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What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most mostly misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2015 Toyota Tundra 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 assortment of things for your 2015 Toyota Tundra. Some of these include controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of various things. It can be as conspicuous as your gas cap being loose or as serious as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2015 Toyota Tundra, contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest. Our Toyota service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or investigate why your check engine light is flashing. Contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest today!

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2015 Toyota Tundra?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as commonplace as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a unhealthy problem that could cause unhealthy damage to your engine and come with a substantial repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow ordinarily means something fewer unhealthy but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in unhealthy trouble and service is basic expeditiously. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2015 Toyota Tundra, we exceptionally recommend not to drive the car and schedule Toyota service today. Below is a list of the most ongoing reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or alternative item can wreak havoc on your 2015 Toyota Tundra if it’s not installed well. These aftermarket parts and accessories can discard the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even stop the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound favorite, bring your Tundra to Toyota and have our company of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts original place might cost a little bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2015 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 usually 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 2015 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 alternative problems from overheating.
  • Your 2015 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 premium 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, especially if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme amiable.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are decisive for your 2015 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 bad 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, first-rate to more expensive repairs.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replenished. The mass airflow sensor in your Toyota Tundra is what determines how much fuel is decisive 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 responsive changes, like altitude. If your Toyota Tundra is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replenished. The Oxygen sensor, known 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 less compelling 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 2015 Toyota Tundra's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to find out the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2015 Toyota Tundra is every crucial. 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 various decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Toyota you drive, but check our actual service coupons and specials.
  • One of the most normal and copious cause is that your 2015 Toyota Tundra gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2015 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 bad 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 expeditiously after you put gas in your 2015 Toyota Tundra, original thing you should check is to make fearless the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.

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

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

2015 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that slight light on your vehicle’s dashboard swiftly brightens, 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 noted as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Tundra. There are hundreds of clear-cut codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a slight patience, tackling meaningful diagnostics will give you direct 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, noticeable and practical vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of direct OBD codes, there are also hundreds of direct reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is strict 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 quickly by a certified Toyota mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a relentless concern, you risk harmful your car added by not repairing the issue right away. Call Nalley Toyota Stonecrest at 7706290279 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!

2015 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless likely causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are bountiful main causes including something as congenial as a loose gas cap. Further main reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, dirty mass airflow 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 mandatory 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 2015 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 central systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electrical control squad. If the electrical control squad 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 precisely 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 Extremely Qualified Service high-tech.

2015 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2015 Toyota Tundra starts flashing, that means that the problem needs fast attention and your Toyota should be brought in today. A flashing light suggests that the problem is extraordinary and if not taken care of today may result in generous damage to the vehicle. This shining light frequently hints a harsh engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be ejected into the exhaust system. There it can suddenly increase the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is possible, 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, departed or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive specialists at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest immediately by calling 7706290279. If the problem is ignored or you continue to travel to work, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very costly repair.

Check Engine Light Service 2015 Toyota Tundra

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Toyota Tundra and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Toyota owners, your heart sinks a little because you have little 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 2015 Toyota Tundra checked as soon as possible. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to lavish engine components.

When your 2015 Toyota Tundra's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t decent, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is typically 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 read with an electrical inspect tool that is used by our Toyota auto repair mechanics at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest. There are also a number of somewhat bargain code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you prefer that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to indicate the issue and repair it.

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

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

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2015 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 adequate, 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 2015 Toyota Tundra light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you travel to work over that amount 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.

Is it safe to drive your 2015 Toyota Tundra with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a serious issue and it is recommended to service your Toyota Tundra immediately. This question is not very uncomplicated 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 proper 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 scrupulous problem. Call the specialists at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest by dialing 7706290279 so you can describe the issues. Or lessen your speed and bring your 2015 Toyota to our certified mechanics as soon as feasible.