Malfunction Indicator Lamp does not turn off - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

nancyk · 03-12-2011, 08:38 AM

In my 1997 Camry V6 LE, the Malfunction Indicator lamp does not go off. I used to make it turn off by tightening the gas cap a few clicks. That does not work now. I have also noticed that the doors lock by themselves and at times stay locked. This has been giong on for about 2 months now. The car does not get driven a lot. Wonder if this could be a fuse problem? I'd rather not take it to a dealer.

Nancy

chronoti · 03-12-2011, 08:41 AM

take it to autozone and have them pull the code why it turning on

then come back here and search why it is on

nancyk · 03-12-2011, 11:27 AM

I called AutoZone and the man said to bring the car in, he will test it, it could be something as simple as a new gas cap, as the pressure valve(?) does wear out.
I had never heard of this AutoZone testing, thank you for the heads up.

Nancy

chronoti · 03-12-2011, 12:38 PM

can be or could be a sensor that needs to be replaced, they do free code checking there, shouldn't take more than 5 min to get done

nancyk · 04-08-2011, 12:05 PM

I never got to AutoZone. We put some grease on the gas cap gasket, the next time I went to get some gas, I could barely unscrew the gas cap, I could barely turn it. The gasket fell off, so I thought that trick didn't work. I put the gasket back on, and turned it until it clicked, and the Malfunction light was still on. Two days later I asked my husband to drive the car into town and go to AutoZone and get a new gas cap. About two miles from home, the Malfunction light went off and has not been on since.

Nancy

***fenixus*** · 04-08-2011, 03:45 PM

you should get new gas cap from the dealer (comes with new gasket), it's around $25 over the counter or around $14 from dealer online (OEM part).
or at least get a new gasket for it, it's only $4-5, easy to replace with a small screwdriver.

correct and vacuum tight gas cap is crucial for the functionality of EVAP system. most of aftermarket gas caps (maybe except some STANT models) will not be air/vacuum tight or will have the incorrect pressure valve (or no valve at all) causing the error codes to stay up stored in computer (malfunction light staying ON).

Both Autozone or Advance Auto parts can read the error codes for you for free. never drive longer than necessary with an unknown CEL (malfunction) light on, you never know what is says until you scan it.