2012 Chevrolet Colorado Check Engine Light

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

If you check engine light is flashing, we indicate that you pull over and contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis to help opt for if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we indicate a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how many miles you can drive with the warning light on. It could be anything from a alarming sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2012 Chevrolet Colorado?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as uncomplicated as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a risky problem that could cause risky damage to your engine and come with a big repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A dependable glow mostly means something less risky but a glaring check engine light illustrates that your vehicle’s engine is in risky trouble and service is mandatory immediately. If your check engine light is glaring in your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado, we excessively recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Chevrolet service straightaway. Below is a list of the most innate reasons your check engine light can come on:

• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be changed. The mass airflow sensor in your Chevrolet Colorado is what determines how much fuel is mandatory to run your engine efficiently by measuring the payment of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to extant changes, like altitude. If your Chevrolet Colorado is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are mandatory for your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel assortment in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or aged, you will experience low performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, considerable to more costly repairs.
• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be changed. The Oxygen sensor, admitted as the O2 sensor, measures the payment of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less suitable when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to mean the right assortment of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
• One of the most admitted and innumerable cause is that your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is aged or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't costly. If your check engine light turns on quickly after you put gas in your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado, first thing you should check is to make fearless the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Chevrolet service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause other problems from overheating.
• Your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado has a vacuum leak. Every Chevrolet Colorado has a vacuum system that performs a expansive variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower bad emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can parched out and crack, highly if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme nice.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado is every considerable. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did several decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The cost of a new one depends on the type of Chevrolet you drive, but check our normal service coupons and specials.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak havoc on your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado if it’s not installed correctly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even hinder the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound keen, bring your Colorado to Chevrolet and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, highly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a tiny bit more but could save you money from having to get low work and damage caused by low installation work corrected.

2012 Chevrolet Colorado Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Colorado. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can mean. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling extensive diagnostics will give you conducive knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is truly supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, conspicuous and helpful vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of potential OBD codes, there are also hundreds of potential reasons for the light, including:

• Ignition system faults
• Fuel and air metering systems problems
• Bad Spark Plugs
• Transmission issues
• Old Battery
• Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
• O2 Sensor
• Emissions controls issues
• Computer output circuit issues

This is why it is terrific for someone who does not have plentiful of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. Call Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis at 3176435230 now or schedule your check engine light service online today! If the engine light comes on due to a precarious concern, you risk bad your car further by not repairing the issue right away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out quickly by a certified Chevrolet mechanic.

2012 Chevrolet Colorado Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless capacity causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several functional causes including something as discernible as a loose gas cap. Other functional reasons for a Check Engine Light are dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Chevrolet Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as mandatory to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Chevrolet issue was fixed.

Every 2012 Chevrolet Colorado was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its crucial systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light brightens telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what solely is amiss nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Remarkably Qualified Service active.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more dangerous failure like a harmful catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it good to get the normal code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is commonly between $88 and $111. The good news, Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help designate the cause of your check engine light.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most frequently misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few other ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your automobile. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored automobile performance since the 80s and do a assortment of things for your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado. Some of these include ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name various. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of individual things. It can be as effortless as your gas cap being loose or as serious as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado, contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. Contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis today! Our Chevrolet service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or audit why your check engine light is flashing.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado will ordinarily shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going functional, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you commute over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

2012 Chevrolet Colorado Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado starts flashing, that means that the problem needs hasty attention and your Chevrolet should be brought in rapidly. A flashing light indicates that the problem is unhealthy and if not taken care of rapidly may result in major damage to the vehicle. This blinking light commonly indicates a draconian engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be discarded into the exhaust system. There it can expeditiously raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is potential, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can strictly be the cause. A harmful, long-established or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very lavish repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis suddenly by calling 3176435230.

Is it safe to drive your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado with the check engine light on?

This question is not very rare because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be dependable to drive. This is typically indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more strict problem. If the check engine light is blinking, this means that there is a strict issue and it is recommended to service your Chevrolet Colorado now. Call the experts at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis by dialing 3176435230 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2012 Chevrolet to our certified mechanics as soon as attainable.

Check Engine Light Service 2012 Chevrolet Colorado

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Chevrolet Colorado and abruptly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Chevrolet owners, your heart sinks a scant because you have scant idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t indicate you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado checked as soon as achievable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing substantial break to expensive engine components.

When your 2012 Chevrolet Colorado's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t effective, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is commonly labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an computerized scan tool that is used by our Chevrolet auto repair mechanics at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. There are also a number of rather equitable code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you pick that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced technical to represent the issue and repair it.