Check engine light - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

smeg · 09-25-2009, 06:16 PM

They say timing is everything.

Tomorrow, before the dawn breaks, I'm supposed to be driving a couple of hours to photograph a friends wedding.

So, naturally, today my 07 V6 Camry decides to throw a check engine light (not the Maintenance light). It has 83k on the clock and never a day of trouble.

Should I drive it? It's late now, so no where is open to get a code pulled, and I need to be on the road very early tomorrow, so I can't get it to a dealership to look at it.

What kind of things would trigger this light? I saw everything as simple as a lose gas cap (it's not) to major engine problems.

***JohnGD*** · 09-25-2009, 08:16 PM

Autozone can read the code out for you free. A few are open 24 hours.

Without knowing what the code is, it's hard to tell. For example, it may be a loose gas cap, then no harm done. So I guess it depends on if your car drives normally after MIL or not and for how long (for example, to the shop or across country).

A check engine light is primarily for emissions -- it says your car is putting out >150% more pollutants than design allowed. Driving too much may hurt the catalytic converter and/or oxygen sensors if the fault causes it dump too much fuel out.

Is there an Autozone open at this time around you?

Quote:

Originally Posted by smeg

They say timing is everything.

Tomorrow, before the dawn breaks, I'm supposed to be driving a couple of hours to photograph a friends wedding.

So, naturally, today my 07 V6 Camry decides to throw a check engine light (not the Maintenance light). It has 83k on the clock and never a day of trouble.

Should I drive it? It's late now, so no where is open to get a code pulled, and I need to be on the road very early tomorrow, so I can't get it to a dealership to look at it.

What kind of things would trigger this light? I saw everything as simple as a lose gas cap (it's not) to major engine problems.

smeg · 09-25-2009, 08:20 PM

Unfortunately there is not one open, or going to open before we set off tomorrow.

We have a 2 hour drive to get there, some running around locally, and 2 hours back - my wifes car was off the road with an expired inspection sticker, but she managed to find somewhere open, so we got that sorted and we plan to drive down in there (all my photography gear and 3 adults in an 06 xB! Should be ... cosy ...

I'll try and get to an Autozone on Sunday and get the code - thanks for the help!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnGD

Autozone can read the code out for you free.

Without knowing what the code is, it's hard to tell. For example, it may be a loose gas cap, then no harm done. So I guess it depends on if your car drives normally after MIL or not and for how long (for example, to the shop or across country).

A check engine light is primarily for emissions -- it says your car is putting out >150% more pollutants than design allowed. Driving too much may hurt the catalytic converter and/or oxygen sensors if the fault causes it dump too much fuel out.

Is there an Autozone open at this time around you?

AlmightyCamry777 · 09-25-2009, 11:47 PM

The same type dilemna has happened to me in the past. And if this happens to me again, i would check the oil and coolant level, look at the gauges, and just drive it if everything seemed ok. The damn CEL can go off for a hundred different reasons. You have something important to do, and i doubt anything the CEL went on for is going to damage the car if you drive it for a few hundred miles.

workerant · 09-25-2009, 11:57 PM

Did it feel weak or jerking sometime? If so, than it might the bang 2 or/and 6 is defected.. anyway, your warranty is out so have someone change it.. should be cheaper than $200 that I had to pay at the dealer.

smeg · 09-26-2009, 05:14 AM

It's driving fine, and all fluid levels look good. Wierd thing is, the light is tucked away behind a remote button I have mounted for my radar detector - it's entirely possible it's been on for some time, and i only noticed it yesterday.

Regardless, I'm not going to risk it - I've packed up the Scion already for the trip and will get the car checked out next week. I will have to use it for work between Monday AM and when I can get to the dealer, and I do some serious milage (110 a day), so that'll be the acid test.

Thanks for the advice, I'll post back when I figure out what the hell it is.

smeg · 10-02-2009, 05:46 PM

I got it into the dealership today, and it was a bad oxygen sensor - B1 S1 oxygen sensor (according to the worksheet).

Apparantly, Toyota recommend when this is changed, the exhaust manifold is also replaced, and there was some recall for Camrys with under 30k that have this problem. I declined that - if it comes back, maybe we'll talk. My extended warranty wouldn't cover this, and he estimated it would be ~$800

Thoughts on this? I've had nothing but good experiences with this dealership, and he wasn't being pushy about the manifold thing - should I have had it changed?

trooplewis · 10-02-2009, 06:16 PM

Lots of sites that sell inexpensive O2 sensors, not sure why you would have to replace the entire exhaust manifold unless they have problems with exploding Pre-cats that destroy your engine like Nissan ones do.

AlmightyCamry777 · 10-02-2009, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Apparantly, Toyota recommend when this is changed, the exhaust manifold is also replaced, and there was some recall for Camrys with under 30k that have this problem.

If they are paying for it as part of a recall yes, if it is on my dime and the manifold is ok, NO! The exhaust manifold is simply a piece of cast iron and nothing more. Unless it is cracked it is probably ok!
If you have a torque wrench, i would however torque the exhaust manifold bolts for kicks, in case they might be loose, it is easy and fast (engine must be overnight cold to do this, on warm engine do not attempt...!)