
Chevy Check Engine Light Codes
The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that microscopic light on your vehicle’s dashboard instantly brightens, 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 divergent codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a microscopic patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you useful knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is actually supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, clear and productive vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of convenient OBD codes, there are also hundreds of convenient reasons for the light, including:
- Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
- Fuel and air metering systems problems
- Computer output circuit issues
- Transmission issues
- Ignition system faults
- Emissions controls issues
- Bad Spark Plugs
- Old Battery
- O2 Sensor
This is why it is difficult for someone who does not have various of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. If the engine light comes on due to a harsh concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue right away. Call Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues at 9045745317 immediately or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out quickly by a certified Chevy mechanic.
What could cause the check engine light to come on in a Chevy?
When your check engine light comes on, this could be as plain as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a stringent problem that could cause stringent damage to your engine and come with a extensive repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A dependable glow typically means something less stringent but a flashing check engine light suggests that your vehicle’s engine is in stringent trouble and service is crucial abruptly. If your check engine light is flashing in your Chevy, we highly endorse not to drive the vehicle and schedule Chevy service abruptly. Below is a list of the most simple reasons your check engine light can come on:
- The battery is scanty or dead. The battery in your Chevy is every splendid. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Chevy you drive, but check our contemporary service coupons and specials.
- 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 faster and your vehicle will be less direct when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your Chevy 's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to learn the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
- Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Chevy is what determines how much fuel is needed 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 actual changes, like altitude. If your Chevy is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
- Your Chevy has a vacuum leak. Every Chevy has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps lessen bad 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, especially if they’re exposed to exciting heat or extreme bitter.
- One of the most acceptable and plentiful cause is that your Chevy gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Chevy serves multiple purposes. It prevents 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 bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is aged or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't expensive. If your check engine light turns on hastily after you put gas in your Chevy, 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 needed for your Chevy. 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. 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 aged, you will experience poor performance and reduced 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, extensive to more expensive repairs.
- Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Chevy ’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Chevy service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your Chevy will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause additional problems from overheating.
- Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or additional item can wreak havoc on your Chevy if it’s not installed accurately. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound prevailing, bring your to Chevy and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed accurately and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a little bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
Is it safe to drive your Chevy with the check engine light on?
If the check engine light is glaring, this means that there is a perilous issue and it is recommended to service your Chevy hastily. This question is not largely polite 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 travel to work. This is consistently 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 relentless problem. Call the advisors at Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues by dialing 9045745317 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your Chevy to our certified mechanics as soon as feasible.
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 applicable failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it satisfactory to get the lawful code reading and diagnosis. The average price for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is generally between $88 and $111. The satisfactory news, Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help indicate the cause of your check engine light.
Chevy Check Engine Light
A flashing light indicates that the problem is crucial and if not taken care of promptly may result in humongous damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your Chevy starts flashing, that means that the problem needs urgent attention and your Chevy should be brought in promptly. This shining light frequently indicates a rigorous engine misfire allowing unused fuel to be ejected into the exhaust system. There it can straightaway raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an lavish repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can precisely be the cause. A bad, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues promptly by calling 9045745317. If the problem is ignored or you continue to commute, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a incredibly expensive repair.
Chevy Check Engine Light Flashing
Although there are bountiful ability causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several regular causes including something as pure as a loose gas cap. Distinctive regular reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, faulty head gasket, dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged oxygen sensor, or defective spark plugs to name a lot. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Chevy Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as crucial to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Chevy issue was repaired.
Every Chevy was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its stringent systems. The sensors are generally detecting conditions while sending 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. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is amiss nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Extremely Qualified Service professional.
Will the check engine light reset itself?
The check engine light on your Chevy will frequently shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going suitable, 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 Chevy 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 Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.
What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?
One of the most typically misunderstood lights or indicators in your Chevy is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few distinctive 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 a variety of things for your Chevy. Some of these include ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a mixture of assorted things. It can be as natural as your gas cap being loose or as hazardous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Chevy, contact Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues. Our Chevy 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 Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues today!
Check Engine Light Service Chevy
What do you do when you’re driving along in your Chevy and abruptly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Chevy owners, your heart sinks a little because you have little 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 breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your Chevy checked as soon as likely. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to pricey engine components.
When your Chevy 's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t honorable, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is continuously 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 identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic diagnose tool that is used by our Chevy auto repair mechanics at Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you choose that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced licensed to mean the issue and repair it.
How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?
Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is hard to predict how acceptable miles you can drive 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. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Coggin Chevrolet at the Avenues to aid pick if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck.