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Do catalytic converter cleaners work?
I’ve recently noticed that my car’s exhaust pipe is blowing out dark gray smoke that smells worse than usual exhaust. I asked a mechanic and they said it’s most likely due to the amount of carbon build-up that has accumulated in my catalytic converter, and recommended I try a converter cleaner. Do catalytic converter cleaners actually work?
Abbey Orzech · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Catalytic converter cleaners can be a useful solution to removing the carbon build-up that is likely causing the dark emissions and stink.
Most of these cleaners are quite easy to use as well! You can just pour it into your gas tank and let it work while you drive to break down and remove carbon build-up in your car’s systems.
It’s important to keep in mind that a one-time clean will likely not be very effective if you’ve never cleaned your converter before and your car has seen tens of thousands of miles. To get the best results out of these cleaners, it is recommended that you use them four times a year to keep your converter’s carbon build-up at a manageable level.
If you’ve used cleaner a few times and the issue is still there, it could be due to damage to your converter, in which case you will need to replace it to resolve the problem.
A catalytic converter replacement is not cheap car maintenance and if that’s the route you have to take, you’ll likely be looking to save money on your car expenses elsewhere.
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