It is never enjoyable to notice an injector noise on your Volkswagen Atlas. It is a noise that comes up regularly, usually when you accelerate or your engine is idling. However, this symptom may be linked to several types of problems with your car injectors. It may not be anything severe, but when a recurrent noise appears, you have to be sure. Especially since repairing your Volkswagen Atlas’s injectors can be costly. That’s why our team chose to compose this article in order to support you see more clearly, learn about the different possible failures and distinguish your problem. To do this, we will first look at the normal function and usefulness of the injectors in your Volkswagen Atlas, then at the possible triggers from which an injector noise may come.injector-noise-volkswagen-atlas

Attributes of the injectors

Injectors are a very significant part of the operation of your engine unit. They were brought in to the modern vehicles about 20 years ago. Before their appearance, more conventional carburettor-type intake systems were used, which handled the intake of air and fuel into the engine cylinders. With the injectors, manufacturers now have the opportunity, thanks to the injectors pump, to control electronically each stage of the intake process very accurately (quantity of fuel injected, air/fuel mixture) via the analysis of the data collected from the various sensors equipping the car (engine temperature, acceleration level, engine speed, etc.). Their goal is therefore to inject under high pressure a precise quantity of an air/fuel mixture at a perfect timing to obtain the best possible combustion in the cylinders.

The different origins of a clicking or knocking noise caused by the injectors of your Volkswagen Atlas

Hearing injector noises on your Volkswagen Atlas may originate from different locations, we will now center on the potential causes of these. In most cases, the common noise of a faulty injector is of the snap type. Here are the several sources of these noises and the solutions to be put into practice to eliminate them. If you notice another clicking noise but it is not from your injectors, we suggest you to browse this article about clicking noise on Volkswagen Atlas to locate the cause.

The explanations for injector clicking or knocking noise Volkswagen Atlas

A clicking or knocking noise from your injectors can be explained for different explanations. In fact, the injectors of your Volkswagen Atlas have three main tasks, to control the vaporisation of the fuel, i.e., to convert the liquid into “gas” during injection, to ease its combustion. Then, its task is to manage the air/fuel dosage and at last the homogeneity of the mixture, always with the objective of improving combustion. If one of these three functions is modified, the main functionality of the injectors will be disturbed and this will lead to poor combustion. This bad combustion will be a violent explosion in the cylinders resulting from bad timing, or a bad quantity of mixture or finally an inhomogeneous mixture and will trigger thoses knocking or clicking noises on your Volkswagen Atlas. The main cause of these situations commonly originates from a particle that gets into the injectors. The accuracy of the injector being in the nanometer range, any possible obstruction will inevitably lead to a malfunction of the injector. If after verifying, this noise originates from another component of the engine of your Volkswagen Atlas, have a look at this article for more informations.

The end result of injector noise on Volkswagen Atlas

Now that we have reviewed the different reasons for injector noise on your Volkswagen Atlas, we will end by stating the possible effects of malfunctioning one or more of your injectors. Whether only one is blocked, or broken, or your entire fuel rail is involved, you cannot escape these side effects which can fairly quickly become major….
First, you risk destroying your exhaust system in the long run, because the unburned fuel residues that will end up in your exhaust system can corrode the metal in it.
One of the most basic consequences noticed by drivers is a severe loss of power. In fact, if your engine is running on 3 out of 4 cylinders for example, you will surely have a loss of power
Finally, you risk deteriorating one of your pistons or your engine. Poor combustion will fairly quickly affect your cylinders or pistons and your engine may tighten.
Here are three little tips to limit the risks linked to your injectors and protect you from engine failure:

  • Do not drive at the bottom of the tank, as you may absorb impurities
  • Use quality fuel
  • Think of swapping your diesel fuel filter regularly>