Chevrolet Camaro Check Engine Light

Chevrolet Camaro Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your Chevrolet Camaro starts flashing, that means that the problem needs attention promptly and your Chevrolet should be brought in immediately. A flashing light reveals that the problem is exceedingly serious and if not taken care of promptly may result in major and meaningful damage to the car. This blinking light normally reveals a severe engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can promptly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an expensive and extensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can definitely be the cause. A damaged, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is regularly flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis quickly by calling 3176435230. If the problem is entirely ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a exceedingly expensive repair.

Check Engine Light Service Chevrolet Camaro

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Chevrolet Camaro and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Chevrolet owners, your heart sinks drastically because you may have definitely 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, calm 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 advised that you get your Chevrolet Camaro checked rapidly. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major, major damage to pricey engine components.

When your Chevrolet Camaro's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t correct, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is ordinarily 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 can rapidly identify the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic scan tool that is used by our Chevrolet auto repair mechanics at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis. There are still a number of essentially inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you prefer that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to determine the absolutely correct issue and repair it.

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

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Still, the check engine light could also be a warning of a significant problem that could cause serious damage to your engine and come with a hefty and costly repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady and continuous glow typically means something less serious but a flashing check engine light reveals that your vehicle’s engine is in serious trouble and helpful service is required swiftly. If your check engine light is flashing in your Chevrolet Camaro, we very suggest not to drive the car and schedule Chevrolet service today. Below is a list of the most common reasons your check engine light can come on:

• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak extreme havoc on your Chevrolet Camaro if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the car from starting. If these issues sound familiar, bring your Camaro to Chevrolet and have our team of talented certified mechanics assure that your aftermarket items were installed perfectly 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 help you save considerably from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your Chevrolet Camaro is each important. Without a vehicle battery, your vehicle won’t start, light up the road in front, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s vehicle 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 Chevrolet you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
• Your Chevrolet Camaro has a vacuum leak. Each Chevrolet Camaro has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system again helps lower adverse 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 intense heat or extreme cold.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are necessary for your Chevrolet Camaro. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mix in the combustion chamber of your car. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run smooth. 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 old, you will experience a conspicuous 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 damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, leading to more expensive repairs.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Chevrolet Camaro’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 invariably neglected maintenance, which is why Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis offers a free multi-point examination with each Chevrolet service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your Chevrolet Camaro will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your vehicle may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause other delicate problems from overheating.
• One of the most common and frequent cause is that your Chevrolet Camaro gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Chevrolet Camaro serves different purposes. It prevents dangerous 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 defective fuel cap? If your gas cap is old or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump and be more pricey. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't expensive. If your check engine light turns on promptly after you put gas in your Chevrolet Camaro, 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.
• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns more quickly and your car will be less efficient when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A defective sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause significant damage to your catalytic converter and your Chevrolet Camaro's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to determine the definitely correct mix of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A defective O2 sensor can again cause a vehicle to fail an emissions test.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Chevrolet Camaro is what determines how much fuel is necessary 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 certain changes, like altitude. If your Chevrolet Camaro is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden fast change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a vital sign of a defective mass airflow sensor.

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

If you check engine light is flashing, we suggest that you pull over and contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis to help determine if your car is safe to drive in or if we suggest a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is generally difficult to predict how many miles you can be safe in driving 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 bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Chevrolet Camaro will ordinarily shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For instance, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will rapidly turn itself off. Still, if your catalytic converter is working perfectly, 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 Chevrolet Camaro 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.

Chevrolet Camaro Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating, particularly to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminate, 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 Camaro. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can correctly represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you useful knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that vital Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Sadly, obvious and useful vehicle symptoms do not invariably accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of possible OBD codes, there are also hundreds of possible reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is essential for someone who does not have a lot of prevalent 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 serious concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue right away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out swiftly by a proficient certified Chevrolet mechanic.

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 serious failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it good to get the proper code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is generally between $88 and $111. The good news, Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis offers entirely free multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light.

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

This question is not very simple 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 secure to drive. This is usually indicated by a steady 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 serious problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a serious issue and it is suggested to service your Chevrolet Camaro expeditiously. Call the experts at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis by dialing 3176435230 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your Chevrolet to our certified mechanics as soon as imaginable.

Chevrolet Camaro Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several common causes including something as simple as a loose gas cap. Other generally common reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty head gasket, broken oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged emissions control part, dirty mass airflow sensor, or broken 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 absolutely repair it as necessary 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 entirely fixed.

Every Chevrolet Camaro was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its essential systems. The rapid sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending crucial 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. Yet, sadly that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what explicitly 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 Exceptionally Qualified Service professional.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most usually misunderstood lights or indicators in your Chevrolet Camaro is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the critical onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a variety of 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 car. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored car performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your Chevrolet Camaro. Some of these essential duties include ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, and implementing cohesion control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a wide range of different things. It can be as simple as your gas cap being loose or as perilous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Chevrolet Camaro, 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!