You pull out of your Wonder Lake driveway and notice something just doesn't seem right. Could your catalytic converter be bad?

Catalytic converters are costly enough that you might want to make sure you park your car, truck or SUV in your Wonder Lake garage so no one will steal it. Yes, this is a target for some thieves. They chop the pipes before and after the catalytic converter and cart it off to see to someone else.

On the other hand, you may need a new catalytic converter if the one you have has gone bad. A trusted auto repair shop in the Wonder Lake area replace it for you as this is seldom a DIY project folks do at home.

The catalytic converter is designed to lower the emissions of your car, truck or SUV. If it goes bad, you might just fail your vehicle’s next emissions test. But how do you know if it goes bad?

One way you’ll know is if you do fail the emissions test. But you probably don’t want to wait until that point.

There are a number of symptoms that might indicate a faulty catalytic converter

One potential symptom of a faulty converter is the Check Engine light. Of course, there are other reasons that the Check Engine light will come on. That trusted auto repair shop can hook your car, truck or SUV up for a scan that will tell you if it’s the catalytic converter, or if it’s something else causing the light to come on.

A bad odor like rotten eggs or sulfur is another indication that you may have a problem with the catalytic converter. You may notice this at approximately the same time that the Check Engine light comes on.

Your vehicle may not seem to run right. Often, this symptom will appear as a lag in acceleration. In the worst case scenario, it may actually stall leaving you stranded on the side of the road (a very good reason to replace a failing catalytic converter before it goes all the way bad).

It may also effect your ability to start the car, truck or SUV. Or, it may start and then die after a few seconds. The engine may misfire once you do have it running. It can even effect your vehicle’s fuel consumption.

Catalytic converters are expensive but waiting until they cause a problem can create a significant inconvenience, as well as the cost of towing your vehicle to a shop. It can also put undue stress on the engine.

As those emission tests suggests, a properly operating catalytic converter is also required by law on your Wonder Lake car, truck or SUV.