Texas Auto Repair

It can be a little unsettling to park, turn the key off, and still hear the radiator fan humming away. A lot of drivers assume something is stuck on or that the battery is about to die. In many cases, the fan running after shutdown is completely normal and is actually protecting the engine from heat soaking. The real question is how long it runs and whether it does it every time or only in specific conditions. When It’s Normal For The Fan To Run After Shut Down On many vehicles, the fan is allowed to run for a short time after you turn the engine off. The cooling system is still hot, and coolant is no longer circulating the same way it does when the engine is running. Letting the fan run can pull heat out of the radiator and the engine bay so temperatures settle down instead of spiking. If it runs for a minute or two and then shuts off, especially after a hot drive or sitting in traffic, that is usually expected behavior. You may notice it more in summer or a ... read more

Fuel economy usually drops slowly enough that you second-guess yourself. You might blame traffic, weather, or a heavier foot on the gas. Then you fill up again sooner than expected and realize something has changed. One of the most common hidden reasons is a tired oxygen sensor, because it can quietly push the engine to burn more fuel than it needs. An oxygen sensor issue does not always feel like a drivability problem right away. The car can still start, idle, and cruise normally. Meanwhile, the engine computer may be making fuel adjustments based on inaccurate information, and that is where the extra fuel disappears. What An Oxygen Sensor Actually Does Oxygen sensors measure oxygen content in the exhaust stream. The engine computer uses that information to adjust the air-fuel mixture. The goal is to keep the mixture close to ideal, so the engine runs efficiently and the catalytic converter can do its job. Most vehicles have at least two oxygen sensors per bank. O ... read more