Check engine light..... Please shed some good good light

[elmo3000]

Hello everyone,

I am currently 600miles from home and tomorrow I have 600 miles to drive back. Today the check engine light came on (of course the night before my big trip home).... However, the car is driving just as before without any issues. I have checked the oil, filled the car with fresh fuel and checked the gas cap.

Can anyone shed some info on what this could possibly be? I have no other option than to drive the journey home tomorrow, have my wife, 2 young children and 2 dogs with me. If was just me by myself I would try and get it checked before I drive anywhere.

I have a 2012/13 3.8sedan with less than 5600miles on it.

Thanks everyone

 

[homeofstone]

Warranty and Roadside assistance. Don't worry you are covered.

 

[PMCErnie]

First things first. You allow dogs in your car?!

If your car is starting and operating normally, you should be able to drive home without any problems. Of course, you could stop by a dealer enroute and get a quick check.

 

[elmo3000]

Yes I thought about the warranty etc.... But I'm not one to just abuse for no reason.

The dogs never touch the seats, I have a full cover on the back seats and they are extremely well trained. My OCD filters through from me to the family and to the dogs.

The car runs fine, so I think I am going to take the gamble. Then run it to the dealer the moment I get home.

Thanks

 

[bobmarley421]

Better yet. Instead of waiting forever at the dealer just go to a major auto parts retailer(advance auto,nappa,pep boys, etc) and they will plug in the code scanner in mins for free and tell you what the code is reading and what it pertains to. That way you can actually make an appoitment with the dealer if its nothing major and save yourself some angst.

 

[CC4.6]

CarMD published a list of the five most common Check Engine light codes in 2010 and estimated cost of repair. In order of frequency, they are:
•O2 sensor (part of the emissions system, monitoring and helping adjust the air-fuel mixture)
•Loose gas cap
•Catalytic converter
•Mass air flow sensor (monitoring the amount of air mixed in the fuel injection system)
•Spark plug wires


Good luck!

CC

 

[GenesisCaptain]

Can anyone shed some info on what this could possibly be? I have no other option than to drive the journey home tomorrow...

It is something emissions related. If the engine is running smoothly, then don't sweat it. Usually the check engine light will flash when you are getting cylinder misfires, and that is tow worthy. Most anything else is a non-issue.

If you can get the codes read, that may ameliorate some concerns. But I still would not worry as long as you don't see misfire codes.

 

[Rey]

The fact that your car is running normally is an indication that the check engine light is a false alarm, probably caused by a momentary hiccup in fuel delivery that showed as a lean condition.

You can easily "reboot" your car's computer (ECU) , in which event your ECU will likely reset and extinguish the check engine light.
Here is how you do it. You need a 10 mm wrench and maybe a foot or so of wire. Any wire will do. Disconnect both the positive and negative leads from the battery. Disconnect the negative first, and then the positive.

Now hold the battery leads in your hands (disconnected from the battery, of course); and try to touch them together. There probably is not enough slack to do this, so use the wire to make a connection.
Then hold the connection for one minute. This will cause some of the memory capacitors in the ECU to discharge. Then reattach the cables, first the positive and then the negative.
Start your car. The ECU will "relearn" your motor. It will take a few miles and the process is hardly noticeable. If the check engine light comes on again, than it is probably a persistent problem needing dealer attention.

 

[GenesisCaptain]

You can easily "reboot" your car's computer (ECU) , in which event your ECU will likely reset and extinguish the check engine light.
Here is how you do it. You need a 10 mm wrench and maybe a foot or so of wire. Any wire will do. Disconnect both the positive and negative leads from the battery. Disconnect the negative first, and then the positive.

No need. If the error is truly a false alarm, then the system will automatically reset itself and the light will go away on its own. However, if the warning is a legitimate sensor error, then you will not want to clear it before reading the code.

 

[homeofstone]

Using warranty and/or roadside assistance is not abuse, you paid for it in the price of the car. So use it whenever a product is not performing as it should.

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[Hilltopper]

I had the check engine light come on @ about the 10k mile mark on my 2012 V6, took it to local dealer and they said there was a recent recall to cover it referred to engine software. took about 20 minutes and I was out the door. This was mid October. Other then That all is smooth - Love the car .
Charlie

 

[brfatal]

There are over 1,000 different OBD2 codes (abiet not all apply to the Genesis). Without you actually checking the code, there is no way to even make a guess.

The fact that your car is running normally is an indication that the check engine light is a false alarm, probably caused by a momentary hiccup in fuel delivery that showed as a lean condition.

You can easily "reboot" your car's computer (ECU) , in which event your ECU will likely reset and extinguish the check engine light.
Here is how you do it. You need a 10 mm wrench and maybe a foot or so of wire. Any wire will do. Disconnect both the positive and negative leads from the battery. Disconnect the negative first, and then the positive.

Advice like this is why mechanics will always be in demand. Being blunt: don't ever listen to anyone who posts sheer stupidity like this. While it will likely be something small, just because it seemingly runs fine does not mean anything at all. People have driven thousands of miles on spun bearings, cracked ringlands, and bad sensors with no overly apparent issues. The the bare minimum he needs to find out what the code is and look at possible causes. Resetting the ECU in no way fixes a hardware problem. You might as well have told him to get electrical tap and put it over the check engine light on his dash and drive off on his merry way.

 

[elmo3000]

Got home okay..... off to the dealer in the morning!!

Will keep you all posted as I hear something. Thanks for all the help and input!

Electrical Tape has been applied!! Jk

 

[waveman]

Glad you made it back OK. Hopefully won't be anything serious, which was the case both times my CEL came on.

 

[LV2XLR8]

Got home okay..... off to the dealer in the morning!!

ECM Update

 

[elmo3000]

So it transpires that it was a faulty Valve.... again, not sure what valve, but they said that it wasn't going to cause any immediate danger. Part should be in on Wednesday, s I will update again then.

 

[CC4.6]

So it transpires that it was a faulty Valve.... again, not sure what valve, but they said that it wasn't going to cause any immediate danger. Part should be in on Wednesday, s I will update again then.

This one?:

​

 

[gameday22]

This was happening often to my car, every 100-200 miles the check engine light kept coming back on...sometimes not even 25 miles down the road just getting it back from service. Error was the same each time, P0025 (Camshaft Position "B" - Timing Over-Retarded ; Bank 2). They wound up replacing several parts on the engine including the throttle body assembly before figuring out it was just a bad sensor going into the engine. Since then (38k miles later not a single check engine light). The standing joke now is they removed the bulb from behind the dash lol. Took them 7 or 8 attempts to finally get it fixed.