My Sonata threw a code tonight. Is a code reader the only way to access the code? Is there a secret handshake method such as what GM and Chrysler have had for years?
For those who don't know, on both of these brands you can read many codes yourself. On the GM, you short two pins on the code reader connector and the code will flash on the check engine light. Chrysler is even smarter. There you, if memory serves, turn the ignition key from off to on to off to on to off again in less than something like 3 seconds and the code will flash on the MIL.
What year is it? My 1996 did not do this, but I haven't tried by newest Chrysler (a 2003). Maybe it does that also which would be the cat's pajamas.
It is things like this that has always caused me to hold Chrysler engineering in pretty high regard. Unfortunately, their manufacturing has always been mediocre at best.
Unfortunately, no. Such is the case with nearly every OBD-II product. You'll need an OBD-II code reader. If you're planning on purchase, choose one that's CAN compatible so you'll get the most future use out of it.
I think my Chryslers are/were OBD II and they allow reading without the scan tool. I think my 84 Chevy is called a "partial" OBD II implementation. Maybe the foreign brands are different in this regard.
Long story short. After being on for just less than two days, the light went out on its own accord at lunch time on Monday. Since I already had an appointment at the dealer for this morning I visited anyway thinking the code would have been stored. No code. I asked what might have happened and they shrugged and said this just happens now and then.
I've never had an American car light the check engine light and then have no code found. Not exactly confidence inspiring...
My Saturn has done that a couple of times. Whenever it misfires, the check engine or service engine light will come on for a few days and then go off. The first time I had my mechanic read the code and he said a misfire on plug 3 (or something like that, it was years ago) He cleared it and told me it would have gone away by itself. Sure enough, a couple of years later, the car sat for several weeks and misfired again. It ran fine and a few days later the light didn't come on.
Well, the light is back on again. Both times now it came on shortly after fueling the car. I'm thinking there may be a connection. I will see if it goes out again by itself and then if it comes on the next time I refuel, I will have something more to tell the dealer tech.
Common problem with a lot of cars. That is why they tell you not to put any more gas once the pump kicks off on auto-fill. The re-circ system does not work properly with the tank over filled, light comes on. After a few more miles, gas is burned and the problem is corrected and it takes some number of cycles for it to go off again.
On my Buick, I have to drive about 3.5 miles for hte light to come on, something like 10 cycles and it goes off again.
I don't fill past when the pump shuts off automatically and I have filled this car for 57,000 miles with no prior problems. I can't believe it is that. But who knows. The idle is a little slower than normal a little rough, so something is not 100% that is for sure. If light stays on for more than two days this time, back to the dealer it will go for a scan.
Lat time it wasn't. That is the strange thing. The light was on for about a day and a half and went off the day before my service appointment. They dealer said no code was present.
I'd be betting on a bad sparkplug. If you have an autozone of aamco around you they will read it for free. I invested in a scangauge II for my elantra. A little costly but the real time monitoring and ability to read codes is well worth the $160 I paid for it. The reason your code went out last time before you took it to the dealer is because your car completed 3 or 4 drive cycles without the problem present anymore. In cases like that it won't store it any longer. It may even be bad gas temporarily fouling a plug. Or a bad plug wire. When was the last time you changed the wires and plugs? The stock and cheapo aftermarket ones should be done yearly.
That is certainly possible. I have not yet changed either plugs or plug wires. Changing such annually went out with the 1970s. Replacement of the plugs is recommended at 98,000 miles and my experience of late is that the platinum plugs will easily go 100K miles. Even my Chevy truck gets 50,000 on a set of standard plugs and the plug wires were replaced for the first time just last year after 15 years and 100,000 miles. And I think I wasted my money as they weren't the problem which later turned out to be a catcon that was plugging up.
I will run the Sonata for a few days this week and see if the light stays on and try to stop at the dealer and see if they will check the code without first having to have an appointment. It is a pain making an appointment and then having nothing for them to look at.
That would be a terrible waste of money. In the past 30 years, I've not gotten less than 60,000 miles from plugs and six years from wires. The newer cars have gone 100,000 miles and my '91 Regal had the original wires (seconds set of plugs) after 14 years and 160,000 miles. Ran as smooth as the day it was new.
To each their own, I would never run any car 100k on the same set or plugs/wires. If you want to takes the chance that they won't fail in that time because the manufacturer says that's how long they will last, that's your choice. I just threw that out there as a possible symptom from personal experience. Back in '05 I had the car throw a code, can't remember which one, but it was blinking the cel and had gone into limp home mode. I had it towed to the dealer and lo and behold it was a bad wire. It had developed a small bad spot and was arching. I had them replace the wires and plugs with oem and just shy of one year later the same thing happened. I've since gone to ngk wires and plugs and changed them yearly. Now while I probably could get more than a year or 20k out of them, it's cheap insurance that I won't have that happen again anytime soon. Now when I originally bought the car I thought that it was strange that it could go so long not having certain things replaced that I was used to doing yearly with my all the other cars I've owned, but this was the first car I ever owned that was newer than '67.
Much has changed since 1967! Since the demise of leaded gas and points ignition, spark plugs last dramatically longer as do wires. I am surprised that you had two wires fail in such a short time. Sounds like you either just got two bad wires from the factory or they weren't routed properly and were chafing on something.
I can't even remember the last time either a plug or plug wire failed (and I can remember back at least 20 years). I tend to change them when the manufacturer recommends as I know their recommendations tend to be conservative. If they say 100,000 then you can almost guarantee they will last 150, but I tend to stay closer to the recommendation. However, I would never take the time for a visit to the garage unless I had something else that needed attention. A faulty plug or plug wire is typically pretty apparent.
Not cheap at all It is the sensible choice of millions of car owners in the past 20 years or so. As stated, my cars get the same fuel milage, same smooth running, same performance as they day t hey came from the showroom. I'm hundreds of dollars ahead of you in the same time frame. A set of wires and plugs is about $85 today if you DIY. If you change every year, you've had a little piece of mind, while I spent less than that to rent a villa in Italy for a week. Or heat my house for over a year. Or buy a big screen TV, or a new table saw. Your money, your choice.
Please, fast forward 40 years. How often do you change oil? I hope you are not one of those 3000 mile guys that wastes a lot of money too. The car makers say 7500 miles. In 100,000 miles, the difference is 20 oil changes. They typically run about $30 (and up) so the difference is another $600. That covers my air fare to Milan, round trip.
In my first car, I'd pull and clean the plugs every few thousand miles, replace them by 10,000. But that was a '53 Mercury with flathead V-8. Added oil every few hundred miles too. It has been years since I've added any oil between changes.
While I'm sipping Chianti with good bread and cheese in Tuscany, I'll be thinking of you under the hood trying to get those back plugs out.
$85? I've never spent more than $40 for both. And I don't have "back plugs", I have an elantra, they are all on the top. It's funny how you had to try and boost your ego by talking about renting a villa in Italy and buying big ticket items. Who cares? That's really not the point here, the OP asked what may be causing their misfire and I suggest something that has happened to me with similar symptoms. And actually it says 3000 miles between oil changes in my owners manual, although I go about 6000 - 7000 miles between using Royal Purple. It's just my preference.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.