Toyota Check Engine Light

Check Engine Light Service Toyota

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Toyota and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Toyota owners, your heart sinks drastically because you may have definitely idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep, tranquil breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is suggested that you get your Toyota checked quickly. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major, far-reaching damage to costly engine components.

When your Toyota 's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t correct, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is ordinarily labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that can swiftly identify the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic scan tool that is used by our Toyota auto repair mechanics at Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque. There are likewise a number of essentially inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you prefer that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to determine the precisely correct issue and repair it.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a Toyota?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Also, the check engine light could also be a warning of an essential problem that could cause serious damage to your engine and come with a hefty and expensive repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady and continuous glow generally means something less serious but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in serious trouble and useful service is needed expeditiously. If your check engine light is flashing in your Toyota, we very propose not to drive the car and schedule Toyota service today. Below is a list of the most common reasons your check engine light can come on:

• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns more swiftly and your vehicle will be less efficient when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A damaged sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause meaningful damage to your catalytic converter and your Toyota 's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to determine the absolutely correct mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A damaged O2 sensor can also cause a vehicle to fail an emissions test.
• Your Toyota has a vacuum leak. Each Toyota has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower harmful emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can dry out and crack, particularly if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme cold.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak extreme havoc on your Toyota if it’s not installed correctly. These aftermarket components and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound familiar, bring your to Toyota and have our team of gifted certified mechanics guarantee that your aftermarket items were installed accurately and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, particularly aftermarket parts and accessories, or utilizing OEM components first place might cost a little bit more but could help you save substantially from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
• One of the most common and frequent cause is that your Toyota gas cap is loose, broken or missing. The gas cap for your Toyota serves numerous purposes. It prevents dangerous gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a damaged fuel cap? If your gas cap is old or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump and be more pricey. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't pricey. If your check engine light turns on swiftly after you put gas in your Toyota, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are necessary for your Toyota. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run smooth. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or old, you will experience a evident poor performance and decreased power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, leading to more pricey repairs.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your Toyota is each crucial. Without a vehicle battery, your vehicle won’t start, light up the road in front, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s vehicle batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't absolutely require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Toyota you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Toyota is what determines how much fuel is necessary to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to certain changes, like altitude. If your Toyota is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden fast change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a important sign of a damaged mass airflow sensor.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Toyota ’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A broken catalytic converter is usually caused by consistently neglected maintenance, which is why Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque offers a complimentary multi-point examination with each Toyota service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your Toyota will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your vehicle may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause other perilous problems from overheating.

Is it safe to drive your Toyota with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a serious issue and it is suggested to service your Toyota rapidly. This question is not extremely simple because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is usually indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more serious problem. Call the experts at Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque by dialing 5755025685 so you can describe the issues. Or decrease your speed and bring your Toyota to our certified mechanics as promptly as imaginable.

Toyota Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are many common causes including something as simple as a loose gas cap. Other generally common reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, dirty mass airflow sensor, defective head gasket, or broken spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Toyota Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and completely repair it as necessary to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Toyota issue was entirely fixed.

Every Toyota was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the car on its important systems. The fast sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending important data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. Yet, sadly that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what explicitly is wrong nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Highly Qualified Service professional.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque to help determine if your vehicle is secure to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is typically difficult to predict how many miles you can be secure in driving with the warning light on. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most usually misunderstood lights or indicators in your Toyota is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the essential onboard diagnostics system, and displays in an assortment of different ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do an assortment of things for your Toyota. Some of these essential duties include shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, ignition timing, and implementing security control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean an assortment of different things. It can be as simple as your gas cap being loose or as hazardous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Toyota, contact Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque. Our Toyota service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing. Contact Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque today!

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Toyota will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For instance, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will swiftly turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is working perfectly, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your Toyota light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

Toyota Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your Toyota starts flashing, that means that the problem needs attention immediately and your Toyota should be brought in rapidly. A flashing light indicates that the problem is exceptionally serious and if not taken care of immediately may result in major and serious damage to the vehicle. This blinking light usually signifies a severe engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can promptly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an costly and major repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can absolutely be the cause. A defective, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is invariably flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque promptly by calling 5755025685. If the problem is entirely ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a extremely costly repair.

Toyota Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating, particularly to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminate, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can properly represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you useful knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that critical Check Engine Light to do what it is genuinely supposed to do: be your guide. Sadly, clear and useful vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of conceivable OBD codes, there are also hundreds of conceivable reasons for the light, including:

• Old Battery
• Ignition system faults
• Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
• Transmission issues
• Bad Spark Plugs
• Computer output circuit issues
• Fuel and air metering systems problems
• O2 Sensor
• Emissions controls issues

This is why it is crucial for someone who does not have a lot of predominant automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out immediately by a talented certified Toyota mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a serious concern, you risk damaging your vehicle further by not repairing the issue right away. Call Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque at 5755025685 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more serious failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it good to get the proper code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is typically between $88 and $111. The good news, Larry H. Miller American Toyota Albuquerque offers completely complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light.