the passengers when they travel through the car. Here I'm gonna tell you about luxury car Porsche which is facing one common problem now a days, oxygen sensor failure. Here I’m gonna tell you the how to know that you need a new oxygen sensor.

The O2 sensor

The oxygen sensor, can be written as O2 sensor, is a very important component of exhaust system. It has a very good role in making a perfect combustion process. The O2 sensor detects the oxygen amount in the exhaust gas that comes out of the engine and then informs the power train control module if the engine is running rich or lean. The amount of oxygen is determined by how well the combustion process goes on. If the combustion of fuel air mixture doesn’t goes on perfectly, then the oxygen amount in the exhaust gas will be more than usual. The sensor detects it and sends signals to the power treat control module which then adjusts the ratio of fuel and air so that the power produced from the combustion of the air fuel mixture can meet the demands of the driver. O2 sensor has a great role in acceleration and deceleration of the car. O2 sensor makes the car more efficient by boosting the engine performance.

Signs that your Porsche needs a new O2 sensor

If the O2 sensor malfunctions, then you will face various power related issues, you would not able to accelerate your car properly and your fuel economy drops. The performance of the car would become too low that driving your car becomes irritating. So you must study the signs that your car show when you have a faulty O2 sensor because it helps you in better identifying the problem at the earliest and get it repaired to save more money and time.

Illumination of check engine light

It is the simplest sign to get noticed. There can be various reasons behind the glowing of check engine light and a bad O2 sensor is one of them. This is the first thing you have to check and then proceed to other signs. If there is problems in the process of combustion and the engine performance is low, then the check engine light would definitely be turned on.

Rough running

The rough running condition includes rough idling and misfiring. You would able to see vibration of your car there would also be some unusual sounds that produced due to rapid shaking or vibration of the car. The rough running is a result of wrong proportions of fuel and air in the mixture during combustion.

Black smoke from exhaust

A noticeable black smoke from the exhaust is result of high amount of unburned carbon compounds in the exhaust which occurs because of more fuel in the mixture.

Low fuel economy

You would find low fuel economy in your car. The fuel in your car would not be lasting for long and you may have to top off the fuel frequently.

Foul smell

Due to faulty O2 sensor, the combustion process doesn’t occur properly, as a result, fuel doesn’t get burned properly and get released out of the engine in form of a heated unburned fuel gas. This gas release a very bad smell to the cabin.

Limp mode

Limp mode is a protective mode that your car may go if it detects some severe performance issues. In this mode, the car lowers its output power. You will not able to shift to upper gears. The car prevents loss of power in this mode. Some people take the limp mode as a negative sign, but it’s the car which goes into a mode to prevent further damage and loss of power.

What causes O2 sensor failure?

The oxygen sensor being such an important component of a car is more likely to get damaged or wear because it always get exposed to excess heat.

Low fuel quality used in the car

Carbon buildup on the sensor

Ageing of the sensor

Accumulation of dirt and grime over the sensor

Conclusion

To maintain a good driving performance in your Porsche, you have to prevent the failure of O2 sensor. And to prevent it, first of all you have to check the sensor regularly. You have to clean the senor if it has become dirty or coated with ash and oil. If it is excessively dirty then you have to check the air filter and the spark plugs. Clogged air filters or damaged spark plugs can lead to more accumulation of dirt in the exhaust system and damage it.

Vaughan Automotive is a leading European auto maintenance and repair facility located in Atlanta having years of experience in looking after high-end European cars like Audi, BMW, Jaguar, land Rover, Mercedes, Mini, Porsche, and Volkswagen.