Your BMW is a high-performance vehicle. BMW recommends you use synthetic oil in the engine and high-octane fuel to keep the engine running as it should. One thing that will affect your engine’s performance, however, is a vacuum leak. George Automotive Services advises that the vacuum pressure can leak out of old and worn vacuum hoses. Consequently, when this happens, you’ll notice the following problems with your Beemer that will not be resolved until you fix the vacuum leak.
Hissing and/or Suction Engine Sounds
One thing that can occur is an audible indication of the BMW’s vacuum leak. For example, a smaller vacuum leak will make hissing sounds as the vacuum pressure escapes from the leaking hose. If you have a serious vacuum leak in your BMW’s engine, you may hear a suction noise that sounds just like the hose on your household vacuum. You should never hear strange sounds coming from your BMW’s engine. This includes the hissing or sucking sounds caused by an engine vacuum leak.
Reduction in Engine Performance
Unfortunately, small or large, the vacuum leak will affect your Beemer’s engine performance. As the vacuum pressure escapes from the leaking hose or hoses, your engine fills with air. This air can affect the delicate balance of air and fuel in your BMW’s combustion chamber. When this happens, the vehicle becomes fuel-starved and you end up with lagging acceleration and a sputtering, hesitant engine. It will seem as if your BMW does not want to respond to you when you press down on the accelerator.
Sporadic and/or Overly High RPMs
Despite the engine lag, your RPMs will be much higher or bounce up and down. This is because the RPMs increase with each shot of air that comes out of the leaking vacuum hose. If you are having engine trouble, take a look at the tachometer on the dashboard to see how the RPMs are registering. If they are registering abnormally high or the needle is dancing up and down, you can safely assume that your BMW is leaking vacuum pressure into the engine from an old hose that has a hole or has disconnected.
Check Engine Dashboard Warning
Finally, the excess air blowing into the engine will cause the check engine light to turn on. This is because your BMW’s system sensors are reporting errors to the main computer chip.
George Automotive Services in Danville would be happy to inspect your BMW’s engine for a vacuum leak. If we find one, we’ll fix it. Make an appointment today.
