After thinking it over, our car went back to our regular mechanic to get it diagnosed and fixed. It went in at 10am and my tummy has been upset ever since. After fearing the worst for hours, I heard from his shop around 5pm and are you ready for how much it cost? You really ready?
$59.00 (includes an oil change)
The diagnosis?
I can't even believe I am going to admit this - but...the gas cap wasn't tight enough. Yup, that's what caused my check engine light to come on.
Lesson learned - make sure you tighten your gas cap!! :)
4 comments:
Actually, it's a Toyota Echo. Similar, though, to Honda with their repuation for reliable cars.
I just thought of something else - thank goodness I have an honest mechanic!! I could have easily been taken for a loop by a dishonest one.
The check engine light is next to useless. I've got one on my Saturn that seems to get triggered just about every time we have a very humid day. First and second time it happened it freaked me out and got it checked. Third and fourth time, it really annoyed me. Fifth through hundredth, eh, essentially ignored. It's now a pointless feature, because if it does come on warning of an imminent problem, it's not going to do any good because I ignore the thing anymore.
Sean - it's funny because I have something engrained in my brain that the check engine light means that I can't drive my car at all and need to get to a mechanic immediately (I think it states that in the owners manuals that I have read).
As a result - I dread that darn light. I remember the first time my mechanic just turned it off and said to drive normally (he figured it was a fluke occurance that tripped it). I was so scared - but everything turned out alright.
I guess it's not as useful for major mechanical malfunction as the owners manual states?
My wife triggered the check engine light in her old college car. It had a locking gas cap that, to save time, she didn't fasten all the way. Oh, the discussions we had about the relative value of time saved versus the chance of OMG FIERY DEATH.
The light can also be a sign that you have a bad oxygen sensor, which could result in "bad burn" of your gas, which will mess up your engine at some point, and give you poor gas mileage from the start. So eeh, not always a bad thing to see it.
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