I’ve had this Scion xB (the Box) for 19 months - great car! About 3000 miles ago, the “Maintenance” light came on. I was told to ignore it because I’d been changing the oil regularly. Yesterday, all of a sudden the “VSC” (something to do with Stability control" the “TRAC” light and the “Check Engine” light came on. The car only has 54000 miles on it. The last car I had with a “Check Engine” light on it wound up costing me $800 and the light came right back on after it was fixed. I NEED my emission slip to get my tag this month and the “check engine” light will stop that. What can I expect at the mechanic’s shop and what IS the warranty on the Scion? The used car dealer told me it was 60,000, but the way I read the website info - it’s only 36,000. Advice needed and appreciated. Thanks!
There should be a trouble code set in the ECU since the ECL light is on. It would really help to know what the code is to help determine what things to check for trouble. There may be a wheel sensor problem causing this trouble. You can get codes read for free at places like Autozone.
It can be costly to fix problems on cars. But the Check engine light comes on when one of the sensors is seeing that some condition is out of range. At that could be something as simple as the sensor being bad, or a loose gas cap, or maybe some component has failed. The only way to tell is to get the stored code. While a dealer or auto repair shop will charge for it, many auto parts stores will retrieve it for free. Get the code and post it back here.
As Cougar suggested, without knowing the exact trouble codes that are at the root of the CEL and other lights coming on, any speculation on the exact cause and the cost for a repair would be just that–speculation. After posting the alphanumeric code(s) here, someone will be able to give you more specific advice. The code will be in the format of P1234.
As to the warranty, the answer lies in your glove compartment. In addition to the Owner’s Manual and the Maintenance Schedule booklets, Toyota includes a separate booklet detailing all of your various warranties. The warranty booklet will give you the official word on your warranty coverage–as long as you and the previous owner kept the vehicle up to date on its required maintenance.
Hey - I got in my car to drive to Auto Zone and get the codes tested, and NOW THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS ARE ALL OFF - except for the “maintenance” light. I beat feet to an emission testing station to get the car tested before the “check Engine” light came back on, and it DID pass. then I drove the car various places for about 2 hours and the lights remained OFF !!! That’s good, but how can you explain that? thanks to all of you for your help.
Sometimes things work out like that. There may be an intermittent connection causing this so don’t be surprised if it comes back. At least you got passed the inspection process.
Hey there, my 2005 Scion XB (55k miles) also had all these lights come on just like yours (in the same order) and when I called the dealer and found out that VSC is “Vehicle Skid Control” and my previous car didn’t even have that feature, I figured it was OK to drive with out it for a bit. Well I took a long drive and went over some bumpy roads and the lights went off. (not unlike your story)
Then they came back on and they’re still on. I’ve been looking into things it could be that my husband can check without us going to a dealer and paying them $100 just to tell me what they think is wrong with it. I haven’t tested it for codes yet, but if AutoZone will do it free, I’ll start calling around to find one near me.
I will let you know what I find out. First “fix” is I’m going to see if we can check the sensors and see if they need cleaning and make sure all of their wires are plugged in firmly. Take care and good luck to you!!
~Nerwign
Emissions equipment is covered for considerably longer than the manufacturer’s warranty – 70K, IIRC.
I to Had all three lights, light up today. So I took it to the dealer and it was the O2 sensor,
the way they explained it to me is that when any computer related mishap happens the computer automatically shut down certain functions to spare greater damage. What happened to the simple way cars ran like in the seventies. (cars where simple then)
simbad1313