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96 Toyota Camry Check Engine Light is On, What Are My Options?

1K views 5 replies 1 participant last post by  alvinstraight38@hotmail.com 
G
#1 ·
My check engine light came on a week ago, and it is still on. I've
tried tighting the gas tank cap, and getting my oil changed, but no
difference.

I took my car to Autozone to see if they could read the engine code,
and tell me what is wrong. To my surprise, no one could find where to
hook up the scanner under my dash. They told me I would just have to
take it to the dealer. Well, the dealer wants to charge 80 bucks just
for telling me what is wrong. My car did hit around 160,000 miles when
the light came on. Could this have triggered the light? The engine
sounds and runs just fine, and it came on in the middle of a drive. Am
I taking a huge risk by driving around with this light on? As old as
my car is, I don't want to invest tons of money on repairs, and it has
never given me a problem until now. Do I have any other options
besides the dealer, or does this model even have a way to read the
codes?
 
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#2 ·
The scanner hookup is not under the dash...you need to remove the "coin tray" on the left side of the steering wheel. The terminal is behind the cover and is very easy to get to...

Mine has been on now for almost a year...there really isn't any danger, as long as you don't notice any changes in your car's performance...my code said that it's the oxygen sensor....I replaced it three times, but the light still came back, so I put the original back in, returned the replacements, and kept rollin'...car runs fine, although that darn light is a nuisance....

BTW, I have a '96 Camry also, and my first name is Alvin also... :)

alvinstraight38@hotmail.com said:
My check engine light came on a week ago, and it is still on. I've
tried tighting the gas tank cap, and getting my oil changed, but no
difference.

I took my car to Autozone to see if they could read the engine code,
and tell me what is wrong. To my surprise, no one could find where to
hook up the scanner under my dash. They told me I would just have to
take it to the dealer. Well, the dealer wants to charge 80 bucks just
for telling me what is wrong. My car did hit around 160,000 miles when
the light came on. Could this have triggered the light? The engine
sounds and runs just fine, and it came on in the middle of a drive. Am
I taking a huge risk by driving around with this light on? As old as
my car is, I don't want to invest tons of money on repairs, and it has
never given me a problem until now. Do I have any other options
besides the dealer, or does this model even have a way to read the
codes?
 
G
#3 ·
On 19 May 2005 13:37:56 -0700, alvinstraight38@hotmail.com wrote:

>My check engine light came on a week ago, and it is still on. I've
>tried tighting the gas tank cap, and getting my oil changed, but no
>difference.
>
>I took my car to Autozone to see if they could read the engine code,
>and tell me what is wrong. To my surprise, no one could find where to
>hook up the scanner under my dash. They told me I would just have to
>take it to the dealer. Well, the dealer wants to charge 80 bucks just
>for telling me what is wrong. My car did hit around 160,000 miles when
>the light came on. Could this have triggered the light? The engine
>sounds and runs just fine, and it came on in the middle of a drive. Am
>I taking a huge risk by driving around with this light on? As old as
>my car is, I don't want to invest tons of money on repairs, and it has
>never given me a problem until now. Do I have any other options
>besides the dealer, or does this model even have a way to read the
>codes?


If it's a 96 Camry 4 cyl , it's mounted on the passenger side of the
firewall under the hood right where the wiring harness comes out of
the firewall. In plain view I might add. Couldn't be easier to get to.

Ken Day
 
G
#5 ·
In article <juice712.1pb0vn@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au>,
juice712 <juice712.1pb0vn@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au> wrote:

> Mine has been on now for almost a year...there really isn't any danger,
> as long as you don't notice any changes in your car's performance...my
> code said that it's the oxygen sensor....I replaced it three times, but
> the light still came back, so I put the original back in, returned the
> replacements, and kept rollin'...car runs fine, although that darn
> light is a nuisance....


I have a danger question there: what if something else went out? Since
the light is always on, you wouldn't know about any additional problems.
 
G
#6 ·
Thanks for the info, guys. I pulled the tray out, and there is was. I
don't remember the code number. I believe it was P104. The display
said it was the 02 sensor so I'm not going to worry about it right now.
 
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