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2013 Toyota 4Runner Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2013 Toyota 4Runner starts flashing, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your Toyota should be brought in immediately. A flashing light indicates that the problem is unhealthy and if not taken care of immediately may result in major damage to the vehicle. This blinking light frequently indicates a relentless engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be discarded into the exhaust system. There it can rapidly boost the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is usable, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can genuinely be the cause. A bad, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to commute, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very expensive repair. If your check engine light is blinking, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest promptly by calling 7706290279.

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

The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more perilous failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it constitutional to get the cooperative code reading and diagnosis. The middle cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is frequently between $88 and $111. The constitutional news, Nalley Toyota Stonecrest offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help imply the cause of your check engine light.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2013 Toyota 4Runner?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as discernible as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a risky problem that could cause risky damage to your engine and come with a intense repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow typically means something less risky but a twinkling check engine light expresses that your vehicle’s engine is in risky trouble and service is imperative hastily. If your check engine light is twinkling in your 2013 Toyota 4Runner, we very represent not to commute the vehicle and schedule Toyota service today. Below is a list of the most current reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Your 2013 Toyota 4Runner has a vacuum leak. Every Toyota 4Runner has a vacuum system that performs a wide mixture of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower 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 exciting heat or extreme chilly.
  • Your catalytic converter is contentious or going contentious. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2013 Toyota 4Runner’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 2013 Toyota 4Runner 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 other problems from overheating.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Toyota 4Runner is what determines how much fuel is essential to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to assorted changes, like altitude. If your Toyota 4Runner is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a hasty change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a contentious mass airflow sensor.
  • One of the most easy and copious cause is that your 2013 Toyota 4Runner gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2013 Toyota 4Runner 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 contentious 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 lavish. If your check engine light turns on instantly after you put gas in your 2013 Toyota 4Runner, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak havoc on your 2013 Toyota 4Runner if it’s not installed perfectly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can discard the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even avert the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound prevalent, bring your 4Runner to Toyota and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed properly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, chiefly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might estimate a miniature bit more but could save you money from having to get scanty work and damage caused by scanty installation work corrected.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, admitted as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be fewer possible 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 2013 Toyota 4Runner's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to represent the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A contentious O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are essential for your 2013 Toyota 4Runner. 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 bring the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are contentious or old, you will experience scanty 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, extensive to more lavish repairs.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2013 Toyota 4Runner is every important. 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 really require maintenance. The estimate of a new one depends on the type of Toyota you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.

Is it safe to drive your 2013 Toyota 4Runner with the check engine light on?

This question is not very natural 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 exacting problem. If the check engine light is shining, this means that there is a exacting issue and it is recommended to service your Toyota 4Runner hastily. Call the experts at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest by dialing 7706290279 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2013 Toyota to our certified mechanics as soon as feasible.

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

If you check engine light is shining, we suggest that you pull over and contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest to help opt for if your vehicle is secure to travel to work in or if we suggest a tow truck. 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 complicated to predict how innumerable miles you can travel to work with the warning light on. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced.

Check Engine Light Service 2013 Toyota 4Runner

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Toyota 4Runner and suddenly, a yellow light flashes 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 cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean 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 2013 Toyota 4Runner checked as soon as functional. Ignoring that warning could end up causing considerable damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2013 Toyota 4Runner's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t economical, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is generally labeled ā€œcheck engineā€ or ā€œservice engine soonā€, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word ā€œcheck.ā€

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or ā€œtrouble codeā€ in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is learn with an computerized inspect tool that is used by our Toyota auto repair mechanics at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest. There are also a number of relatively economical code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you choose that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced skilled to pick the issue and repair it.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2013 Toyota 4Runner 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 humane, 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 2013 Toyota 4Runner light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you travel to work over that deposit 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.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most typically misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2013 Toyota 4Runner is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few different ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your 2013 Toyota 4Runner. Some of these include ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a mixture of different things. It can be as detectable as your gas cap being loose or as serious as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2013 Toyota 4Runner, contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest. Contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest today! Our Toyota service department can aid you prefer what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing.

2013 Toyota 4Runner Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are many probable causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are diverse accepted causes including something as accepted as a loose gas cap. Different accepted reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty head gasket, damaged oxygen sensor, 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 revamped.

Every 2013 Toyota 4Runner was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its difficult systems. The sensors are normally detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control team. If the electronic control team 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 totally is wrong 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 Highly Qualified Service professional.

2013 Toyota 4Runner Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard abruptly flashes, 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 traditional as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your 4Runner. There are hundreds of discrete codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling innate diagnostics will give you available 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, obvious and helpful vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of feasible OBD codes, there are also hundreds of feasible reasons for the light, including:

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

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