Is it common to have your Check Engine Light come on?

[Smittay]

hey guys,

for the first time in 5 years, my check engine light came on tonight on my 2003 corolla LE

all my fluid levels are great, there is no smell, car is driving fine, temp fine, etc.

its awfully peculiar that i took my car in for its 55,000 mile 3 months ago and for the first time ever on the sheet i saw these words: "RESET CHECK ENGINE LIGHT"

so i asked the guys why they did this and they said, oh... it doesn't look like your check engine light has ever come on so we had to reset it, so you would know when to come in for your next service.

i thought that was weird.

so then today, almost exactly 4500 miles later, it comes on for the first time ever and the car feels fine.

is this common? could there be a problem with the sensor setting it off? could mechanics SET IT to go off at a certain time to get me in there to spend money?

its just weird. i do have a yellow leak under the middle of my car and they said over the phone it was a water pump probably...

too bad my wife's sister just had her baby tonight and we were to drive to maine from mass. tomorrow morning (4 hour round trip).

now i have to go into toyota at 8am...

any thoughts?

thanks,
smitt

[jamesmetairie]

my 2004 corolla has "cel"(check engine light) also. go to auto zone. for free they will put the scannner"obdII"on it and give you the codes. then search this forum . i,ve searched all kinds of forums and i,m about 90% confused now. one thing i know for sure . i ain,t bringing it to the stealer dealers and trust their advice and start changing many parts. today i cleaned the"maf" sensorwith "maf" sensor cleaner made by"CRC",bought it at auto zone.. in a few days i will replace the "a/f"(air/fuel)sensor that,s on top of the exhaust manifold. i will use toyoa parts only. all aftermarket parts have a bad rep for sensors. good luck and keep us posted on this forum. i,ll do the same. Jim.

[Smittay]

autozone really does that? they can scan it for the codes?

cool. i might go there first, its on the way.

hopefully its just faulty and thanks for the tip...

if worse comes to worse ill get a rental to go see my little newborn nephew in maine

but the last time i left my car at toyota, they totaled it (my 02).

i had to fight them tooth and nail for 6 mos to get a car at the end of my 5 year meticulous lease!

[Dave's]

My '04 Camry has a 'maint required' light which comes on blinking at 4.5k and solid at 5k for oil change notification but that's different than the check engine light. Yes, most autozones and some others will read your code(s) for you.

[Smittay]

Originally Posted by Dave's

My '04 Camry has a 'maint required' light which comes on blinking at 4.5k and solid at 5k for oil change notification but that's different than the check engine light. Yes, most autozones and some others will read your code(s) for you.

crap. so this means something bad then huh? check engine is different then maint required. hopefully i just hit a pothole or something and set it off. corollas are the best around... ahhhhhhhhhhh

[jeepwranglerg]

Just because a engine light comes on does not mean something is bad. Chances are you have po420 even though your mileage is pretty low. Mine was solved by installing a spark plug defowler and modding that. Drill out center 1/2 drill bit install in old 02 sensor plug post cataletic. With the sensor moved out my engine light has stayed out a good long time. Another option is changing out o2 with denso brand sensor there spendy though.You could try a bosch but chances are it wont solve your problems. I installed ebay denso look alike and popped a new code heat wire something.

[Dave's]

A very common reason for a check engine light is a loose gas cap. Or the O-ring on the gas cap needs replaced.

[JasonA]

Yeah, before spending ANY money on anything, have the code read. It shouldn't go off just by hitting a pothole, but a mechanic can't program it to go off at a set mileage interval either. The check engine light reports a malfunction that was detected by the ECM. It could be any number of things, including as simple as gas cap like stated above or a more serious problem like a catalytic converter that needs replacing.

Don't worry about it yet until you get the code read and find out what needs to be replaced. Report back here when you find out what the code is and we'll help you along.

[Smittay]

cool. thanks so much guys.

i just went out and checked it, check engine light was still on...
i listened to it and the engine (maybe its just me) seems like it shaking / vibrating a little more than usual, all the fluid levels are fine....

wouldnt toyota have picked any problems up at their extensive $500 - 55,000 maintenance appointment? must be just a little something then hopefully, like the O-ring or sensor glitch.

i do have a strange squeal, almost like my serpentine belt, but coming from underneath the car.. like the exhaust pipe or something, but it stops once engine warms up for 3-4 minutes.

its funny, i called all the car rental places around and they have no cars, so no going to maine for me and my wife to see our new nephew. bummed. but im not renting an SUV to go to maine for $90/day

i'll try to find a garage around gloucester, ma (where i live) to see if someone can scan the codes, but not fix it. is that using them? ... having them scan the codes and being like 'see ya later thanks!"?

anyways, i'll just try to find a service mechanic in gloucester, ma .. anybody from here that could reccomend one?

thanks guys,
smitt

[Raddman]

Here's the closest autozone to you for a free scan, it's about 12 miles away, do like most everyone here suggests, find out what the code errors are first then go from there, it's good advice

Autozone‎ - 1160 Broadway # 1, Saugus, MA‎ - (781) 231-0024‎

[jamesmetairie]

ain,t gonna know if you visit him this weekend or next month anyway. fix your car because if you get killed out on the interstate going to visit the baby everyone will probly feel bad for along time.

[Raddman]

Originally Posted by jamesmetairie

ain,t gonna know if you visit him this weekend or next month anyway. fix your car because if you get killed out on the interstate going to visit the baby everyone will probly feel bad for along time.

[Smittay]

hey guys,

just wanted to update you.

my gas cap was on i thought all the way - but i opened it up anyway and this big WHOOOOSH came out.

so i turned it on and the light was still on

so i shut it down for about 4 hours on sat.

we went out later and sunday and today and to our surprise the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT has not come on once ... could it just have been so simple as the gas cap? three people outside of this board told me it could be that too.... weird

my boss says it could be the catalytic converter... what does that do and why would that trigger my check engine light?

anyways, should i still bring it in to toyota? i do need my 60,000 oil change...

thoughts?

thanks,
smitt

[jamesmetairie]

ask friends etc. to recommend a trusted mechanic,preferably import specialist. DO NOT go to"pep boys,firestone, goodyear,etc. and expect anything except huge estimates!! not all,but some parts such as sensors should only be original factory equipment from toyota. my old 1989 corolla refused to run except with new toyota ignition wires. again= find a good independent mechanic. and don,t go out and have the cat converter replaced yet. it cost too much to be guessing and parts changing. some quality muffler shops have a way to test cat converters for about $20. keep us posted. good luck. Jim.

[Dave's]

Dealer typically charges around $50 to read the codes. You can buy a basic code reader for that much. But really, for piece of mind, see if autozone will read the code for you and post it.