Check Engine Light on

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wartknight

Well-Known Member
Mar 24, 2006
6,736
175
63
$75 just to diagnose. SOme places do this for free correct? Anyone know how that works? Can they diagnose and then I take my van somewhere else to get fixed? Assume that is frowned upon but Oh well.
Any suggestions?
 

huskerman

Member
Mar 12, 2008
328
8
18
37
ames
yeah i just tell them that i should be back to buy the part or whatever and then leave and call around to find the best price for the part. advance auto parts does it for free.
 

bos

Legend
Staff member
Apr 10, 2006
29,671
5,256
113
Use google. How old is the car? Make/model. At times it can just be a scheduled maint. reminder. Every manufact. does this differently.
 

nj829

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2006
5,681
157
63
Northwest Arkansas
Unplug the battery might reset it. Auto Zone and O'Rielly does it for free as well I believe. It's quite a dealership racket they have going to charge $75 for checking it, but I think that is common at all of them.
 

CyCy

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2006
1,667
28
48
At one time Autozone would check for free - don't know if they still do.
 

garn91

Well-Known Member
Jun 1, 2006
2,187
61
48
Ankeny
$75 just to diagnose. SOme places do this for free correct? Anyone know how that works? Can they diagnose and then I take my van somewhere else to get fixed? Assume that is frowned upon but Oh well.
Any suggestions?

You must not listen to Miller & Deace....AAMCO does it for free :biglaugh:
 

DaddyMac

Well-Known Member
Oct 18, 2006
14,071
451
83
Aamco in Des Moines does (if you are around here).. I've had good luck with them in the past, saved me a bunch of money over dealer quotes (obviously) and didn't try to jack me for repairs I didn't need.

Last time I had a check engine on my truck, I took it to Simon Auto in Des Moines, they hit me for the $50 fee, then told me that my gas cap was loose. :arghh:

Didn't know a loose gas cap could have such an affect
 

BCforISU

Well-Known Member
Feb 17, 2008
1,126
50
48
Madison, WI
$75 just to diagnose. SOme places do this for free correct? Anyone know how that works? Can they diagnose and then I take my van somewhere else to get fixed? Assume that is frowned upon but Oh well.
Any suggestions?

Trade the van in for an SUV or something cool:jimlad:

Kidding aside, it is most likely some sort of sensor, damn things always cost a ton for what they are. I always went to entire car care in Ames, but that is a ways for you and I had a buddy there that helped me out. I am not sure where in Ankeny/Des Moines is good.
 

BCforISU

Well-Known Member
Feb 17, 2008
1,126
50
48
Madison, WI
Unplug the battery might reset it. Auto Zone and O'Rielly does it for free as well I believe. It's quite a dealership racket they have going to charge $75 for checking it, but I think that is common at all of them.

I was going to say this, but knowing Wartknight has kids and such, better check it out, if it was me I would undo the battery and hope that fixed it, usually just a temporary fix though. Those lights usually mean something on the newer vehicles, back in the 70's and 80's no one cared.
 

Ames

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Sep 5, 2006
2,153
247
63
$75 just to diagnose. SOme places do this for free correct? Anyone know how that works? Can they diagnose and then I take my van somewhere else to get fixed? Assume that is frowned upon but Oh well.
Any suggestions?

Most of the parts places do it for free. You can also buy a scanner at Walmart and read/clear your own codes. They aren't very expensive.
 

Al_4_State

Moderator
Staff member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Mar 27, 2006
30,011
22,605
113
38
Driftless Region
Visit site
I'm sitting at the mechanic's as I type this...

Google search to find out how to get your car to display the code. Usually if you turn your key on and off several times, the car will display on the odometer, or via a series of flashes of the engine light what code has been triggered. Once you have the code, you'll have a pretty good idea of what the problem is. Then take it in from that point.
 

Cyclonestate78

Well-Known Member
May 23, 2008
12,115
646
113
Aamco in Des Moines does (if you are around here).. I've had good luck with them in the past, saved me a bunch of money over dealer quotes (obviously) and didn't try to jack me for repairs I didn't need.

Last time I had a check engine on my truck, I took it to Simon Auto in Des Moines, they hit me for the $50 fee, then told me that my gas cap was loose. :arghh:

Didn't know a loose gas cap could have such an affect

The identity of DaddyMac has been revealed after his pimping of Aamco....

Steve%20Deace.jpg
:jimlad:
 

4VR4CY

Well-Known Member
Aug 28, 2007
3,474
51
48
Ankeny, IA
We bought a "reader" device on Amazon for not too much money at all. NEVER pay for it to be read. It is a scam.
 

Wesley

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2006
70,923
546
113
Omaha
Aamco in Des Moines does (if you are around here).. I've had good luck with them in the past, saved me a bunch of money over dealer quotes (obviously) and didn't try to jack me for repairs I didn't need.

Last time I had a check engine on my truck, I took it to Simon Auto in Des Moines, they hit me for the $50 fee, then told me that my gas cap was loose. :arghh:

Didn't know a loose gas cap could have such an affect

The loose gas cap is very common trouble light problem. Always try to put the gas cap back on for a trouble light. This happened to me three times on a GM pickup so I knew what to do.
 
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CycloBelle

Member
Jan 20, 2010
75
0
6
Our mechanic always tells us to take the gas cap off, put it back on, then restart the car. Apparently if the gas cap isn't on well it messes up the oxygen senors and triggers the check engine light. It has worked for us a couple of times.
 

HawkFanISUalum

Active Member
May 17, 2009
792
46
28
Iowa City, IA
Generally it means that you need to invite 3 of your friends over and stand around the engine with the hood open drinking a few beers. When the women-folk come out to ask what you're doing, start talking about oxygen sensors, exhaust manifolds, and compression chambers. They'll quietly leave and you can continue talking about sports with your buddies.