9 CNG Car Maintenance Tips that you should know!

The popularity of CNG cars is growing day by day. Considering the high fuel prices in India, all the people who travel more than 40-50 km a day, should be concerned about their fuel expenses. Leaving aside the fuel expense, the carbon footprint is also increasing substantially. Therefore, considering all these factors, people have started switching to CNG vehicles. No doubt they have become a responsible citizen by opting for a clean fuel but as they say, with a great role comes great responsibility. CNG cars are comparatively harder to maintain and need more care and attention. In this article, we are going to talk about 9 CNG car maintenance tips that you should know about!

1. Check the Spark Plug
   

   

   Most of us trust our mechanics and don’t visit while our car is being serviced. On the other hand, service centres simply don’t allow you inside even if you want to get in. At GoMechanic, we let you inside the service centres and can also communicate everything if you don’t want to visit. Coming to the topic, the spark plugs for CNG cars are different from those meant to be used with petrol cars. You should be sure about which spark plugs are put inside your CNG vehicle. The gap between the actual spark source and the plug’s metallic tip is short for a CNG plug. You should opt for a CNG spark plug and make sure you replace it every 10,000kms or 6 months.

2. Clean / Replace the Air Filter
   

   

   You need to be extra cautious about your car’s air filter if you are driving a CNG car. This is because driving with a dirty air filter can reduce your car’s mileage significantly and we guess mileage is the primary reason why you switched to CNG. Right? You should check your car’s air filter from time to time and clean it regularly to ensure smooth operation. We recommend changing your car’s air filter at every 5000kms to yield the best results.

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3. Throttle Body Cleaning
   

   

   This is the area or you may say, the valve connecting your car’s air filter to the intake. Following the above CNG car maintenance tips, while you clean or replace your air filter, make sure your car’s throttle body is cleaned thoroughly too. This way you can ensure smoother operation of the air intake.

4. CNG Reducer Filter Cartridge Replacement

   

   Commonly known as the CNG filters in the market, these are the filter cartridges of the Reducer filter and the Low-Pressure filter. Just like any other filter in your car, the CNG reducer filter cartridge with O Ring and the CNG Low-Pressure Filter Cartridge with O-Ring needs to be replaced regularly. For your reference, the former needs to be replaced at every 40,000kms and the latter needs to be replaced at regular intervals of 20,000kms.

5. Check the CNG Tank
   

   

   Another major one among the CNG car maintenance tips. You need to get your CNG cylinder checked frequently. Getting your CNG cylinder hydro tested is compulsory nowadays and you should get it done anyhow. Alternatively, you should not run your car for long on low CNG as it can be harmful to the valves and may cause an explosion in the worst-case scenario. Last but not least, you should change your cylinder’s physical valves if you feel your valves are too old or worn out.

6. Check for CNG Leaks
   

   

   If you notice any sign of CNG leaking from your car, don’t panic. Just GoMechanic! This is one of those CNG car maintenance tips that you shouldn’t handle by yourself. Our team will come at the location and will escort your car safely to the workshop to carry out the necessary repair work. The only thing you are advised to do in such a situation is to manually shut your cylinder’s outlet valve so that no gas flows out of the cylinder.

7. CNG Compliance Plate Renewal
   

   

   This is the latest form of the CNG Compliance Plate where your CNG cylinder’s record can be scanned through the given QR! Moving away from the technical CNG car maintenance tips, here are some to improve your ownership experience. Earlier we mentioned that you should get your cylinder checked but make sure you get it done from a government certified agency only. In return, they should provide you with a test report and this CNG Compliance Plate. Having an expired CNG compliance plate can land you in hefty fines.

8. Park in a Shade
   

   

   Have a covered parking spot for your CNG car. This is the most simple among all the CNG car maintenance tips that you can follow frequently. You should try to find a covered parking spot for your CNG car or park in a shade. The reason behind this is CNG contains gasoline which evaporates more quickly than petrol or diesel. Parking in a shade will prevent your natural gas from evaporating and will provide an additional benefit where you won’t have to step inside a hot chamber (your car).

9. Always Use the “Auto” Mode
   

   

   For those who have got factory fitted CNG (irrespective of your car’s brand) and for those who have an aftermarket sequential CNG kit, All of you might have noticed the Auto mode on your CNG switch. This mode enables your car’s ECU to decide when to switch on CNG. Your car’s ECU measures the engine’s temperature and when it is warm enough, the fuel switches to CNG. For non-sequential kits, owners should run their cars for at least 4-5 km on petrol before switching it to CNG.

Still, confused between company fitted CNG and aftermarket CNG? Watch this video right away!

These were the 9 CNG car maintenance tips that you should follow to yield the maximum results from your CNG car. Remember to feed the engine with enough petrol. Don’t just go for cost-cutting by running your engine only on CNG. This will land you in major troubles afterwards. We recommend running at least 10% of your journey on petrol if you set out on a long trip. Got questions related to CNG? We are happy to help you out! Comment all your questions below and we will try to answer them as soon as possible!