?Service Engine Soon? Car Question. (update, still need help)

[Mayfriday0529]

This light just came On. I?m not sure how serious I should take the message?
I just spent about 600 dollars on car inspection, tune up, breaks and other little things the car needed to get it ready for winter and now this light comes On.

What would trigger that light to come on?

The car is a 2002 Nissan Sentra with 79,000 miles, I guess I?m going to have to take it to the dealer and waste an entire day there and loose a vacation day from work.

What's that ?law? that when something bad can happen it will happen?

Update 10/28/2005
I had taken it to Autozone for the code and got the following
P1456 Manufacture Control Auxiliary Emission Controls.

Finally took it to Nissan because they had this 100 point free inspection. I told them about the light, was told it would cost $85 to do a full diagnostic of the engine.
they came back with the same code error P1456, and came back with ?fuel filter cap seal dirty, Intake system needs cleaning?
They recommended I get the Fuel Injection service to help with the problem which was $159 and I also agreed to have Battery Service $39.
In all I paid $309.
But the stupid light came back on!!

Do you think, I have the right to complain and have it checked out for free?

 

[iamwiz82]

Did you tighten the gas cap?

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you tighten the gas cap?

i just loosely put it on and that was last wednesday when i pour gas.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you tighten the gas cap?

i just loosely put it on and that was last wednesday when i pour gas.

That could definitely cause it. Put your gas cap on properly, disconnect your negative battery lead for a minute or two, and see if the light goes off and stays off.

 

[PHiuR]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you tighten the gas cap?

i just loosely put it on and that was last wednesday when i pour gas.

theres your problem!

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you tighten the gas cap?

i just loosely put it on and that was last wednesday when i pour gas.

That could definitely cause it. Put your gas cap on properly, disconnect your negative battery lead for a minute or two, and see if the light goes off and stays off.

Alright, I'll check the gas cap. I'll try the battery test when at home.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: PHiuR

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Did you tighten the gas cap?

i just loosely put it on and that was last wednesday when i pour gas.

theres your problem!

but why would the light come after a week... i'll check it though during lunch time.

 

[HESDog]

if it is not the gas cap, with it nearing 80k miles I'm willing to bet it is an oxygen sensor. go to AutoZone and they can check the error code for you for free.

 

[Ryan]

On most cars, it's just a light that's tied to you odometer. The counter is supposed to be reset everytime your oil is changed - usually goes off every 3-5k miles. Mine shows up on my xB at 5K miles after my oil change - assuming the person changing the oil reset the counter.

Service Engine /= Check Engine

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: HESDog
if it is not the gas cap, with it nearing 80k miles I'm willing to bet it is an oxygen sensor. go to AutoZone and they can check the error code for you for free.

Cool, they got codes like Computers huh...

Originally posted by: Ryan
On most cars, it's just a light that's tied to you odometer. The counter is supposed to be reset everytime your oil is changed - usually goes off every 3-5k miles. Mine shows up on my xB at 5K miles after my oil change - assuming the person changing the oil reset the counter.

Service Engine /= Check Engine

Never seen it before and my oil change is not due for another 1000 miles.

 

[sao123]

Open hood, verify that the engine is still there.
Close hood. All done.

j/k... most cars have an automatic timer that this light turns on after so many miles.
Usually this happens between 65000 miles and 85000 miles. Usually means nothing.

 

[jaedaliu]

Originally posted by: sao123
Open hood, verify that the engine is still there.
Close hood. All done.

j/k... most cars have an automatic timer that this light turns on after so many miles.
Usually this happens between 65000 miles and 85000 miles. Usually means nothing.

I don't own a sentra, but it's very unlikely nissan put those in. Take it to autozone or whatever shop that will check it for free. you "need" to do this, if it's an O2 sensor, you could be losing power and mileage. (you might also have some codes that have been around for a while, but just haven't triggered the light)

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: HESDog
if it is not the gas cap, with it nearing 80k miles I'm willing to bet it is an oxygen sensor. go to AutoZone and they can check the error code for you for free.

Cool, they got codes like Computers huh...

Originally posted by: Ryan
On most cars, it's just a light that's tied to you odometer. The counter is supposed to be reset everytime your oil is changed - usually goes off every 3-5k miles. Mine shows up on my xB at 5K miles after my oil change - assuming the person changing the oil reset the counter.

Service Engine /= Check Engine

Never seen it before and my oil change is not due for another 1000 miles.

Maybe the person who serviced your engine didn't reset the timer.

 

[meltdown75]

i have a grand total of 10 dummy lights on, my temp gauge isn't working and neither is my RPMs thing (shut up). oh and i'm about 2500kms over my suggested oil change point and i haven't checked my oil in a few months.

car care FTW.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: jaedaliu

I don't own a sentra, but it's very unlikely nissan put those in. Take it to autozone or whatever shop that will check it for free. you "need" to do this, if it's an O2 sensor, you could be losing power and mileage. (you might also have some codes that have been around for a while, but just haven't triggered the light)

This O2 sensor, if thats the problem, is it expensive?
By the way, i have always complained that my car seems to have low performance and eats to much gas,, my mechanic said everything looks good on it.

Originally posted by: Ryan

Maybe the person who serviced your engine didn't reset the timer.

I have never heard that they do that.. is that standard on every car?

