Car repair question
2I was driving home (yesterday and the day before - well technically also last night, nearly 1100 miles) when my check engine light went on. Pulled over immediately. Nothing looked or sounded wrong, car temp was normal. Waited a bit. Turned car back on and it was still on as well as a pile of other lights.
Called insurance (have towing), nearly 5 hours later (at this point it is 3am and I am on the side of the highway with woods all around) and the tow truck shows up. Oh ( checked the oil and level is perfect.). He checks the oil too. Tells me to turn it on. No check engine light.
We leave it running for 20 min. I back up the shoulder of the highway and then go forward. No check engine light. He says he will follow me to 2 exits down the road where he gets off (about 12 miles - I had 103 to go). Drove all the way home. No check engine light. Car behaves and sounds normal.
Have a call into repair shop. And of course this is a holiday weekend and they are full up, can’t even get my oil changed until next Wed. And that was calling them a week ago for that. They are closed Monday.
- Anyone have any clue what the deal might be?
- Was my decision to drive home rather than pay $420 for my share of the towing likely a stupid decision?
I want a tele transporter that is real.
Thanks.
- 12 comments, 30 replies
- Comment
Without reading the codes, it’s difficult to say. It might help if we knew the make/model/year of the car as well as exactly what other lights were on/blinking. Next time it occurs, take a video with your phone and describe the symptoms and behavior. It could help to narrow down the causes later. I bought a cheap $15 bluetooth OBD2 reader years ago and always have it in the car for such occasions.
Some shots in the dark:
KuoH
@kuoh
So at least none of those would kill the engine if I got it fixed next week and drove as little as possible between then and now.
I want option $4 please. Actually a non-failed one might be interesting if I could go to outer space and look at the view. Well provided there isn’t any torture.
@Kidsandliz Well, we can’t actually be sure it failed. When you said “a pile of other lights” were they kinda green and glowy, did you experience any loss of time? If you start noticing a sulphuric scent, you might want to go see a doctor, just don’t go to any in Patience, Colorado.
KuoH
Oh man. I miss car talk. I listen to re-runs every week but it’s not the same.
@ApplePI I do too. Some times it was so funny. A woman, with a VW bug was told to do something or other in her trunk. She was groaning about that. They finally asked why. She said her car was an extension of her purse. I nearly died laughing.
@ApplePI car talk was the BEST! My check engine light came on the other day and all I could think of was that show and explaining to them what the sound was that I was hearing and how best to convey that.
Most big name auto parts stores (Pep Boys, Oreiley, AutoZone, etc) will hook up their cheap code reader and give you the error codes for free. They won’t tell you what the codes mean (they might guess. In my experience, they will guess wrong.). But with the code you can ask Google. You can do this without an appointment, without buying anything from them and often after the light is off. Codes are stored for a while (number of restarts and/or time…I think. Likely depends on the vehicle.).
Whether you made a horrible decision or not, is going to depend on what’s wrong. It could be any number of things from stupid stuff (loose gas cap) to easy to fix stuff (dirty sensor that figures out the right ratio of fuel to air. I don’t remember what it’s called) to something horrible which means your car will blow up the next time you go to start it (unlikely…unless you’re involved in a political campaign, drug deal, are a whistleblower, threaten someone’s illegal operation or are in a movie about something like that). Or it could be something in between.
I’d recommend trying to get the code(s) and asking Google. If nothing else, that will give your mechanic some more information to go on.
@gt0163c
this! Best (and cheapest) next step!
Though if you get no codes, you might be looking at @KuoH’s option 4
Oh, and car problems suck!
@gt0163c @kuoh @ybmuG Thanks for the suggestion. I have to get some sleep. Functioning on about 2.5 hours of sleep in my car in Love’s gas station when I was falling asleep and couldn’t drive the last 30 miles or so home. There is some auto parts store just down the street.
Check engine light went on in my car about a month ago-called dealership and asked my service advisor if I had to bring it in and he so no if there were no visible signs that the car was acting weirdly. It went off by itself a day later.
Two years ago had the light go on in a car which was out of warranty-took it to the dealer and they changed me $ 150 to diagnose the problem-$ 15 for the part and $ 75 to replace for a grand total of $ 240.
@Felton10 Was the light triggered by the out-of-warranty condition?
@mike808 See my reply below
@Felton10 @mike808 Mine is 11 years old and bought used so everything is out of warranty. If I am lucky there is an extended secret warranty…
@Felton10 @mike808 I was too tired and missed the humor in an “out of warranty” condition until just now. LOL
@Felton10 @Kidsandliz LOL. It’s a $240 revenue generator feature. For the dealer.
@Kidsandliz @mike808 I really can’t complain about them though-they have earned my continued business when a $ 2,500 month end rebate popped up on the last car I bought from them 3 days after I signed the contract on it and drove it out of the dealership and they re wrote the contract and changed the date so I could get the rebate-reduced my monthly payment by about $ 50. Assuming I can afford their cars anymore.
