2012 Chevrolet Silverado Check Engine Light

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

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as effortless as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a consistent problem that could cause consistent damage to your engine and come with a notable repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A dependable glow naturally means something less consistent but a flashing check engine light implies that your vehicle’s engine is in consistent trouble and service is decisive immediately. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado, we highly recommend not to travel to work the vehicle and schedule Chevrolet service straightaway. Below is a list of the most favored reasons your check engine light can come on:

• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be interchanged. The mass airflow sensor in your Chevrolet Silverado is what determines how much fuel is mandatory to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to attentive changes, like altitude. If your Chevrolet Silverado is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a speedy change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
• Your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado has a vacuum leak. Every Chevrolet Silverado has a vacuum system that performs a wide assortment of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower harmful 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 dry out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to active heat or extreme nimble.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado is every abundant. 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 a few decades ago, and they don't actually require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Chevrolet you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado’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 frequently 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 Silverado 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 further problems from overheating.
• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be interchanged. The Oxygen sensor, noted as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less cooperative 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 Silverado's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to pick the right mixture 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.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or further item can wreak havoc on your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket components and accessories can jettison the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound commonplace, bring your Silverado to Chevrolet and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed accurately and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM components authentic place might estimate a tiny bit more but could save you money from having to get low work and damage caused by low installation work corrected.
• One of the most commonplace and frequent cause is that your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado 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 popular 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 expensive. If your check engine light turns on quickly after you put gas in your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado, authentic thing you should check is to make convinced the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are mandatory for your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture 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 popular, 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, leading to more expensive repairs.

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

The average estimate for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is naturally between $88 and $111. The awesome 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. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more perilous failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it awesome to get the good code reading and diagnosis.

2012 Chevrolet Silverado Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard abruptly 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 established as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Silverado. There are hundreds of disparate codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you satisfactory knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, marvelous and satisfactory vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of achievable OBD codes, there are also hundreds of achievable reasons for the light, including:

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

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

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most naturally misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few different 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 vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado. Some of these include ignition timing, controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of different things. It can be as uncomplicated as your gas cap being loose or as relentless as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado, contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. Our Chevrolet service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing. Contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis today!

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

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

2012 Chevrolet Silverado Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado starts shining, that means that the problem needs sudden attention and your Chevrolet should be brought in expeditiously. A shining light expresses that the problem is strict and if not taken care of expeditiously may result in major damage to the vehicle. This flashing light usually indicates a draconian engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be ditched into the exhaust system. There it can hastily raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can absolutely be the cause. A destructive, old 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 fancy repair. If your check engine light is glaring, please contact our unit of automotive specialists at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis swiftly by calling 3176435230.

Check Engine Light Service 2012 Chevrolet Silverado

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Chevrolet Silverado and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Chevrolet owners, your heart sinks a miniature because you have miniature idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the price of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean 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 Silverado checked as soon as feasible. Ignoring that warning could end up causing primary damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t definite, 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 electrical audit tool that is used by our Chevrolet auto repair mechanics at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. There are also a number of somewhat inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you designate that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced high-tech to indicate the issue and repair it.

2012 Chevrolet Silverado Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are bountiful likely causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are many well-known causes including something as realistic as a loose gas cap. Back-up well-known reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged oxygen sensor, dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty head gasket, 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 needed 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 Silverado was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the automobile on its crucial systems. The sensors are mostly 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 illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is wrong 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 Extraordinarily Qualified Service licensed.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2012 Chevrolet Silverado will usually 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 factual, 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 Silverado light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that sum and the light is still on, you will need to transport it in to Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

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

This question is not very convincing 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 safe to drive. This is commonly indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the automobile, it could be an indication of a more perilous problem. If the check engine light is blinking, this means that there is a perilous issue and it is recommended to service your Chevrolet Silverado swiftly. Call the consultants 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 accessible.