Does Your Subaru Have a Faulty Ignition Coil?

Does your Subaru have a faulty ignition coil? You should visit your local Los Angeles Subaru dealership to get a new one installed. An ignition coil transforms electric current from the battery into voltage, which fires up the spark plugs. If it is faulty, you will experience various performance issues with your Subaru.

Your Vehicle Struggles to Start

If your Subaru is struggling to start lately, you could be dealing with a failing ignition coil. The coils must be working properly for there to be a proper spark to ignite the air-fuel mixture and start the engine. If an ignition coil is failing, it won’t provide enough voltage to fire up the engine smoothly. Over time, the coils will stop working, and your Subaru won’t start.

Frequent Misfires and Backfires

As ignition coils fail over time, they are unable to produce enough voltage for the ignition process. This leads to inconsistent electrical sparks firing the cylinders. The erratic ignition in the cylinders manifests as random misfires, sputtering, and loud backfiring out of the exhaust. If your Subaru starts to misfire or backfire, have the coils checked and replaced by your dealer’s technician.

Rough Idling and Vibrations

Monitor how your car idles when sitting at a stop light. If the vehicle idles roughly or vibrates intensely, you could have a defective ignition coil. When the coils aren’t producing enough voltage, there may be erratic cylinder ignition and misfires at low speeds. This causes rough idling and vibrations that can only be resolved by replacing the bad ignition coil.

Huge Drop in Mileage

Inconsistent sparks caused by faulty coils lead to improper combustion of the air-fuel mixture in the engine cylinders. This means a lot of fuel may go to waste during the process, leading to a drop in your gas mileage. Misfiring can also cause the engine to consume more fuel to maintain adequate power, which can also reduce efficiency.

Poor Acceleration and Jerking

Is your Subaru not accelerating as fast and smoothly as it used to? This is caused by a problem in the ignition system, most likely faulty coils. If there isn’t a consistent spark to ignite the air-fuel mixture, your engine will struggle to maintain power. As you attempt to speed up rapidly, you will notice poor acceleration and jerking as engine power fluctuates erratically.

Unusual Engine Sounds

Odd noises coming from under the hood could indicate faults within the ignition system. As the coils near total failure, you may hear unusual knocking, sputtering, and other noises due to misfires and detonations. These abnormal combustion events can place a lot of strain on the engine components and cause component failure.

A failing ignition coil can take the fun out of driving and leave you stranded by the roadside. If you notice these signs of trouble, swing by Puente Hills Subaru so we can check and replace the ignition coils.

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