On which car-the one in which the light went out by itself (that car is still under warranty) or the other car which was covered by a GEICO warranty which has a $ 250 deductible and the cost fell just short of getting me back any money (isn’t that always the case).
Here to add Catalytic Converter to @kuoh 's list. A failed secondary O2 sensor can also cause the CC to run above temperature spec and throw an intermittent DTC. If you continue to run the car, try and note any abnormalities in fuel mileage. Very much concur with kuoh though. Many of those items are also subject to a warranty beyond what the manufacturer normally covers for the rest of the car (EPA/Fuel system warranties can often extend for 5+ years depending on the failed part and manufacturer).
@GetClosure Well if this is expensive I sure hope there is extended coverage that includes 11 year old cars.
Car is a 2010 Toyota Sienna LE bought used, been in one wreck prior to me owning it (well and then I hit a deer and a big, cast iron transmission round ring like thing fell off the back of a flat bed truck and hit me - both both of those were just body damage). Nothing wrong with it that I know of prior to this, having fixed the problems it came with and the few it developed since owning it.
I appreciate the suggestions. I am exhausted and am going to bed for, I hope, a good 6 hours. When I get up I’ll run to the auto parts store and get codes read and report back.
Thanks everyone who has posted so far!!
My favorite was click and clack of car talk’s laugh when young girl told them she just duct taped the check engine light signal so she didn’t have to see it’s glare.
@edsa Hey I have put electrical tape over the low tire air one. All my sensors have failing or failed batteries (apparently they all die around 10 years out) and it is around 1k to fix them. Nope not doing that. I’ll check the air in my tires the old fashioned way. With a gauge.
I don’t know anything about vehicles and their engines.
Except
Pay attention to tires.
Never ignore an oil, temp, or battery light.
Change the oil/filter all the time.
Flashing check engine lights are esp important don’t ignore then.
Some check engine lights can be ignored except fix when you need an inspection. Ask your mechanic.
And you can read your own codes via Bluetooth
Kitbest Bluetooth OBD2 Scanner Mini OBD Car Diagnostic Code Reader for Android & Windows, Check Engine Light Scan Reader. Supports Torque Pro & Lite, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BY2CK32/ref=cm_sw_r_sm_apap_wfYlsSaX8imSE
@f00l Well if they have that for mac that would be good to have on hand with an older car! Thanks.
@Kidsandliz
You plug the Bluetooth OBD2 dongle into your car’s computer port
You pair the dongle with your phone either Android or iOS
On Android there is a great app called torque that is worth paying for that will read the codes and give you a bunch of other info
I use this device on Android when I’m using it
But I think there are equivalent apps written for iOS if you happen to have an iPhone
Then you Google the results and try to get a sense of how serious it is
@Kidsandliz
These cheap blue check engine code dongles are made in China and are supposed to be not so incredibly great but they’re cheap and to me they’ve been pretty reliable
There are much more expensive versions out there that are supposedly better and I bought one once that was kind of expensive but on a flash sale and was highly highly recommended on a bunch of review sites and it didn’t work so I sent it back to Amazon
The expensive one just wouldn’t hold the Bluetooth connection
If money is an issue then start with the cheap one and if it’s useful you can then decide whether or not it’s worth spending a bit of money to upgrade
@Kidsandliz
If the dongle you get has a good Bluetooth chip in it then when you start your vehicle and you have your phone with you it connects automatically and holds the connection until you walk away from the car with your phone or your phone dies or you shut down the car
With the software app you get for your phone to read the info the dongle sends to you you can do all sorts of settings and stuff
So code they got was POO15. When googling that for a toyota it says:
P0015 TOYOTA Possible Causes
What does this mean?
Dirty Oil
Variable Valve Timing (VVT) circuit is open or shorted
Oil Control Valve (OCV) circuit is open or shorted
Faulty variable valve timing (VVT)
Faulty oil control valve (OCV)
Damaged ECM
So an oil change was already scheduled Wed (it is only a couple hundred miles over due, usually I am a couple hundred early but I did more driving out of town than I expected. Instead of around 2300 I was closer to 2600 miles for the trip). If I am lucky that is the trigger. I had to buy a new oil pan since the shop stripped the plug so actual dirt isn’t in it, rather I am presuming the oil breaks down.
The other things I don’t know how serious those are. Or not. Or expensive to fix for that matter. Does anyone think I’ll damage the engine if I drive a little bit over the 6 days I have to wait with any of those things wrong? I don’t have access to a second car, no public transportation in most places around here and some things are too far to walk to.
@Kidsandliz I’m not a mechanic but cam shaft / valve timing issues can potentially wreck the engine, as far as I know.
