What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?
One of the most commonly misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few odd 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 fluctuate of things for your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado. Some of these include controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name several. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of particular things. It can be as typical as your gas cap being loose or as compelling as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado, contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. Contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis today! Our Chevrolet service department can aid you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is glaring.
Is it safe to drive your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado with the check engine light on?
This question is not particularly pure 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 travel to work. This is constantly indicated by a consistent glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the car, it could be an indication of a more awful problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a awful issue and it is recommended to service your Chevrolet Colorado hastily. Call the specialists at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis by dialing 3176435230 so you can describe the issues. Or lower your speed and bring your 2020 Chevrolet to our certified mechanics as soon as ready for use.
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 well tightened to a more relentless failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it accomplished to get the suitable code reading and diagnosis. The middle rate for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is frequently between $88 and $111. The accomplished news, Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help indicate the cause of your check engine light.
2020 Chevrolet Colorado Check Engine Light Flashing
Although there are many feasible causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are frequent visible causes including something as visible as a loose gas cap. Additional visible reasons for a Check Engine Light are damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty emissions control part, faulty head gasket, dirty mass airflow 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 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 2020 Chevrolet Colorado was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the automobile on its intense systems. The sensors are normally 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 definitely is incorrect 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 Very Qualified Service trained.
What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2020 Chevrolet Colorado?
When your check engine light comes on, this could be as divergent as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a perilous problem that could cause perilous break to your engine and come with a large repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow frequently means something less perilous but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in perilous trouble and service is basic immediately. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado, we excessively advise not to drive the vehicle and schedule Chevrolet service today. Below is a list of the most known reasons your check engine light can come on:
- The battery is scanty or dead. The battery in your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado is each vital. 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 definitely require maintenance. The rate of a new one depends on the type of Chevrolet you drive, but check our present service coupons and specials.
- Your catalytic converter is detrimental or going detrimental. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's work is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is ordinarily caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with each Chevrolet service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it fixed, your 2020 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 further problems from overheating.
- Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be interchanged. The mass airflow sensor in your Chevrolet Colorado is what determines how much fuel is essential 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 attentive 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 detrimental mass airflow sensor.
- Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be interchanged. The Oxygen sensor, acknowledged 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 apt 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 2020 Chevrolet Colorado's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to illustrate the right collection of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A detrimental O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
- Your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado has a vacuum leak. Each Chevrolet Colorado has a vacuum system that performs a wide collection of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower damaging 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 extraordinary heat or extreme cold.
- One of the most accepted and frequent cause is that your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2020 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 detrimental fuel cap? If your gas cap is erstwhile 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 lavish. If your check engine light turns on quickly after you put gas in your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado, first thing you should check is to make hopeful 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 essential for your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel collection 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 detrimental or erstwhile, you will experience good 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 lavish repairs.
- Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or further item can wreak havoc on your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can discard the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prohibit the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound accepted, bring your Colorado to Chevrolet and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed properly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a little bit more but could save you money from having to get good work and damage caused by good installation work corrected.
How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?
It could be anything from a detrimental sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy appropriately. If you check engine light is flashing, we advocate that you pull over and contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis to help represent if your vehicle is safe to travel to work in or if we advocate a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is troublesome to predict how many miles you can travel to work with the warning light on.
Check Engine Light Service 2020 Chevrolet Colorado
What do you do when you’re driving along in your Chevrolet Colorado and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Chevrolet 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 cost 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 2020 Chevrolet Colorado checked as soon as potential. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to expensive engine components.
When your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the computerized control system that it can’t nice, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is normally 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 electronic observe tool that is used by our Chevrolet auto repair mechanics at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. There are also a number of comparatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you determine that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an licensed mechanical to indicate the issue and repair it.
Will the check engine light reset itself?
The check engine light on your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado 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 rational, 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 2020 Chevrolet Colorado 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.
2020 Chevrolet Colorado Check Engine Light
A flashing light expresses that the problem is persuasive and if not taken care of straightaway may result in substantial damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your 2020 Chevrolet Colorado starts flashing, that means that the problem needs prompt attention and your Chevrolet should be brought in straightaway. This blinking light usually suggests a draconian engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can swiftly expand the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where wear and tear is possible, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can strictly be the cause. A threatening, common or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis immediately 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 expensive repair.
2020 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 promptly 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 Colorado. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling imperative diagnostics will give you favorable knowledge about your automobile and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is actually supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, discernible and favorable automobile 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:
- Old Battery
- Fuel and air metering systems problems
- Ignition system faults
- Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
- Transmission issues
- Computer output circuit issues
- Emissions controls issues
- Bad Spark Plugs
- O2 Sensor
This is why it is main for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. If the engine light comes on due to a relentless 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 instantly by a certified Chevrolet mechanic. Call Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis at 3176435230 now or schedule your check engine light service online today!