2012 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light

Is it safe to drive your 2012 Toyota Tundra with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is shining, this means that there is a precarious issue and it is recommended to service your Toyota Tundra quickly. This question is not tremendously clear because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is typically indicated by a dependable glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more critical problem. Call the experts at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest by dialing 7706290279 so you can describe the issues. Or cut down your speed and bring your 2012 Toyota to our certified mechanics as soon as potential.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The average estimate for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is continuously between $88 and $111. The impressive news, Nalley Toyota Stonecrest offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not accordingly tightened to a more precarious failure like a destructive catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it impressive to get the apt code reading and diagnosis.

2012 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2012 Toyota Tundra starts flashing, that means that the problem needs sudden attention and your Toyota should be brought in expeditiously. A flashing light expresses that the problem is dominant and if not taken care of expeditiously may result in considerable damage to the vehicle. This blinking light commonly indicates a rigorous engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be discarded into the exhaust system. There it can immediately raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where break is potential, requiring an fancy repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can really be the cause. A bad, classic or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is shining, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest immediately by calling 7706290279. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very expensive repair.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most commonly misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2012 Toyota Tundra is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few diversified ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light flashes in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your car. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored car performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your 2012 Toyota Tundra. Some of these include controlling engine speed, ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can imply a mixture of assorted things. It can be as familiar as your gas cap being loose or as hazardous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2012 Toyota Tundra, contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest. Contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest today! Our Toyota service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing.

2012 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are many potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are copious acceptable causes including something as simple as a loose gas cap. Other acceptable reasons for a Check Engine Light are dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, faulty head gasket, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Toyota Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as needed to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Toyota issue was fixed.

Every 2012 Toyota Tundra was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its laborious systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is guilty nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Nalley Toyota Stonecrest provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Extraordinarily Qualified Service licensed.

2012 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard quickly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also established as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Tundra. There are hundreds of distinct codes that your check engine light can suggest. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling imperative diagnostics will give you comfortable knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is certainly supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, detectable and helpful vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of likely OBD codes, there are also hundreds of likely reasons for the light, including:

• Transmission issues
• O2 Sensor
• Computer output circuit issues
• Old Battery
• Ignition system faults
• Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
• Fuel and air metering systems problems
• Emissions controls issues
• Bad Spark Plugs

This is why it is necessary for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. Call Nalley Toyota Stonecrest at 7706290279 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out hastily by a certified Toyota mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a risky concern, you risk detrimental your car supplemental by not repairing the issue right away.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2012 Toyota Tundra will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going functional, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2012 Toyota Tundra light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that discard and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Nalley Toyota Stonecrest so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is draconian to predict how frequent miles you can drive with the warning light on. It could be anything from a damaging sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest to help determine if your vehicle is reliable to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck.

Check Engine Light Service 2012 Toyota Tundra

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Toyota Tundra and suddenly, a yellow light lights up on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Toyota owners, your heart sinks a small because you have small idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the estimate of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t opt for you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2012 Toyota Tundra checked as soon as viable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing considerable damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2012 Toyota Tundra's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electrical control system that it can’t fair, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is mostly labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is find out with an high-tech scan tool that is used by our Toyota auto repair technicians at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest. There are also a number of relatively modest code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you indicate that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an skilled mechanical to indicate the issue and repair it.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2012 Toyota Tundra?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as visible as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a hazardous problem that could cause hazardous damage to your engine and come with a primary repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A logical glow mostly means something less hazardous but a flashing check engine light illustrates that your vehicle’s engine is in hazardous trouble and service is needed shortly. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2012 Toyota Tundra, we tremendously recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Toyota service today. Below is a list of the most logical reasons your check engine light can come on:

• One of the most conscious and plentiful cause is that your 2012 Toyota Tundra gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2012 Toyota Tundra serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a harmful fuel cap? If your gas cap is old or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't expensive. If your check engine light turns on quickly after you put gas in your 2012 Toyota Tundra, first thing you should check is to make bold the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your 2012 Toyota Tundra. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are harmful or old, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, principal to more expensive repairs.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Toyota Tundra is what determines how much fuel is needed to run your engine efficiently by measuring the ditch of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to certain changes, like altitude. If your Toyota Tundra is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a quick change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a harmful mass airflow sensor.
• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the ditch of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less available when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2012 Toyota Tundra's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to suggest the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A harmful O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
• Your catalytic converter is harmful or going harmful. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2012 Toyota Tundra’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is frequently caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Nalley Toyota Stonecrest offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Toyota service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2012 Toyota Tundra will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause assorted problems from overheating.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or assorted item can wreak havoc on your 2012 Toyota Tundra if it’s not installed correctly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can discharge the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even avert the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound conscious, bring your Tundra to Toyota and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, chiefly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a tiny bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2012 Toyota Tundra is every basic. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't truly require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Toyota you travel to work, but check our actual service coupons and specials.
• Your 2012 Toyota Tundra has a vacuum leak. Every Toyota Tundra has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps decrease harmful emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can dry out and crack, chiefly if they’re exposed to notable heat or extreme crisp.