The Ford Edge goes into the dealership today to get its "check engine" light looked after. As some of you may know, the "check engine" light usually signifies "check gas cap" or "check some part of the emissions" system. After the light came on, we discovered the cap was indeed not "tightened until clicks" as the cap above suggests. So we did tighten until clicks and hoped the light would go off over the weekend...
It didn't, so Magrath's taking it into the shop this morning to make sure everything's up to par (or more likely, to have the light shut off). Perhaps our brazen disregard for using BP gas is the true cause.
James Riswick, Automotive Editor @ 17,295 miles
ewilfong says:
08:46 AM, 03/31/08
I've never seen a specific brand recommendation right on the gas cap. I wonder how much BP had to pay for that.
jaguar36 says:
09:26 AM, 03/31/08
If only car manufacture would make an option to display the ODBII code instead of just a generic check engine light. Would save so many needless trips to the shop (or $100 for an after market reader)
sodaguy says:
09:38 AM, 03/31/08
Some automakers have a "check gas cap" light on the dash now.
Magrath also owes us a service report on the Edge. I haven't seen a report on maintenance since the 9k mark.
estreka says:
10:19 AM, 03/31/08
There's a way to determine the OBD code. Take a big paperclip and stick both ends into the diagnostic port (location varies by model) and it'll act as a jumper. The CEL will blip out your trouble codes in morse code.
http://www.modifry.com/freebies/old/dtc/index.htm
jriz says:
10:39 AM, 03/31/08
"Take a big paperclip and stick both ends into the diagnostic port (location varies by model) and it'll act as a jumper. The CEL will blip out your trouble codes in morse code."
Is that from "Auto Maintenance and Repair by MacGyver"?
rick8365 says:
10:55 AM, 03/31/08
Have a CE light on in my disabled sister's Grand Caravan.....Dodge dealer quoted me $139 just to hook it to the analyzer. Of course, then it'll be a substantial charge over and above if it needs something. It's at a mom and pop place right now - no charge to hook it to the machine and it's probably just a loose cap.
Having the loose cap hooked to that light and only resettable by someone with a computer is rediculous, having it's own self resetting light....priceless!
kevlang says:
11:41 AM, 03/31/08
i spent a summer as a ford intern working on stuff like this - especially with vehicles favored by older drivers, Crown Vic, Town Car, etc, people were bringing their cars in for check engine lights because the gas cap wasn't on tight. But a separate "check fuel cap" light costs money.
This was partly the motivation for looking at the capless fill, which has only appeared on the Ford GT so far.
txmatt1 says:
12:12 PM, 03/31/08
AutoZone will read your codes for free.
kevlang says:
01:33 PM, 03/31/08
"ah, yeah, here's the problem - says you aren't using Duralast brake pads, and you aren't an AutoZone Rewards member."
sodaguy says:
02:02 PM, 03/31/08
I just had a CEL read by AutoZone last weekend.
You put down a $150 deposit for the unit, scan your car, then you return the unit and they refund your money. No hassles.
mr_bots says:
02:43 PM, 03/31/08
You could also just disconnect the battery after tightening the gas cap to reset the computer. If it doesn't come back on that was the problem and you save yourself a trip to the dealer. If it does come back on, go to the dealer.
altimadude00 says:
06:28 PM, 03/31/08
You could buy a new car that doesn't have the check engine light on.
"I want a new car, this one is broken." -- Paris Hilton
thebigal says:
07:22 PM, 03/31/08
ya - I took my truck in once to have the check engine light checked once... after I tightened the fuel cap and pulled the battery cable. Turns out it was the fuel cap afterall. It had gone bad. All it cost me was a new fuel cap. The mechanic was one that did my alignments anything bigger than I wanted to handle. He didn't charge me to check it and I still felt like a goof when I left...
kevlang says:
09:50 AM, 04/ 1/08
FYI, for all you Fit bashers out there - the Fit does give you a "fill cap loose" message in the display if you leave it off. Happened to me once, and took almost two weeks for it to reset itself. Manual says it should reset over the course of normal driving, but I was this close to heading to the dealer when it finally turned itself off.
langlebl says:
12:04 PM, 04/ 1/08
Typical Ford...
stingray454 says:
01:31 PM, 04/ 1/08
"If only car manufacture would make an option to display the ODBII code instead of just a generic check engine light. "
My '02 Corvette can display the OBDII codes right on the driver information display. All you have to do is hold down the Options button while pressing the Fuel info button 4 times, and it will display any error codes. You can also reset the error codes and turn off the check engine light by hitting the reset button.
All cars should have this capability. In addition, they should have a separate light for "tighten the gas cap stupid", as most of the CEL situations seems to be caused by that.
hondacura4 says:
06:01 PM, 04/ 1/08
"Take a big paperclip and stick both ends into the diagnostic port (location varies by model) and it'll act as a jumper. The CEL will blip out your trouble codes in morse code."
This actually works on my 1995 Civic as the CEL will flash and give me the codes. The real deal folks.
SubyTrojan says:
07:28 PM, 04/ 1/08
It only "works" if a person knows Morse code. :o)
playdrv4me says:
01:18 PM, 04/ 4/08
Cadillacs (most likey because you will be reading them often) of the 90s and early 2000s vintage will display OBDII codes right on the Driver Information Center in the center of the dash, OR on the older models, within the Climate Control display with a simple combination of buttons.