Is it OK to drive this way??? No way to tell until we know what is turning on the light. How much should you pay to read codes? There are many generic scan tools out there with enough "advice" to lead you well astray.... The scan tool I use is about $20,000CA and has features that make diagnosis easier.
It's like furniture... if you feel you deserve a $200 sofa, you will buy a $200 sofa..... If you feel you deserve something better, you will follow your heart.
In all honesty, continuing to operate your car with a known problem can and will increase the price of the repair as the faulty part(s) affect other parts. For my own part... my wife and son are both drivers. It would be unconscionable for me to allow them to stray from home in vehicles that are less than reliable.
The woodworking newsgroups have one overwhelming piece of advice.... "better to pay the price and cry once rather than cry every time we use it...".
Let's not forget that techs are like chefs.... the burger flipper at Mickey Ds (DING - fries are done) makes a lot less than the guy char-broiling your $15 rib-eye..There's a reason for that....
Autozone read mine for free.
This group has one advantage over Mickey D's - a few knowledgeable, and more importantly, willing to help guys, like Jim are here. So if you go to Autozone and have the codes pulled (for free), there is a good chance that one of them will point you in the direct direction - or at least make an educated guess. No way to tell anything without reading the codes.
And by the way, with a bit of willing to learn and a few good books, the laptop based, inexpensive scanners are probably good enough for the hobbyist. I own one of those, and for the last five years it was able to nail every single power train problem on my two OBDII Fords. Now, if it would only run cylinder balance, diagnose the A/C and bleed the ABS pump, I would be a happy traveler indeed. Time to start saving...
BTW2: $15 for a rib-eye? Can't get one here for that price, and that's in US dollars...
Thanks, guys,
Should have been clearer in original post. Before the warning light came on, I had already made an appointment for LOF at the Ford shop for Tuesday anyhow. I was concerned about any driving between Friday night and Tues a.m.
By the way, the light is still on after two cold starts. Owner's manual says to give it three cold start / mixed driving cycles and it may go away if it was fuel system issue like water in the tank.
Had my SES light come on a few days ago. My friend pulled the code (P0401) with a $200 reader and I researched the problem on the forums and did the work myself. Part cost-$32, Labor-$0 :)
Get the code read at Autozone and see if it's something that you can fix yourself. If not, then by all means bring it in.
BTW: Here's the write-up I did for the DPFE replacement
End of the story: At the dealer today:
diagnosis: bad DPFE sensor. repair cost: parts $30.07; labor: $20.40.
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