Check Engine Light came on today.....

So, just outside Montana entering Idaho today (100 miles from home), I mentioned to my wife that our car had just passed 11,000 miles, no sooner did I say that, did our "Check Engine" light came on.. I called the dealer and they said since the light wasn't blinking that it was OK to drive to them. We got to the dealer 80 miles later, and they used the scanner to see why it came on. He told me that the car was running lean? Which caused the sensor to trigger the check engine light. (I should mention that it was 95 degrees and we were running the AC full just coming down a mountain pass). He said it was possibly a fluke, or maybe some bad gas. He reset the light and told me not to worry about it. The problem is, I am a little worried since we will be taking the car on a 2,000 mile trip starting next week. Anyone else have experience with this? Should I be worried?

Bad gas, or worse case scenario probably a dirty MAF. Unplug your battery, spray some MAF cleaner on it, and call it a day - fixed my 2.5i CEL instantly.

 

Even if the CEL remains on, it shouldn't pose a problem for your trip... unless the cruise light came on with it. That could get annoying in the first few hundred miles of your journey

The cruise light came on also. Very annoying. The dealership reset the light and the cruise is working now. I wonder if I should mention that I dropped a K and N filter in about 1,500 miles ago.. I have put one in with every vehicle I have owned and never had an issue. I kept the stock air filter. Should I put it in before traveling half way across the country?

Cleaning the MAF seems to be a first good step. Could have been an oil droplet that disturbed the MAF.

 

No clue about what codes you really got? Even if the CEL is on it's not good in the long run until you know what it is about since some causes can lead to secondary damage - like damage to your cat. Not that a damaged cat will cause any serious problems for the car - it's just an unnecessary expense.

Yup, when my CEL was on the cat smelled like absolute hell... I could smell it through an exhaust leak to the cabin.

 

I have an AVO panel filter, and my cruise light will sometimes flash when going up a very steep hill (high load) at full throttle. Possibly the engine is getting more air than it expects and is freaking out, which may have been what happened in your case since you mentioned A/C and a mountain pass.

make sure everything in relation to the air filter is tight. clean the maf and re check all clamps. make sure the air box is latched backed together correctly. also listen for any sucking noises that would indicate a vacuum leak

hello meier motor sports, I already check all of that thing including tight air filter. But, there is still an oil leak. What is the real problem of it?

hello meier motor sports, I already check all of that thing including tight air filter. But, there is still an oil leak. What is the real problem of it?

http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo102/jagcars26/loltrekke3.jpg

hello meier motor sports, I already check all of that thing including tight air filter. But, there is still an oil leak. What is the real problem of it?

 

I think my thread was hijacked Everything with the air filter seems tight and I could not hear excessive air coming in... I don't smell anything funny. I am wondering if my K and N filter caused the issue, or possibly bad gas? I think I may fill it up with premium today and hopefully that will help so the light does not come back on..

Take that phony filter out and put the one that the car was made for back in.

"Stay Stock, Stay Happy" - Bosco

 

But seriously, no need for a K&N Filter in your car. If anything I see it giving you more problems than any performance gain.

 

X

+1, definitely go stock, at least for your 2000mi journey coming up. Make sure to unplug the battery and get everything nice and reset before you drive with the stocker again.

 

Random question, are you auto or manual? And why does your car have so little miles on it!!

OK, I will put the stock air filter back in, definitely for this trip. And unplug the battery. Thanks for the suggestions, I never would have thought of that.

 

The car is an automatic. The reason the miles are so low is because I just bought it off an 84 year old lady. She didn't drive it very much. Good news for me, we plan on putting a ton of miles on it....

Quick question. When unplugging the battery, is disconnecting the negative good enough, or should I disconnect both?

just the negative.

if its a panel filter it should be fine as long as it is not over oiled. but good luck on your trip

Awesome find, hopefully it didn't retain the old lady smell ^_^