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What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2018 Toyota Tundra?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a precarious problem that could cause precarious damage to your engine and come with a gargantuan repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow frequently means something less precarious but a flashing check engine light hints that your vehicle’s engine is in precarious trouble and service is essential rapidly. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2018 Toyota Tundra, we remarkably endorse not to drive the vehicle and schedule Toyota service now. Below is a list of the most commonplace reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • 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 necessary to run your engine efficiently by measuring the reward of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to indisputable changes, like altitude. If your Toyota Tundra is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a precipitous change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a intrusive mass airflow sensor.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2018 Toyota Tundra is every vital. 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 assorted decades ago, and they don't explicitly require maintenance. The estimate of a new one depends on the type of Toyota you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or numerous item can wreak havoc on your 2018 Toyota Tundra if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket elements and accessories can deposit the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prohibit the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound pragmatic, 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, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM elements first 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.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are necessary for your 2018 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 intrusive 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, finest to more expensive repairs.
  • Your catalytic converter is intrusive or going intrusive. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2018 Toyota Tundra’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's work 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 2018 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 numerous problems from overheating.
  • One of the most daily and bountiful cause is that your 2018 Toyota Tundra gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2018 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 intrusive 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 urgently after you put gas in your 2018 Toyota Tundra, first thing you should check is to make positive the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, pragmatic as the O2 sensor, measures the reward of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less direct 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 2018 Toyota Tundra's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to read the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A intrusive O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • Your 2018 Toyota Tundra has a vacuum leak. Every Toyota Tundra has a vacuum system that performs a expansive variety 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, especially if they’re exposed to important heat or extreme brisk.

2018 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 suddenly 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 known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Tundra. There are hundreds of various codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling main diagnostics will give you main knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, various and main vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of convenient OBD codes, there are also hundreds of convenient reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is good for someone who does not have countless 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 suddenly by a certified Toyota mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a critical concern, you risk damaging your car extra by not repairing the issue right away.

Is it safe to drive your 2018 Toyota Tundra with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is blinking, this means that there is a active issue and it is recommended to service your Toyota Tundra urgently. This question is not particularly straightforward 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 generally indicated by a steady 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 able problem. Call the consultants at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest by dialing 7706290279 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2018 Toyota to our certified mechanics as soon as attainable.

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

The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is often between $88 and $111. The numerous news, Nalley Toyota Stonecrest offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help suggest 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 unhealthy failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it numerous to get the constitutional code reading and diagnosis.

2018 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2018 Toyota Tundra starts flashing, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your Toyota should be brought in immediately. A flashing light hints that the problem is alarming and if not taken care of immediately may result in major damage to the vehicle. This blinking light usually implies a scrupulous engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be discharged into the exhaust system. There it can rapidly increase the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can really 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 drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very costly repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest promptly by calling 7706290279.

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

It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replenished. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is laborious to predict how countless miles you can travel to work with the warning light on. 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 safe to travel to work in or if we recommend a tow truck. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy correctly.

2018 Toyota Tundra Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are copious conceivable causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several natural causes incorporating something as prevalent as a loose gas cap. Further natural reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, dirty mass airflow sensor, damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, 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 necessary 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 2018 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 vital 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 lights up 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 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 trained.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2018 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 persuasive, and you did many 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 2018 Toyota Tundra light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that reward 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.

Check Engine Light Service 2018 Toyota Tundra

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Toyota Tundra and expeditiously, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Toyota owners, your heart sinks a miniature because you have miniature 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 2018 Toyota Tundra checked as soon as fitting. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to expensive engine parts.

When your 2018 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 apt, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is normally 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 electronic scan tool that is used by our Toyota auto repair mechanics at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive 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 experienced to represent the issue and repair it.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most normally misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2018 Toyota Tundra is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few contrasting 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 2018 Toyota Tundra. Some of these include controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name bountiful. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of divergent things. It can be as straightforward as your gas cap being loose or as precarious as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2018 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.