With the air our cars are breathing laden with wildfire smoke, is it possible long-term engine damage will occur? - Graham W., Peterborough, Ont.
Wildfire smoke is a lethal combination of both course and fine particulate matter, various gases including carbon monoxides and nitrogen oxides, organic matter and a whole slew of other substances. Proximity to wildfire smoke is the key to your question in my opinion.
Driving through the heart of a burning forest fire like we see in the movies rarely happens. However, I’m sure there are some who live in rural areas of Canada who have some hair-raising stories to tell.
For those of us thousands of kilometres away from the source of the fire, we have little to worry about while we are driving, even on a smoggy day. The engine’s air and cabin filter in our vehicles should adequately do the job of catching any extra contaminants that might be present.
When driving closer to the fire, say several kilometres away, wildfire smoke generally still contains sufficient oxygen content so that driving on the highway will not starve the engine for oxygen.
Keeping the windows rolled up and HVAC system on recirculate would hopefully minimize smoke intrusion in the cabin but prolonged exposure in a heavy smoke situation would clog the filter fairly quickly.
The biggest problem I believe will occur when contaminated air filters do not get replaced. This then falls under the question of what happens when you don’t replace your expired air filter. A plugged air filter will first lower fuel efficiency, then engine performance will decrease ultimately leading to a rich fuel condition that will likely turn on your vehicle’s malfunction engine light (MIL).
Check the filters regularly and change as required.
For those of you fleeing an active, nearby forest fire, you likely have a much more complex problem in that moment and other things to worry about than a clogged air filter.
Lou Trottier is owner-operator of All About Imports in Mississauga. Have a question about maintenance and repair? E-mail globedrive@globeandmail.com, placing “Lou’s Garage” in the subject line.
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