Any car guys on here lol send help?

[texas_giiirl30]

So my car started running like crap and check engine light came on had codes for converter had that replaced as well as the bank 1 sensor 1 o2 sensor. Then code again had coils on car all changed all 4! Well now my car runs but sounds loud and sometimes feel like I have to press the gas down hard to get it to go past 60. I know my oil is dark and needs changed but other than that at this point I have no clue what’s wrong with my car. Check engine light is off though for the moment. Also had spark plugs changed.

[Anonymous]

The sound of your engine comes from 2 places, the engine itself and from the exhaust pipe.

A hole in the exhaust pipe could cause a noticeable increase in noise if exhaust gases were escaping before going through the muffler / silencer (which uses baffles inside a big can to reduce the noise and alter the tone).

This could also cause the back pressure to the cylinders to be more or less than the design specifications leading to incorrect combustion in your engine and the cause of your power loss.

You already said you could do with an oil and filter change and a new air filter is also standard with a service. Some vehicles also have a fuel filter which you might also want to change if applicable.

These are routine service items so it can't hurt to get them swapped out.

If it is not the exhaust then my guess would be that it is linked to the sensor problem you had previously, there are a number of other sensors which feed information to the electronic brain of your car which controls the timing of your spark plugs and duration and timing etc of your fuel injectors (I can't imagine it being carbureted if it has separate coils for each spark plug).

So you are looking at things like MAF = Mass air flow sensor which is just a flap on or near your air box most likely which opens more when more air goes through.

Maybe a rev counter, if you have that displayed on your instrument panel it will likely either work properly or not work at all or being throwing out obviously garbage data like the needle dancing around intermittantly etc.

Leaks in your air system so literally there are big pipes with air in them that go from your air filter (big probably black box with clips around it that has an air filter inside) to your engine, possibly through a turbo charger (big metal turbine thing next to your exhaust down pipe) and or intercooler (same as the radiator which cools your coolant but it has air inside rather than water).

Or leaks in your vaccuum system = smallish (approx a small finger size) rubber pipes connecting various electronic gismos together, one or more of which will most likely connect to a pressure sensor in your air system somewhere) these dont want to be perished and leaking otherwise they can't do their job.

So all these sensors need to be working properly in order for the brain to have the correct information to manage your engine. Sometimes it will still work even if they aren't working properly because it will just use a default value for the variable it is missing but it won't be running optimally and will give you reduced mileage and performance and increased emissions etc.

Cars are dirty and can be hard to work on because everything is jammed into a small space but for the most part diagnoising and fixing problems is not actually that difficult, if you find something which looks broken or has some sort of crap leaking out of it that is at least a problem if not the problem you are looking for.

If there are service items you are supposed to be replacing and you haven't, then you know, you should probably do that, its not a scam, that stuff has a limited life cycle and needs to be replaced.

[WindAtMyBack]

I don't know what's wrong. It could be lots of things.

When you get error codes from the cat or O2 sensors it doesn't mean those parts are bad. That's just what sent the code.

The O2 sensor measures the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. If the exhaust gas is lean or rich (the fuel is not burning properly), the computer will know it and try to correct it. This can happen naturally and doesn't mean anything is wrong. For example the air temperature, humidity, and elevation can affect it. The computer will automatically adjust for these things.

You get an error when the computer can't compensate for it. The computer tries, but if the exhaust gas is still lean or rich, the O2 sensor will send an error. There are a lot of reasons why this could happen. The error code is only a starting point for the mechanic. It's up to them to figure out why you are getting the errors.

Simply replacing the catalytic converter because you are getting an error is pretty extreme, unless they had some other reason to replace it other than an error code.

Admittedly it can be very difficult to diagnose this sort of thing. Sometimes you just have to try things and hope it works. But they shouldn't start with one of the most expensive parts on the car like the cat.

By the way, all emissions parts have a long warranty (mandated by federal law). All those error codes are also mandated by law. That entire system of codes is part of the emission control regulations. If you haven't done it already, check if any of this is still under warranty. The warranty may be longer than whatever warranty you have on the car itself.

[AviatorTom]

I'm theorizing here. If both of your O2 sensors (bank 1 and 2) were both reporting a bad code, it's more likely that you have a problem in your exhaust system, possibly a clogged or faulty catalytic converter; it could have a hole in it or a loose connection to the primary and secondary exhaust pipes. That could also explain the loud noise.

Some mechanics just replace parts when the code says the part is faulty, rather than diagnose what the real problem is.

I suggest taking it to a different mechanic and ask them to check your exhaust system.

[texas_giiirl30]

Well they replaced the converter and bank 1 sensor 1 o2 sensor think the upstream one and car seems sluggish

[love_conquers_lust]

It sounds like there is a problem with the engine. And your catalytic converter sensors are functioning fine telling you there is a problem manifesting in the exhaust. I used to hate it when operators would immediately assume a sensor was faulty instead of investigating a deviation in the process first.

Cat. converters rarely need to be replaced. They’re just static pieces of metal that oxidize unburnt gas and pollutants.

So you’re probably not getting enough fuel to the engine if it’s running lean and the high O2 sensor is going off. Running rich if it’s low O2 sensor and your cat. converter will run hot oxidizing the extra unburnt fuel.

[lightbulb27]

I had this happen and likely the plugs/plug wires installed wrong. there is a specific firing sequence for the plug wires... they must be on the right plug and need the right plug for the engine, else you lose power. whomever change the plugs needs to recheck it or use your friend "google" and youtube to check which plug wire goes to which plug.

some cars are not easy to check/change plugs and require a mechanic, others are simple.

[Redstang88]

So it’s running worse after you had the work done? I’d hazard a guess the shop fucked up the exhaust somehow and it’s leaking upstream of the O2 sensors. Could be a loose plug wire too, running on 3 cylinders will definitely slow it down

Hard to properly diagnose without seeing it though

[jahaims]

So it's idling hard? Might need to do some type of tune/reset after changing coils/sensor. I'm not a car guy though. I just know a little bit from when I was young and broke working on my own cars.

[Pterodon]

What year make model and engine of car and how many miles?

[texas_giiirl30]

Shit ton of miles 209,000 and the car is a 2007 Scion tC and I think 2.4

[Celticwolf78]

Probably need to have bank 2 and ur other o2 sensor checked out