Engine Light just came on

Hartside2 · 5+ Year Member Joined: 23 Jan 2005 Posts: 13 5Dr XT3

Hi all,

Just leaving home this morning and the dreaded "check engine light" came on. It felt rough and there was a bit of throttle lag. Is the car still ok to drive until I get it into a dealership to be checked over?

The cars a 2004 model

Sad

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Dirty-Harry · Posted: January 23, 2005, 7:08 am Post subject:

Hart,

This happened to me also. It might to real simple. If you had your oil changed recently at a place other then a Toyota dealership you need to reset something. I forgot what it is. It's in the owners manual. I believe that light will come on every 5,000miles / 8,000km. I just woke up and my manual id in the car, and it's VERY cold here.

Hope that helped Very Happy

nouse4aname · Posted: January 23, 2005, 8:33 am Post subject:

The check engine light and maintenance soon light are one in the same? That's pretty silly. If that's true, there should be a way to reset it yourself with instructions in the manual.

If it's an actual Check Engine Light with a code that needs to be read. , you can go to any Autozone and they'll read the code for free. That will give you an idea of what the problem is since your dealer's likely closed. Could be as simple as a loose gas cap. Did you tighten it at least 3 clicks at last fill up?
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Jeff · Posted: January 23, 2005, 9:09 am Post subject:

I don't think they have AutoZones in England... Whatever reason is causing the light to go on, you can reset it by disconnecting the battery for a couple minutes. The 03 or earlier Ravs don't have maintenance lights that activate periodically, at least here in the US, however the newer ones (04+) might have them, I'm not sure.

Even with the light on, whether it is a check engine light or a maintenance light, the Rav is OK to drive on local trips as long as all the fluids (coolant, oil, etc.) are at the right level. The engine might run a little rough when the light is on, because the ECU reverts to a failsafe mode.

Hartside2 · 5+ Year Member Joined: 23 Jan 2005 Posts: 13 5Dr XT3

Thanks guys

First thing I did was take the fuel cap off and made sure it was retightened properly, letting it click three or four times, but that didn't help.

I'll see about getting it into a dealer this week, so long as I can drive it to & from work I'll be happy!

Slayer · Posted: January 23, 2005, 10:11 am Post subject:

So, is the check engine light and maintenance soon light one and the same? I'm just curious myself since I don't have a maintenance soon light on my 2003. If they are the same you can reset that light by holding down your trip reset button as you turn on the engine till the light disappears. If they're not the same light, well, can't help you there. Cool

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Jeff · Posted: January 23, 2005, 10:30 am Post subject:

Usually they are one in the same. Sometimes manufacturers program the ECU to turn on the check engine light at certain mileages so that people will bring their car into the dealer for service. While this idea works for people who know nothing about cars, for those of us that do it causes confusion about whether the CEL is on just as a maintenance reminder, or that it's on because there is an actual problem.

Hartside2 · 5+ Year Member Joined: 23 Jan 2005 Posts: 13 5Dr XT3

Thanks again.

I just tried holding the trip down and starting the car, but the light stays on. The engine is still running like a bag of hammers, so there must be an actual problem

Sad

Slayer · Posted: January 23, 2005, 12:19 pm Post subject:

Mmmm, seems unlikely but did you also try checking your spark plugs for a bad plug? Or maybe the plug wires for a loose connection? A plug went bad once in my old Laser and it felt like the engine lost 1/3 of its power and would shudder. At least, that's how I remembered it felt. After I changed the plugs, engine fired up and went normally.
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Hartside2 · 5+ Year Member Joined: 23 Jan 2005 Posts: 13 5Dr XT3

I'ts a bit like that, but without a true misfire. It just sounds a lot rougher than it usually does.

Thank god for the Toyota 3 year warranty!

Hartside2 · 5+ Year Member Joined: 23 Jan 2005 Posts: 13 5Dr XT3

I booked it into the dealership today and on the way there - it went out! Mad

They plugged in the diagnostic and couldn't find anything wrong. They looked at the event history using the diagnostic and it showed nothing either! The only thing they could suggest was to bring it in next time it came on but leave the engine running. Lets hope it isn't a Sunday again, because the dealers are shut! Mad

nouse4aname · Posted: January 24, 2005, 12:33 pm Post subject:

Are there any shops over there that will read CEL codes that keep better hours than dealers? If not, I'd be tempted to buy a scanner myself. Stange that nothing showed up in history.

Going to have to look through our manual. But I find it hard to believe that a new Toyota would mix a 'service soon' or 'maintenance required' light with a check engine light.
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Hartside2 · 5+ Year Member Joined: 23 Jan 2005 Posts: 13 5Dr XT3

Unfortunately over here it's a dealer only check. (Unless someone else knows better!)

I agree - I don't think it's a service/maintenance light. I think there has been a fault on the engine management system. Time will tell if it returns!

nouse4aname · Posted: January 24, 2005, 1:47 pm Post subject:

Well an OBDII reader runs $100-150, with the state of our dollar these days you should be able to get one from over here for cheap.

Apparently those 'Carchip' gizmos can be had on ebay for $50-80. They not only read codes, but they show freeze frame data, and will monitor and store obd2 data. Then you just unplug it and download to your computer via USB when you get a code or want to check the readings.
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nomoretoy · Posted: January 28, 2005, 7:29 am Post subject:

I think you have an interminttent problem. The fault code or light is cleared if the the ECU think the problem is no longer there. The ECU may previously detected a fault but now it's no longer present for period of time and hence clears fault code/light.

I would get this problem logged to the dealer/Toyota, otherwise you may need to pay up for large bills after the waranty has expired. At least if you have this problem occurs (i.e. light came on) after the waranty period, you are still covered.
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