The check engine light on a car is there for a reason. To let you know when something is wrong so you know to go and get it fixed. If the light was not there to let you know that something is wrong, how would you know if something is wrong? The answer is, you would not know. Unless you are a mechanic and keep up with your car regularly. A mechanic would be able to tell is something is wrong, where a normal person probably would not be able to. Depending on the issue. When you see that light come on, you are thinking it is the end of your car. What could possibly be wrong? Sometimes it is nothing, but sometimes it can be something serious. You do not want to risk it. The first opportunity to go in and get your car checked out, you should do it.
Gas Cap Not Tightened Fully
If you get lucky, the reason your check engine light is on could be the fact that you did not tighten your gas cap properly. If the cap is not on tight, you could be losing pressure in your fuel system. There is also the possibility that you could be losing fuel as well. If you have the cap open for too long, evaporation of the fuel will begin. The fix for this problem can be as simple as tightening your gas cap. A reason for the faulty closing gas cap may mean there is something broken in the mechanism of the cap. Maybe a piece of the cap has chipped off and that is why the light came on. In the event that the light does not go off after tightening the cap, you should have it serviced.
Bad Spark Plugs
Another common reason your check engine light has come on is when you car is in need of new spark plugs. Without functioning spark plugs, you will not be able to start your car. The spark plug creates the “spark” to ignite the engine. Some common symptoms of bad spark plugs are poor fuel economy, slower than usual acceleration, engine misfiring, and maybe the most noticeable one, the engine not starting as easy. The engine may sound like it is struggling to start. If you notice this, have your car checked out.
The other most common reason for a check engine light being on is a faulty oxygen sensor. The oxygen sensor measures the amount of unburned oxygen in the exhaust system. Having a bad sensor will not severely hurt your car in any way but it will cause the car to burn more fuel than it normally would. If you are planning on taking your car in for an emissions test, you will fail the test. You will need to get a new oxygen sensor before being able to pass the emissions test. A new sensor could cast as much as $200 but that does not even factor in labor. Labor can be very expensive and it will also depend on the type and year of the car.
Solutions
There are some ways to avoid a surprise car issue. You should be getting your car regularly serviced. If you keep up with your car servicing, the odds of having something go wrong go down significantly. Some people get really worried when the check engine light comes on, while other people do not do anything about it. If you just let it go, that is just causing more and more problems. The problem you had could turn into a very serious and way more expensive transaction. If you just get it fixed when the light comes on, you will be much better off.
Urgent Service
If you are really having problems with your car, the check engine light will be flashing. There is a difference in when the light is on and when it is flashing. Flashing means you need to get your car checked out immediately. The flashing light usually means that your engine is misfiring. If you continue to let it go and do nothing about it, it can cause some serious damage. Holding off doing repairs could cause damage to the catalytic converter. If you have to get a new catalytic converter, that could set you back around $1,500. That’s the average for converters. You may end up doing damage to the engine itself and have to get a whole new engine which can cost up to $5,000. At that point you may want to get a new car and just start over. But all of these costs can be avoided if you do regular service on your car.
If you are in Wentzville, Warrenton, Lake St. Louis, O’Fallon, Foristell areas of Missouri, you can come by Poage Chevrolet to get your car serviced. Or you can go online to poagechevrolet.com. We should be able to fix any problem your car is having. Even if you did not buy your car from here, we will be glad to fix your car. If you have any questions, you can always contact us whatever way suits you best. You can call us directly, you can send us an email, send us a message on facebook, or just come into the store and we will take it from there. Once your car is here, we will be able to run diagnostics on the car to really determine what is truly wrong with the car.
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