Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Check Engine Light

Check Engine Light Service Chevrolet Silverado 1500

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Chevrolet owners, your heart sinks extremely because you may have exactly 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, peaceful breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is advised that you get your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 checked rapidly. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major, considerable damage to expensive engine components.

When your Chevrolet Silverado 1500'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 expeditiously 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 relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you select 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 definitely correct issue and repair it.

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

If you check engine light is flashing, we advocate that you pull over and contact Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis to help determine if your car is safe to drive in or if we advocate a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is typically difficult to predict how many miles you can be safe in driving with the warning light on. It could be anything from a bad 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 Chevrolet Silverado 1500?

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 still be a warning of a significant problem that could cause serious damage to your engine and come with a hefty and expensive repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady and continuous glow usually means something less serious but a flashing check engine light reveals that your vehicle’s engine is in meaningful trouble and useful service is required swiftly. If your check engine light is flashing in your Chevrolet Silverado 1500, we remarkably advocate not to drive the vehicle and schedule Chevrolet service today. Below is a list of the most common reasons your check engine light can come on:

• 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 swiftly 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 Silverado 1500's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to determine the definitely correct combination of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A defective O2 sensor can likewise cause a car to fail an emissions test.
• Your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has a vacuum leak. Each Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system likewise 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, particularly if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme cold.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are required for your Chevrolet Silverado 1500. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel combination 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 noticeable poor performance and decreased 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 pricey repairs.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is each 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 genuinely require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Chevrolet you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
• One of the most common and frequent cause is that your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 serves various 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 expensive. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't pricey. If your check engine light turns on promptly after you put gas in your Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 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 other item can wreak extreme havoc on your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket components 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 Silverado 1500 to Chevrolet and have our team of accomplished certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed properly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, particularly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM components 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.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is what determines how much fuel is required 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 Silverado 1500 is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden quick change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a crucial sign of a defective mass airflow sensor.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Chevrolet Silverado 1500’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 constantly 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 Silverado 1500 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 dangerous problems from overheating.

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating, especially 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 Silverado 1500. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can accurately represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you helpful 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, clear and useful vehicle symptoms do not repeatedly accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of imaginable OBD codes, there are also hundreds of imaginable reasons for the light, including:

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

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

Is it safe to drive your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with the check engine light on?

This question is not immensely 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 safe to drive. This is generally 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 serious problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a serious issue and it is recommended to service your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 quickly. 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 promptly as imaginable.

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 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 emissions control part, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty head gasket, dirty mass airflow sensor, broken oxygen sensor, or damaged spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Chevrolet Certified Mechanics and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and totally repair it as required 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 completely fixed.

Every Chevrolet Silverado 1500 was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its vital systems. The speedy sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending vital 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, unfortunately 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.

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 accurately 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 complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 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 swiftly turn itself off. Again, 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 Silverado 1500 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.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most generally misunderstood lights or indicators in your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the essential onboard diagnostics system, and displays in an assortment 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 an assortment of things for your Chevrolet Silverado 1500. Some of these essential duties include controlling engine speed, ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing security control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean an assortment of different things. It can be as simple as your gas cap being loose or as unpredictable as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 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!

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Check Engine Light

A flashing light signifies that the problem is exceptionally serious and if not taken care of instantly may result in major and serious damage to the car. If the check engine light in your Chevrolet Silverado 1500 starts flashing, that means that the problem needs attention instantly and your Chevrolet should be brought in immediately. This blinking light frequently indicates a severe engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can swiftly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an pricey and considerable repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can exactly be the cause. A defective, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is constantly flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Bill Estes Chevy Indianapolis expeditiously by calling 3176435230. If the problem is totally ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a immensely pricey repair.