I’m not sure it’s exactly the same thing, but I’ve had drilled into me the importance of changing my timing belt if I want to keep driving my car. It’s critically important that valves and pistons are always in the correct relative positions.
Fingers crossed the actual issue is minor, but I’d escalate it if you can, unless somebody more knowledgable can tell you something useful.
(Then again) the descriptions of this on the web don’t sound like the valve issues I’m talking about as much as just having the wrong variable valve timing within non-destructive parameters, so, sorry, guess I’m not helping.
@Kidsandliz “P0015 is the OBD-II generic code indicating the engine control module (ECM) has determined that the exhaust camshaft timing for bank 1 is more retarded than what the ECM has commanded it to be. The over-retarded timing condition can be during the advancing or retarding phase”. Basically there is a cam shaft sensor that doesn’t agree with the physical position of the camshaft, or it didn’t.
For the most part a simple “check engine” light by itself isn’t something to panic over. Check your oil, be sure you aren’t overheating and you can usually carry on to your destination. The $12 OBD2 reader is a great investment, I keep one in my glove box generally.
@InnocuousFarmer Information is always useful. Growing up my dad dealt with the cars and as a kid I never paid much attention. Of course this is information all of us with cars need so I have been playing life long catch up.
@tightwad My engine temp was fine and my oil was full. The tow truck driver was also a “backyard” mechanic and said since the light finally went out driving the last 103 miles was probably OK.
Friday I talked with the car shop and they told me I could probably drive it until the apt next Wed as long as I didn’t make a trip to the coast or something this weekend just in case… Makes me feel better about driving it the rest of the way home and the few trips I will have to make until Wed lunch. I can’t afford an expensive fix and certainly don’t want to make something worse!
@Kidsandliz The check engine light in my truck is on about 50% of the time for a #4 cylinder misfire. I know what the issue is, I keep an eye on temps and oil levels and I take it in for annual inspection when the light is off. The light has been coming on for 100K miles now.
@tightwad I will be happier once I know why the light is on. Apt on Wed to find out. Then maybe it will be safe to ignore the light and keep an eye on the problem.
@mike808 Hahaha. At least I am not that dumb. I wonder if there was an obituary for said teen shortly there after. LOL
Honestly they probably wont be able to tell you why the light is on for such a generic fault code unless the sensor is bad and they test. You almost definitely did not hurt anything driving it. That light on solid is almost never an emergency.
Those faults can take a long long time to trip the light and often be harmless. I’d get the oil change, reset it, and see what happens. I’ve had many they do not reoccur for years
The 97s I’m pretty sure is burned out but it’s for a downstream oxygen sensor on one bank that you have to half drop the exhaust to get at… And the exhaust is probably rusted together to badly to do without replacing. So. Meh. I check for codes with my reader now and then.
This obviously isn’t an option if your state is obcessive and does vehicle inspections but we don’t need to here and it’s only a failed sensor so. Meh
@unksol This state has no inspection so I am safe in that regards. They used to have a kick the tires one (eg tires not too worn, windshield not broken… that was about it).
And that is what I am hoping. Change the oil, reset the thing, and no codes later. I’ll know sometime Wed afternoon.
@Kidsandliz to be clear I meant the check engine light in general is usually not a panic to drive on. A catostrophic failure… You will know. Temp warnings def stop. I did some searching on p0015 on Toyota and in particular the sienna and they also doesn’t seem to be an emergency/seems to reset sometimes… I’d def want to know why it happened. Just wouldn’t panic/stress.
Hopefully they can pin it down. I do my own work but if you don’t and you very afford to have a car down it very get be stressful. Good luck
@unksol I use a family owned shop that only works on toyotas and hondas. They are very honest, reasonably priced, sometimes they do things for free, and often tell you that you don’t need to do X for a while, etc. Glad to know the additional info about that code.
@Kidsandliz they will definitely know more than I ever would then lol. I’ve never had occasion to dig into a Honda. Not that the issues differ that much. The great thing on older cars is statistically a bunch of people have had that specific problem with that specific model. Cause volume and time. Helps narrow it down a ton.
@unksol Yes it is advantage that more problems that are unique or almost so to a particular car are known by the time the car is old. And that I am using a place that only fixes two kinds (honda and toyota) it gives them a chance to really know those models well.
My toyota is only 11 and I bought it used. My car that lasted the longest I had for 25 years and 3 mo. Except near the end it was cheaper to fix, even if I had to hunt for junk yard parts and once a belt guide had to be hand made, than make car payments. The kid called it the ghetto van and swore she’d never learn to drive if she had to drive it. She lived to eat her words. She also swiped it without permission and without a driver’s license so I fixed the ignition kill (nearly got laughed out of that shop). Ha! She said to me one Saturday morning, “Mom the car is broken”. Me, “And how would you know that?”. She had told on herself.