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: HESDog
if it is not the gas cap, with it nearing 80k miles I'm willing to bet it is an oxygen sensor. go to AutoZone and they can check the error code for you for free.

I hate oxygen sensors! I think my girlfriend's car is running rich from a bad one, and I just had an engine light from mine! Engineers need to make their shít work right!

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
I have never heard that they do that.. is that standard on every car?

Not every car...but a lot of them. If you want to find out for sure, there is probably a book in your glovebox that you have never even opened because you thought it was a Spanish classic about a guy named Manuel, but it's actually the operating instructions for your car and would tell you whether this light was based on mileage or the car's self-diagnostics, and if it is based on mileage, how to reset it.

In short, "Romeo Tango Foxtrot, Mike!"

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
This light just came On. I?m not sure how serious I should take the message?
I just spent about 600 dollars on car inspection, tune up, breaks and other little things the car needed to get it ready for winter and now this light comes On.

What would trigger that light to come on?

The car is a 2002 Nissan Sentra with 79,000 miles, I guess I?m going to have to take it to the dealer and waste an entire day there and loose a vacation day from work.

What's that ?law? that when something bad can happen it will happen?

yah I hate breaks

 

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: jaedaliu

I don't own a sentra, but it's very unlikely nissan put those in. Take it to autozone or whatever shop that will check it for free. you "need" to do this, if it's an O2 sensor, you could be losing power and mileage. (you might also have some codes that have been around for a while, but just haven't triggered the light)

This O2 sensor, if thats the problem, is it expensive?
By the way, i have always complained that my car seems to have low performance and eats to much gas,, my mechanic said everything looks good on it.

Originally posted by: Ryan

Maybe the person who serviced your engine didn't reset the timer.

I have never heard that they do that.. is that standard on every car?

It's a little device just downstream of your exhaust that detects if all the oxygen going into the motor is getting used. The mixture of air and gas in the engine is pretty vital. Too much gas hurts your fuel economy, and too much air will result in loss of power. If it's way too rich or too lean, it won't burn at all. (There are other reasons, too, but I'll keep it simple.)

It's not that expensive. Your biggest cost will be labor if you don't do it yourself. (If you're not into cars, I'd recommend having someone do this. If you don't tighten everything up right down there, you'll have an exhaust leak that can get into the passenger compartment and cause bodily harm.)

 

[jaedaliu]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: jaedaliu

I don't own a sentra, but it's very unlikely nissan put those in. Take it to autozone or whatever shop that will check it for free. you "need" to do this, if it's an O2 sensor, you could be losing power and mileage. (you might also have some codes that have been around for a while, but just haven't triggered the light)

This O2 sensor, if thats the problem, is it expensive?
By the way, i have always complained that my car seems to have low performance and eats to much gas,, my mechanic said everything looks good on it.

Originally posted by: Ryan

Maybe the person who serviced your engine didn't reset the timer.

I have never heard that they do that.. is that standard on every car?

O2 sensors are about $137.43 list price from your Nissan dealership. There are places online that you can mail order them from for about $100. It all depends on what codes get read from the parts store. Another cause for the power loss might be a bad knock sensor (this one doesn't cause the SES light to turn on)

and as for the light turning on every x miles, it doesn't matter, you should take it to a shop and get the code read. My Maxima and Quest never had theirs turn on from too many miles driven, but your sentra might be different.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
I have never heard that they do that.. is that standard on every car?

Not every car...but a lot of them. If you want to find out for sure, there is probably a book in your glovebox that you have never even opened because you thought it was a Spanish classic about a guy named Manuel, but it's actually the operating instructions for your car and would tell you whether this light was based on mileage or the car's self-diagnostics, and if it is based on mileage, how to reset it.

In short, "Romeo Tango Foxtrot, Mike!"

Ha ha ,,, i'll check it out, first i'm going to check the gas cap during lunch, if that doesnt work, i'll read the manual and later it on stop at a Autozone.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
Ha ha ,,, i'll check it out, first i'm going to check the gas cap during lunch, if that doesnt work, i'll read the manual and later it on stop at a Autozone.

Also it's worth noting that if the gas cap is the cause, it may take some days before the light goes out.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
Ha ha ,,, i'll check it out, first i'm going to check the gas cap during lunch, if that doesnt work, i'll read the manual and later it on stop at a Autozone.

Also it's worth noting that if the gas cap is the cause, it may take some days before the light goes out.

If its the gas cap, can Autozone determine that by the code?

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
i have a grand total of 10 dummy lights on, my temp gauge isn't working and neither is my RPMs thing (shut up). oh and i'm about 2500kms over my suggested oil change point and i haven't checked my oil in a few months.

car care FTW.

I have my error lights unplugged. Why? Because my engine mods cause the dash to go into complete christmas-tree mode. And this is pre-OBDII.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
Ha ha ,,, i'll check it out, first i'm going to check the gas cap during lunch, if that doesnt work, i'll read the manual and later it on stop at a Autozone.

Also it's worth noting that if the gas cap is the cause, it may take some days before the light goes out.

If its the gas cap, can Autozone determine that by the code?

I imagine so. I can check the code on my car by turning the key back and forth a few times, and whenever it's come on it's been because of the gas cap and shows some sort of "evaporative emission control" problem.