When the check engine light came on couple of months ago we had a local mechanic diagnosed it. He said it was from not tightening the gas cap enough and charged us $150 to reset it.
Today the check engine light came on again and certainly I don't need the mechanic charge me another $150 and have the light come on again two months later. Ok, I'll get a new gas cap. Other than that, any ideas or suggestions. TIA
It may not be the gas cap. Retrieve the stored codes; I think Autozone will do that for free.
IMO, the place that charged you $150 to diagnose overcharged you.
Check out Autozone - they will let you use a code scanner for free. Other major parts store chains probably have a similar policy. Before you spend money on replacement parts, check the trouble codes and report back here or check here for a list of codes:
You can purchase an OBD II code scanner for under $100, but since many places will either check codes for free or let you use a scanner for free, a better investment would be a digital volt/ohm meter, available at Radio Shack for under $30.
I got gifted with my daughter's 2002 Rav4, 2 years ago. It had check engine light intermittently for the past year and a half. Seemed to have no effect on the drivability of the vehicle and the dealer showed little interest in capturing the $ from resetting it. Finally made an appointment specifically to check it a week and a half ago for this past Thursday. On Tuesday, the dealer called to set up an appointment to fix the damn thing on a recall (for free). Check Toyota recalls on google and see if you get lucky.
Tom
$150 is too much. Many local Autozone stores have the OBD-II free loaner available and will help you read and reset the MIL light for free!! Or you can buy your own for about $70 at local Pep Boys.
You should always find out what the codes are about. Don't wait until things got worse to fix it.
# Fred # wrote:
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