"check Engine" Figured Out

[artseattle]

Twice, I have had the "check" engine light come on. The first time, I tightened the gas cap and it went off (although it already seemed tight enough). The second time, that did not work. I started trolling this forum and found the fix in another section. Apparently, I had overfilled the gas tank and that caused a vapor sensor? to activate the light. I did fill the tank higher than usual (trying to get to a round dollar amount!)

I tried this again just to see, and, the light came on again. As soon as I cleared the excess gas from just under the gas cap, the light went off.

Hope this is helpful to others.

[johnny3]

Very glad to know that, thank you very much.

[1Ponkte]

Had a similar thing happen to me. However mine had been preceeded by a couple of other incidents.

I hadn't owned and driven the car for long when I heard a disquieting noise one morning when I started it. It sounded like noisy lifters in a pushrod type engine. After starting and stopping the engine a couple of times, letting it idle for a bit, and when warmed up somewhat, a blip on the throttle and the noise stopped. Still, it bothered me so I ran to my friendly foreign auto mechanic and got another oil change.

The fellow I bought the car from said that the timing belt and major service had been performed at just over 91,000 miles by a Lexus mechanic. At the time I purchased the car it had just over 103,000 miles on it. The mileage at the time of oil change was 104,000+.

Right about the time I got to 106,000, I was perusing this forum and read a topic involving a fellow who had been driving for some time with a "check engine" light showing. Someone wrote telling him that the light did not signify a service reminder and to get that car to a mechanic immediately.

The next day, I fired my rig up intending to take a trip over the mountains and heard a funny noise from the front of the engine. I figured I was hearing things and started down the road. About a half mile from my house I noticed the check engine light was on.

I promptly turned around, went home, and called my friendly mechanic. I told him that I thought maybe the previous owner had misrepresented the timing belt and was having the car towed to his shop to have it replaced. I also had him do a full service at the time.

Well, by the time the tow truck came to pick up the car a couple days later, the noise was no longer present and the light was out but I went ahead and had the work done anyway.

Turned out I really didn't need a timing belt (Still had it replaced), the code for the light was the evaporative cannister, and he thought the grinding noise was probably caused by the power steering pump which had some rather dirty fluid in it which he sucked out and replaced.

I felt like a paranoiac idiot but now have a car that I'm hoping is good til 200,000 without any major problems.