Car maintenance on the cheap: find out why your check engine light is on for free
8 comments so far
A while back my check engine light came on. Actually, it wasn’t the red check engine light that makes one’s stomach lurch at the thought of some impending, and inevitably expensive, repair. It was the amber colored, and much less threatening “service engine soon” light.”
I called the local dealership and asked what they could do for me. They replied that running a diagnostic scan would be $89. And that was without fixing anything! Having heard stories about check engine lights appearing for things as simple as a loose gas cap, I was hesitant to lay down that kind of cash. I mentioned this to a coworker who told me that AutoZone would be able to tell me why my light was on - for free.
So I headed down to my local AutoZone. Sure enough, a friendly employee came out, plugged a little orange hand-held computer into my car and informed my that my O2 sensor was out. She was also able to specify which sensor it was, where it was located and my options for fixing it including some basic instructions. And, what do you know, they had the part in stock for about $50. Not too shabby considering I’d have spent nearly twice that at the dealership just to find out what was wrong.
In addition, AutoZone will lend you the tools you’ll need if you’re going to take on a project yourself. They charge you the full price of the tool and you get your money back when you return it. This is an excellent option for a person like me who’d like to take a more active role in maintaining my car, but don’t have the money or space to dedicate to purchasing tools.
There you have it. A simple, cheap way to find out why your check engine (or “service engine soon”) light to help keep your car running smoothly.
LivSimpl
Logo courtesy of here. Image courtesy of here.
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 8:45 am and is filed under Finances, Transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Awesome–thanks for the timely advice. Mu check engine light has been on for a couple months and recently started flashing.
Also, if you are noticing any transmission problems (no matter how minor), I strongly suggest you take it in for a diagnostics test - many transmission shops will do this for free. (be sure to call ahead first, and make sure that they won’t charge you even if you decide not to have them fix it) Transmissions are one of the most expensive parts of a vehicle to repair - we learned this the hard way.
This is astonishingly timely. My check engine light just came on. I wasn’t too worried at first because I have a lingering fuel line seal leak that results in an error, but this time it’s stayed on for more than several days. I’m definitely stopping by AutoZone this week. They are my favorite auto store, by far, and their computer system is much more comprehensive than the competition.
Just like the previous post, your timing is a little too amazing!! Not more than 20 minutes ago my dreaded Check Engine Light went on. I didn’t think much of it, since this happened about a month ago and turned off on its own after about 3 days. But today, as I was pulling into a parking lot going about 5 mph, my whole electical system shut off!? I turned off the car and restarted the engine with no problems, however my check engine light is still on.
I got that same feeling you get when you see a police car behind you with their lights flashing…you know the feeling, where those new skis you’ve been eyeing for the past month, turns into a hefty bill for a speeding ticket or in this case a diagnostic scan. But, thanks to your great Tip of the Day, I’m $89 richer!! Thanks again for the great advice!
Wow. Glad to hear the timing worked out so well on this one. Thanks for letting me know.
Same here, I just got back from autozone with a new 02 sensor. Thanks!
I finally took mine to Autozone. Problem ended up being 4/4 cylinder misfires. Time to change the wires and plugs.
I just changed my O2 sensor in preparation to pass emissions, only to find out my car has to go through a certain amount of “drive cycles” before it will pass. My temporary tags expire tomorrow. Wish me luck. :)