HELP!!!! Service engine light came on

Josh@STILLEN

Yes, there are two warning indicators, a 'Service Engine Soon' or 'SES' light, and a 'Check Engine Light' or 'CEL'

SES lights are generally used for minor things, such as the fuel cap, etc.

I'm sure there is no need to panic or drive like mad to the dealer immediately, the CEL usually is the hard core indicator.

Since you're worried, and would probably want peace of mind at ANY time, I would recommend getting a cheap OBD-II reader so you could pull the code now (and in the future), so you can see what the code is before you take it to the dealer.

Like G.I. Joe always told us.. 'knowing is half the battle.. '

tru_Asiatik

i was going to take it to the dealer but i heared they charge $90 just to check it
so im going to go with restting the ecu myself by just disconnecting the battery for a few hours

if its still on after the fact or if it comes back again then ill probably take it to the dealer
wish me luck

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Josh@STILLEN

Your car is under warranty.. and an SES light is something they should check out for you.. AT NO COST..

You didn't do anything to make it turn on, so they should scan it for free, and if something does arise, cover it under warranty.

I wouldn't disconnect the battery.. that typically will not make the light go away, unless it was something very very very minor.

tru_Asiatik

^^so far it worked i disconnected the battery for about an hour and the SES light turned off, i drove it around for about 20 miles and so far so good it didnt come back on
i got back home and i opened the gas tank for a minute or two and close it up again making sure it is tight and it "clicked"

ill restart the car again later to see if the light is on if it is there is defenitely a problem then ill bring it to the dealer

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OMGWTFBBQ

I'm not sure that Chevron offers the nitrogen enriched gasoline. I thought it was only Shell at the moment?

Do you top off your gas after it clicks? Have you ever thought of filling up your gas tank again? I remember one time I had no choice but to put this non-top tier gasoline into my car. I only put in about 10 bucks or so of their highest octane gasoline, only so I could drive to the next gas station. I felt so bad for my poor Civic because it sounded like it was going to die. I immediately drove to the next gas station and filled up with the good stuff. All of the problems went away.

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tru_Asiatik

just got back from a 20 mile drive after filling her up with chevron(same station by my area)
made sure i pushed "in" and turned gas cap with 4 clicks

no ses so far


i was reading on the manual about some "ready for emmsion test" (9-18 on manual)thing
it states that it should be on a "ready" state by looking at the ses light and such
how important is it to have it on the ready state? due to me disconnecting the battery its on a not ready and i have to do this tedious process of running the car a certain speed and then stopping etc ect

dont really want to do it coz it says do it at least 8 times or something

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epod86

As the son of a "the man" oil company employee (specifically Chevron) there is nothing wrong with the big name gas companies that use safe and tested additives that have been around for years, probably decades. These additives and octane modifiers are the stuff they advertise, such as 'nitrogen enriched,' which says about as much as 'Techron,' in that the compound is a trade secret but good for your engine and we'll never know how it really works.

You'll be safe using the following gas, because they actually buy each others gas then put the additives in (octane modifiers are all the same across the producers, and I hear these names on a regular basis from my dad when he does trades):

Chevron, BP, Conoco, Citgo, Shell, Texaco, Exxon Mobil, etc. These are the ones I can remember off hand.

The ones to watch out for are the off brands, that typically always have cheaper gas in comparison to the big guys, despite any price fluctuations. I don't actually know which ones to make generalities about because each one gets their gas in different ways, even station to station. An off brand won't always use the same octane modifiers (which often stabilize the octane level more than anything else) and the additives that are good for emission and engine health. They may buy their gas from a bigger company, meaning good octane, but they won't use additives, which means engine problems. I always put a brand gas in my tank, but which one doesn't really matter. there is a Shell down the road and a Chevron I use when I'm out shopping. I also tend to fill at 1/4 a tank. My dad's even worse, 1/3 and he yells "She's running on fumes!"

ozzfest

What the manual is referring to is the readiness monitors. These monitors are looked at when performing a smog inspection. Usually there are anywhere from 4 to 6 monitors. Out of those, all have to be "ready" except for 2 in order to pass an inspection. They will reach a "ready state" by just driving your vehicle normally over a period of 25 to 50 miles. Don't worry about it.

tru_Asiatik

update:100+ miles after the reset , no SES

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>135I

You have a warranty if worse comes to worse just take it into the dealer.

wstar

I highly recommend getting an OBD-II tool. Not having one when working with modern cars is like not owning a screwdriver these days, and they're universal so you can use them to help out friends and stuff too. Then instead of pulling the battery cable and hoping the condition goes away (and never knowing what it was referring to), you can get an exact readout from the ECU. This Actron is the one I have. There are many mfgs to choose from and they're all pretty equivalent. I mostly picked this one because it gives a text message describing the codes, so you don't have to look them up online or on some chart.

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dad

That's money well spent!

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tru_Asiatik

thanks alot i will look into it
ive been meaning to buy one a while back when i had my celica but since the z is a bigger investment i might as well get one now

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ssqpolo

good job on fixing it. i always thought SES and CEL were the same. I have test pipes and my Service Engine Soon light came on. I'm almost positive theres no check engine one.

Josh@STILLEN

Cat deficiency codes are typically shown as an SES light..

SES codes are typically the 'something is wrong' type of code versus the major fault codes that could prove something major.

In the case of cats (or lack of them) it's more of a emissions deal