I’ve been facing an issue lately with my car’s check engine light. It turned on a few days ago, and even though the car seems to be running fine, I want to make sure there’s nothing serious going on under the hood.
I haven’t done a fault report yet, I am currently in the mountains on holiday with no mechanic near.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’d like to get to the bottom of this before it potentially becomes a bigger problem.
Until you get the Diagnostic Trouble Codes read, nobody would be able to tell you if there is a serious issue with the engine or the emissions system. But, at least if the CEL is steadily lit-up–and is not blinking/flashing–the car should be safe to drive until you can get the code(s) read.
2 Likes
Gerry:
If there’s a local autoparts chain store near you ( like AutoZone, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts, and perhaps others), or even auto shop chains (like Pep Boys, Firestone, and Goodyear), they’ll read your codes for free.
1 Like
The Goodyear repair center the son works for DOES NOT read diagnostic codes for free.
Tester
RE: Goodyear:
I agree, not all Goodyear dealers may agree to provide a free “check engine light” service, but Goodyear’s corporate webpage does indicate they do provide such service.
If your local Goodyear doesn’t, then there are plenty of other locations who will.
What’s Included with our Check Engine Light Service?
If your check engine light is on or flashing, it’s important to have it checked immediately, both for your peace of mind, and to help avoid costlier repairs down the road.First, we’ll use advanced car diagnostic tools to retrieve any check engine light codes and other performance data from your vehicle’s computer, free of charge.
If you have Amazon Prime, maybe you could get a cheap OBD-II scanner delivered quickly. It’s nice to have one on hand in general.
Like I Typed:
The Good Year service center the son works for is independently owned and is not a corporate franchise service center.
It’s actually Heartland Tire and Auto that has Good Year signage.
Tester
1 Like
There are dozen’s of reasons for the check engine light to turn on. Could be something minor, like a faulty gas cap. Or something more significant, like a camshaft timing problem… The good thing going in your favor is that Ford provided the diagnostic software in your car’s computer. Whenever the check engine light turns on, that software will store a diagnostic code in memory. But until you know the exact diagnostic codes, there’s just no way for folks here to be of much help. Good ideas above for options how to obtain those codes. If OP is a diy’er inclined, the most bang for the buck will be for OP to purchase their own code reader (OBD II scanner). They come with differing functionalities, generally the more expensive they are, the more functionality they have, so have to accept that the cause of the current problem may or may not be accessible with the most inexpensive of the code readers.
Suggest as long as the CEL isn’t flashing, and engine is running well, be optimistic, could well be something minor. OP, for best results here, suggest you post full vehicle info, make/model/year/engine & transmission configuration.
Goodyear does not have the same corporate structure as Firestone complete auto care stores do… Most of the Goodyears around here anyway are all franchises as Teaster mentioned so they have basic guidelines but mostly they just get the use of the big sign and have to sell a % of Goodyear tires… Where as all Firestone complete auto care (notice the full name) are ALL corporate owned stores with set guide lines and rules (that can change weekly sometimes lol) but if the sign just says Firestone then it is a franchise with very very basic rules, warranty’s other than tire warranty’s are not honored between the franchises and corporate owned Firestone stores such as alt, starter, brakes etc etc…
But yeah, get your codes pulled, even if you have to pay a few $ it would be worth the piece of mind…