BaLa

My Check Engine Light has come on (went back off after roughly 150+ miles each time) about twice..

I made an appt. at the dealership to get the car looked at, though I missed it..

Now it just came back on again..
the car has only 19,4xx miles on it.


I will have to make a new appt. at the dealership on monday..
although I am willing to bet money, that by the time the appt. comes around the light will go back off again....

I bought the car used at the end of May with 14727 miles on it..
It's a 5spd..
Most of the miles I've put on the car are hwy miles...
I drive 288miles a week to and from work alone....



anybody got any ideas on what could be wrong?

protetype

clean your MAF. see if that helps. it's what usually causes a cel in our cars. the 1.6 anyway. try cleaning it, and making sure it's seated properly on the box. maybe try resetting the ECU after cleaning the sensor. also... make sure your gas cap is tightened properly

yellowdragon

Hi...

Take it to the dealer even if the light goes off. The code that caused the light to turn on will be stored in the car's computer. Your dealer can see what it was. With your car's mileage, It's probably a loose gas cap.

BaLa

I will take it to the dealership..
will need to make an appt though..

I don't know much about cars, so excuse the stupidity..
what's an 'MAF'

I've checked the Gas Cap the first time it went on (the CEL) and that didn't seem to be the case..
I can check the gas cap again..but I doubt that's what it is...


btw. thanks for the help guys

GouGoune

Hi,
I got the same problem on my '99 SE 1.6 5spd.
After getting info over the Internet, I learned that it was the MAF (mass air flow) sensor. (Code 0172B).
This problem happens on almost every 1.6 Protegé.

Miraculously, that part has an extended warranty on it (7yr/120,000 km). So just go to your dealer, they will check the error code and if it is indeed that problem, they will replace the defective part within 5 minutes, all for free....

Good luck!

MadeInJapan

I was just at AutoZone and noticed that they have a new free service...they'll check out your check engine light....if there are any of these stores in your area you might check them out....sure beats going to the dealer to begin with.

GouGoune

I also thought the same way... at first!

I went to a autoshop specialized in Mazdas to save some $$ with the computer code checking...

It cost me 15$CDN instead of the dealers' 30$CDN, but they accidentally erased the code after diagnosing it...! So later when I went to the dealer, my Check Engine light was off and they said they couldn't fix the problem as they didn't know the problem...

So the dealer had to check the code at my expenses.....
Finally that part was under extended warranty (in US and Canada) and it cost me 0$ at the dealer... but 15$ at the corner's shop...

Moral of story: sometimes you do not save money by avoiding the dealer......

MadeInJapan

It's a good lesson to learn. You are right in so many ways, but I would probably still go to AutoZone but learning from you, would verbalize to the people there that I don't want my computer re-set.

GouGoune

Actually, talking on-site prior to.... is indeed the best thing to do.
But that day it was my girlfriend who went to that shop...
She knows a little in mechanics, but... not enough

Since AutoZone has a free service, go ahead!!

BaLa

the light has been off, BUT since some ppls said the onboard comp stores the error code I took it in anyways...

they are looking at it right now (hopefully)

either way it should be covered under warranty..
since the car is a 2001 and it has barely over 20k miles now (~20037miles)
I will update as soon as I find out whats wrong with it..

BaLa

they said there was an update for the PCM Module..
and it was 'a computer glitch'
I'll see if it comes back on or not..

djscalpel

You can make your own OBD-II interface for a few dollars. It's just a little interface that connects to the car and the other end, to a computer. With it, you can check your error codes, reset the "check engine" light, view status of speed, RPM etc.

Visit www.scantool.net for details. You can purchase a kit or DIY with all the schematics availlable.

glyph_99es

this is really embarrassing, but I had the CEL go on a few weeks ago, and I brought it in. They told me it would cost $45 US to check it out. When the guy walked out, he said it was a loose gas cap! Didn't charge me anything.

Oh, and they tightened my gas cap.