Check Engine Light?

Question

I have a 99 Camry LE. I am getting the check engine light on and off Sporadically. I went to a car service place, and they fixed it and charged me $80. Now i am getting again. Any Suggestions?

Answer 1

We need more information. What happened the first time? What did they do? What did you pay 80 bucks for? That's about how much it costs for the diagnosis, so did they also do a repair or only diagnosis?

Sometimes a shop will check something out and find no problem and they will clear the light and wait to see if it comes back on.
Sometimes multiple codes will be set by one problem. There may only be one problem that needs to be fixed, but until it is, it affects other things, setting off codes. So sometimes a shop will think the other codes are set off by one problem, and they will only fix the one problem, clear the codes and let you drive it. If the other codes come up again they know that they need to be fixed, that fixing the one problem did not take care of the others. But they do it that way rather than fixing things that they don't know need fixing, or charging you additional diagnosis time to check them out.

Or it's possible that what they did didn't fix the problem. In that case you shouldn't have to pay for the diagnosis again. If they replaced a part that did not fix the problem, you should be reimbursed for that part. It's always a good idea to keep your old parts, especially in situations like this. If the light comes back on, and it is the same problem, it's possible that the part did not need to be replaced afterall, and the problem was somewhere else. They can put your old part back on and test it again.
So this is why it is important to get detailed information from them. Step by step on the invoice, it should list exactly what they did, why, and what the results were.

So you really need to look over your invoice for the diagnosis and any repair they did and find out what they did. If you still aren't sure, just call them and tell them the light is still on and find out what was done before, and what needs to be done now. Basically it should say what testing was done, what they found (like the 02 sensor needs to be replaced) what they did (replaced it) and why. It should also detail how they verified the problem was fixed after the repair. If they didn't verify it afterwards they aren't completing the testing process, and it sounds like they are just replacing parts based on a code. Check your invoice for all of this information, and in the future make sure you get all information on the invoice.

Answer 2

Nothing to do with fluids. Flashing means you are misfiring and that's something that may be serious. A scan of the code at this point will just tell you what cylinder is misfiring and I bet there's more than one. Did you put lower grade gas? That and the heat could cause this. It could also be a bad fuel filter, bad spark plugs or bad injectors. Happens a lot as the weather starts to get hot out. I would go have the car checked out because there are many possible causes and it could get costly replacing parts that may not fix the problem. You might get lucky but it's best to have it taken care of and stop driving if it continues as misfiring can damage the engine easily.

Answer 3

First, what did they find was the cause of the check engine light? Was it actually fixed or did they just reset the light?

For $80 (or less if it is on sale) you could go to an auto parts store like Checkers and get an OBD-II code reader which might tell you why your check engine light is on.

Answer 4

If the shop said they repaired it then take it back. Usually a sporadic light is not an emissions issue so look at things like the gas cap seal and the air filter.
you might try washing the car and washing under it around the fuel tank hoses and attachments. sometimes dirt etc. will clog that up and give a false signal.

Answer 5

So your check engine light flashes on and off? You can go to autozone and they will plug the OBDII code reader to retrieve the check engine light code. The code will tell you what is the problem so you can fix it. It sounds like a misfire. Did you change the spark plugs or spark plug wires recently? Make sure you use the correct type of spark plug and the gap is correct. Also make sure the spark plug wires are not worn or torn.

Answer 6

I would contact technical support at Toyota, and tell them the problem you are having. often times you will find that cars of the same year and make have similar issues that may be difficult to diagnose without previous knowledge of the problem. Also, if you do a google search on your problem you may find people who are having the same problem they may have a better solution for you.

Answer 7

I would say "Uncle Re" gave the best answer. However, the first thing I would check/change is the gas cap. Make sure it is the correct one for your vehicle and that you screw it on/down tight.

Answer 8

when u get a good answer let me know mines been on for 3 years lol car still drives too lol

Answer 9

Try checking the cars sensors maybe one is loose or disconnected.

Answer 10

Replace Oxygen sensors and clean your injectors