A catalytic converter is a vital component of modern cars, as it purifies your vehicle’s exhaust gases and thus meets modern pollution requirements. Nevertheless, it is possible that it may turned out to be clogged or malfunction, in which case a change or cleaning is essential. In this article we are going to look at how to clean a catalytic converter on BMW X3? To achieve this, to begin with, we will explain the situations in which it might be interesting to clean the catalytic converter of your BMW X3, then, how to execute this cleaning to retrieve the effectiveness of the catalytic converter of your car.

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Why would you want to clean up the catalytic converter of your BMW X3?

In this first part we will show you why it might be significant to clean the catalyst of your BMW X3 . In fact for some of you it might seem logical but most of you do not understand how it works and the results dirty catalytic converter .

Function and functioning of the catalytic converter of a BMW X3

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The catalytic converter of your BMW X3 has the function to get rid of harmful exhaust gases associated with the operation of your engine. In fact, it is one of the most important elements that fight against the pollution discharged by your BMW X3. It will transform these harmful gases into water or non-polluting gases. In order to transform these gases, the catalyst of your BMW X3 a mesh of precious metals which, when the gases pass at high temperature, will break them down by chemical reaction . A catalytic converter can only work from 400°, it is consequently necessary to avoid clogging the catalytic converter of your BMW X3. If you are thinking of making sufficiently long travels to heat it up repeatedly (count more than 10 kilometres for the catalyst to reach the right temperature), this will enable you to optimise the life of this part and keep ideal engine performance.

Results of a dirty or faulty catalytic converter on BMW X3

We will now discover what can be the results of a dirty or failing catalytic converter on BMW X3 . This will enable you to distinguish the manifestations that should notify you to a breakdown of your catalytic converter, here is the list of symptoms of a faulty catalytic converter:

  • The catalytic converter of your BMW X3 is clogged: As we explained earlier, if you make too short journeys like 50% of people, it will not have the time to start functioning and the catalytic converter will clog up with exhaust gases.

  • Switching on the engine light: : Following a clogged catalytic converter, engine light of your BMW X3 may come on, do not hesitate to consult our article to identify how to switch it off.
  • A faulty lambda sensor : The catalyst works in close connection with the lambda sensors downstream and upstream of it, they will analyze the air flowing inside it, if it is clogged the sensors will often times as well have problems.
  • A metallic noise originating from the exhaust: In the event the catalyst is dead you should notice this noise which means that the ceramic is damaged.

Why you should clean the catalytic converter of your BMW X3

Before we accomplish with the step you are likely most enthusiastic about, how to clean the catalytic converter of a BMW X3? We will show you why it might be important for you to conduct this cleaning. In fact, a catalytic converter is a very expensive component (about 500 euros with the set up, the price can vary according to the engines). In addition to being no longer good for passing the technical control , you might be at risk of over-consumption of fuel . At last, the last interest is that cleaning a catalytic converter is not that expensive and doing it repeatedly will save you quite a lot of money.

How do you clean the catalytic converter from its BMW X3?

Finally here is the stage that you are almost certainly most enthusiastic about in this article content, how to clean the catalytic converter of your BMW X3? Know that this process is very basic, and that there are two techniques to do it:

  • Scrubbing the catalytic converter from your BMW X3 on a regular basis: This approach is especially practical for people who principally do short trips . To do so, nothing could be simpler, from time to time, make a long trip (about 30 minutes to improve the efficiency of the process), thinking of making your engine go up in revs so that the temperature in the catalyst increases and it can be cleaned.
  • To use a catalyst cleaner: You can find some in a car center for about 20 euros. All you have to do is add it to your fuel straight in your tank with about half a full tank. Afterwards you will have to drive on a long distance for at least 1 hour at mid-range by trying to go repeatedly at high rpm . If you can before and afterwards do an exhaust gas analysis to check that you have recovered healthier exhaust fumes after the procedure. You can conduct this procedure every 15 000km.

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To discover more tips on the BMW X3, take a look at the BMW X3 category.