What is a spark plug and how it works?

A spark plug is one of the essential components of a vehicle’s ignition system. In order to ignite the fuel and air mixture inside the combustion chamber, the spark is needed and this task is performed by the spark plug. Spark plug takes 12 volts from the ignition coil and produces a spark at the right moment when needed as a result of this spark the fuel and air mixtures ignite and the combustion cycle takes place inside the engine’s combustion chamber. The quantity of the spark plugs in the engines depends upon the number of cylinders of the engine, Some engines have 2 spark plugs on each cylinder. With the passage of time the electrode on the tip of the spark plug which is responsible of producing spark wears out and its ability to produce spark reduces as a result of which the engine gets performance issues and sometimes completely fails to perform.

What are the Replacement intervals of spark plugs?

Most vehicles require regular replacement of spark plugs at or around 60000 miles. However, It is also possible in some cases that a spark plug might fail before the service schedule date. If that is the case with your car, get it checked by a professional mechanic and if needed replace the sparkplugs.

What is the cost of replacing Spark plugs?

The cost of spark plugs replacement depends on the quality and quantity of plugs needed on the vehicle, The quantity of the spark plugs depends upon the the number of the cylinders of the engine, Some engines have 2 spark plugs on each cylinder. To find out the exact quantity of spark plugs needed and the cost to replace them on your vehicle please select the make and model of your car at the top of the page.

On average the cost of replacing 4 spark plugs on most modern cars is between £48 to £87, some cars have special long life iridium plugs if that the case with your vehicle than the cost would be over £100 for 4 spark plugs replacement.

What are the symptoms of bad or faulty spark plugs?

• When Check engine light comes on with a misfire code.
• When you see a flashing check engine light during acceleration.
• When the fuel economy
• When there is a power loss while acceleration.
• When there is a rough engine performance on idle.
• When emission test fails.
• When engine fails to start.

Can I drive with a faulty spark plugs?

Its not recommended to drive the vehicle with cylinder misfire, you can still drive the vehicle if the misfire is not on multiple cylinders but its better to get the spark plugs changed soon as possible to avoid any damage to the engine. If you continue driving with the faulty spark plugs the misfire on the engine cylinder could cause overheating of the catalytic converter.

Following are the statistics of Spark Plugs Replacement on common vehicles in the united kingdom.