Fuel Injector Issues: Can They Kill Your Car?

Driving with a bad fuel injector can cause major problems with your car. If the injector is stuck closed, the cylinder will run lean and burn a hole in the cylinder or valve. If the injector is stuck open, it can damage the catalytic converter and waste gas. A stuck open injector will also plug the cat converter with a solid mass of carbon, blocking exhaust from escaping and preventing you from being able to drive.

Stuck open injector will damage the catalytic converter and waste gas

A stuck open injector will damage the catalytic converter and waste gas.

If the injector is stuck open, it will run too rich and damage the catalytic converter. The excess fuel will be burned in the CAT and plug the cat converter with a solid mass of carbon.

You could drive around with it, but it's a pretty dumb idea. The exhaust will not be able to escape and you won't be able to drive at all.

Driving with a bad fuel injector can destroy your car and cause other problems.

You need to figure out which injector specifically is bad and replace it as soon as you can. A local parts store will loan out a code reader which should help pinpoint the problem.

Stuck closed injector will run lean and burn a hole in the cylinder

If the injector is stuck closed, that cylinder will run lean and burn a hole in the cylinder or valve. If it's stuck open, it could damage the catalytic converter and waste fuel.

Stuck on can cause a washed out cylinder and fuel contamination in the oil. Both can be catastrophic if you let it go far enough.

If the injector is stuck closed, that cylinder will run lean and burn a hole in the cylinder or valve. If it's stuck open, it could damage the catalytic converter and waste fuel.

Stuck on can cause a washed out cylinder and fuel contamination in the oil. Both can be catastrophic if you let it go far enough.

If the injector is stuck closed, that cylinder will run lean and burn a hole in the cylinder or valve. If it's stuck open, it could damage the catalytic converter and waste fuel.

Stuck on can cause a washed out cylinder and fuel contamination in the oil. Both can be catastrophic if you let it go far enough.

Excess fuel burned in the cat converter will block exhaust

If a car has a stuck open injector, it will plug the cat converter with a solid mass of carbon. This will cause excess fuel to be burned in the cat converter, which will block the exhaust. This will prevent the car from being able to drive at all since there is no path for exhaust to escape.

If the injector is stuck closed, that cylinder will run lean and burn a hole in the cylinder or valve. If it's stuck open, you could drive around with it but it's a pretty dumb idea.

If the injector is stuck open and running too rich, it can damage the catalytic converter and be wasting that hard earned gas money.

A local parts store will loan out a code reader which should help pinpoint the problem. I would try to avoid driving the car as much as possible. It's not going to hurt it, but it'll be a very unpleasant ride.

Driving with a bad injector will cause misfires and shaking while idling

Driving with a bad fuel injector will cause misfires and shaking while idling. Misfires are easily felt while driving and often require immediate repair by trained automotive repair specialists. As the engine misfires, the engine can quickly overheat and pre-ignite the fuel mixture. A damaged fuel injector will not only cause issues with driving, but the effects will persist even as the engine idles. Instead of a smooth engine idle, it will be rough and irregular when the fuel supply is abrupt. Reduced fuel efficiency is another signal of a damaged fuel injector. Such damage can cause fuel to be wasted by leaking from the body or by supplying excessive fuel when the internal springs are damaged.

If you have issues with the fuel injectors which are skewing the fuel mix slightly lean at idle / low load this could be inducing a misfire caused by a weakness in the ignition system. Your symptoms will be normal start and idle while the engine is cold, but when warm, stumbling rough idle almost stalling every 10 seconds or so would be consistent with a fuel problem. While cold, the ECU is altering the fuel mix to below 14.7 which makes the mixture burn more smoothly and easier to fire. Once you are up to temperature, the ECU tries to run at 14.7 which is perhaps when your fuel/ignition problem materializes.

A stuck open injector will plug the cat converter with a solid mass of carbon. The excess fuel in burned in the CAT. After that, you won't be able to drive at all since there is no path for exhaust to escape. If the injector is stuck closed, that cylinder will run lean and burn a hole in the cylinder or valve. If it's stuck open and running too rich it can damage the catalytic converter and be wasting that hard earned gas money.

Driving with a bad injector will be a very unpleasant ride

Driving with a bad fuel injector will be a very unpleasant ride. If the injector is stuck closed, that cylinder will run lean and burn a hole in the cylinder or valve. If it's stuck open you could drive around with it but it's a pretty dumb idea. A stuck open injector will plug the cat converter with a solid mass of carbon. The excess fuel in burned in the CAT. After that you won't be able to drive at all since there is no path for exhaust to escape. If the injector is stuck open and running too rich it can damage the catalytic converter and be wasting that hard earned gas money.

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