what should I do? it came on before but there was not a problem.
2007-11-26 03:00:13 · 7 answers · asked by catchup 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Pontiac
go to Autozone for a free scan. they can tell you what it is, and how serious, or nonserious the problem is.
good luck
2007-11-26 03:58:19 · answer #1 · answered by JimL 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Always get a check engine light diagnosed quickly. A large percentage of the time it can be a small problem or even something as simple as a gas cap that is on loose. But other times it can be serious.
Example 1: A coworker with a '99 Bonneville and 3.8L engine had the light come on for a misfire. Turned out the intake had corroded/burnt through by the EGR valve and coolant was being sucked into the engine. It wouldn't have taken much driving and the engine would have been ruined.
Example 2: A roommate and I were leaving for work when the light came on 2 miles from home. We turned around and got a different car to go to work. That night we drove 10 miles to the parts store and it showed a code of low fuel pressure. Two miles later we were calling a tow truck because the fuel pump had completely died.
Many parts stores can run a diagnostic on it for free but they may not know the exact code or reason why. Remember...they are getting paid $6-10 an hour. If they knew that much about a car they could work for a shop and earn more. I used to work at a parts store and was amazed at how much bad advice was given.
2007-11-26 03:07:56 · answer #2 · answered by bob 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pontiac Grand Prix 1997
2016-11-07 06:00:15 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get it checked out as soon as possible. i just paid $4000.00 to fix that. my light would come on and my dad would undo the battery for a few minutes and then reconnect it and tha light would be off. come to find out, the O2 sensor needed to be replaced and ended up burning the primary catalytic converter. It started breaking into pieces and would go to the secondary catalytic converter and get stuck to the walls. the pieces that didn't get stuck came out of the exhaust and the car started shooting out white smoke. caused one of my lifters to collapse, so i needed a new engine ($1,800). installation and new motor mounts made the total $3,000. Add a $500 primary converter, $300 O2 sensor, and a $250 secondary converter, and tha total was $4000. Definitely get that taken care of. Luckily for me, I only had to pay a 1/3 of it since my folks paid for it. GOOD LUCK.
2007-11-26 03:14:47 · answer #4 · answered by BWes 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to a place that can read codes and data with a scanner. It will tell you which circuit or system failed it's diagnostic. Sometimes just a little thing like someone left the gas cap off or loose can set these off.
2007-11-26 06:20:46 · answer #5 · answered by Deano 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU GET YOUR VEHICLES COMPUTER SCANNED TO FIND OUT JUST WHAT THE PROBLEM IS FIRST SO THEN YOU WILL HAVE SOME IDEA WHAT IS WRONG AS WELL AS WHAT TO EXPECT.
TRY FINDING AN INDEPENDENT AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SHOP INSTEAD OF THE DEALER OR ANY CHAIN STORE BECAUSE YOU WILL BE OVERALL MORE PLEASED WITH THE PERSONAL SERVICE THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE.
2007-11-26 06:02:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
bring it by your local parts store and let them run a diagnostic machine on it.
2007-11-26 03:05:24 · answer #7 · answered by loonatic72 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