2012 Chevy Silverado Check Engine Light

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

If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a exacting issue and it is recommended to service your Chevy Silverado abruptly. This question is not excessively effortless 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 naturally 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 rigorous problem. 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 Chevy to our certified mechanics as soon as equitable.

2012 Chevy Silverado Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are copious possible causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are copious distinguishable causes encompassing something as visible as a loose gas cap. Distinctive distinguishable reasons for a Check Engine Light are damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty emissions control part, faulty head gasket, or defective spark plugs to name several. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Chevy 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 Chevy issue was fixed.

Every 2012 Chevy Silverado was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its central systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the mechanical control unit. If the mechanical 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 inaccurate 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 Highly Qualified Service skilled.

2012 Chevy Silverado Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2012 Chevy Silverado starts flashing, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your Chevy should be brought in rapidly. A flashing light expresses that the problem is serious and if not taken care of rapidly may result in fundamental damage to the vehicle. This blinking light regularly expresses a relentless engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be ditched into the exhaust system. There it can immediately increase the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where break is possible, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can fully be the cause. A bad, classic or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our unit of automotive experts at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis at this moment by calling 3176435230. 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.

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

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a severe problem that could cause severe damage to your engine and come with a generous repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow consistently means something less severe but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in severe trouble and service is decisive hastily. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2012 Chevy Silverado, we extremely recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Chevy service at this moment. Below is a list of the most commonplace reasons your check engine light can come on:

• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, current 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 factual 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 break to your catalytic converter and your 2012 Chevy Silverado's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to indicate the right fluctuate of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A destructive O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
• Your catalytic converter is destructive or going destructive. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2012 Chevy 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 usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Chevy service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it fixed, your 2012 Chevy 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 substitute problems from overheating.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Chevy Silverado is what determines how much fuel is needed 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 conclusive changes, like altitude. If your Chevy Silverado is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a hasty change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a destructive mass airflow sensor.
• One of the most prevalent and bountiful cause is that your 2012 Chevy Silverado gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2012 Chevy 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 destructive fuel cap? If your gas cap is common 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 instantly after you put gas in your 2012 Chevy Silverado, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or substitute item can wreak havoc on your 2012 Chevy Silverado if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can jettison the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound receptive, bring your Silverado to Chevy and have our team of certified technicians ensure that your aftermarket items were installed well and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, immensely aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might value a tiny bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and break caused by poor installation work corrected.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your 2012 Chevy Silverado. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel fluctuate 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 destructive or common, you will experience poor 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 break to ignition coils and O2 sensors, prime to more expensive repairs.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2012 Chevy Silverado is every essential. 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 really require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Chevy you travel to work, but check our effective service coupons and specials.
• Your 2012 Chevy Silverado has a vacuum leak. Every Chevy Silverado has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps cut down down 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, immensely if they’re exposed to irritable heat or extreme cold.

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

It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. 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. If you check engine light is flashing, we advise that you pull over and contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis to aid determine if your vehicle is secure to drive in or if we advise a tow truck. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly.

Check Engine Light Service 2012 Chevy Silverado

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Chevy Silverado and abruptly, a yellow light lights up on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Chevy owners, your heart sinks a little because you have little idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the value 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 Chevy Silverado checked as soon as achievable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major wear and tear to expensive engine components.

When your 2012 Chevy 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 handy, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is typically 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 find out with an electronic investigate tool that is used by our Chevy auto repair technicians at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. There are also a number of somewhat inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you opt for that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an professional professional to find out the issue and repair it.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most ordinarily misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2012 Chevy Silverado is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few distinctive 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 range of things for your 2012 Chevy Silverado. Some of these include shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name several. With that being said, the check engine light can indicate a variety of various things. It can be as palpable as your gas cap being loose or as memorable as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2012 Chevy Silverado, contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. Contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis today! Our Chevy service department can aid you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing.

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 critical failure like a detrimental catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it distinct to get the honest code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is consistently between $88 and $111. The distinct 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.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2012 Chevy 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 advantageous, 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 Chevy Silverado light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive 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 Chevy Silverado Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that cheap 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 cordial as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Silverado. There are hundreds of odd codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a cheap patience, tackling crucial diagnostics will give you realistic knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is precisely supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, distinguishable and practical vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of convenient OBD codes, there are also hundreds of convenient reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is interesting 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 relentless concern, you risk aggressive your automobile further by not repairing the issue right away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out urgently by a certified Chevy mechanic.