Toyota Sienna Check Engine Light

Check Engine Light Service Toyota Sienna

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Toyota Sienna and suddenly, 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 price 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 Toyota Sienna checked as soon as functional. Ignoring that warning could end up causing big wear and tear to costly engine components.

When your Toyota Sienna's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t correct, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is generally 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 read with an electronic diagnose 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 professional to find out the issue and repair it.

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

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

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most generally misunderstood lights or indicators in your Toyota Sienna 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 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 Toyota Sienna. Some of these include shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name innumerable. With that being said, the check engine light can represent a variety of supplemental things. It can be as classic as your gas cap being loose or as active as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Toyota Sienna, contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest. Contact Nalley Toyota Stonecrest today! Our Toyota service department can aid you read what code is turning your check engine light on or audit why your check engine light is flashing.

Toyota Sienna Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that microscopic 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 Sienna. There are hundreds of disparate codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a microscopic patience, tackling necessary diagnostics will give you accessible knowledge about your car and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is surely supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, distinguishable and fundamental car 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:

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

This is why it is amusing for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. Call Nalley Toyota Stonecrest at 7706290279 now 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 critical concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue right away.

Toyota Sienna Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless conceivable causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are many acceptable causes encompassing something as common as a loose gas cap. Added acceptable reasons for a Check Engine Light are damaged oxygen sensor, dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, 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 Toyota Sienna was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its crucial 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 incorrect 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 Exceedingly Qualified Service expert.

Toyota Sienna Check Engine Light

A blinking light expresses that the problem is serious and if not taken care of abruptly may result in gargantuan damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your Toyota Sienna starts blinking, that means that the problem needs urgent attention and your Toyota should be brought in abruptly. This blinking light usually indicates a strict engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be discarded into the exhaust system. There it can rapidly hike the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is probable, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can precisely be the cause. A bad, common or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is glaring, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest urgently 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 costly repair.

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

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as prevailing as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a exacting problem that could cause exacting damage to your engine and come with a considerable repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A consistent glow mostly means something less exacting but a glaring check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in exacting trouble and service is fundamental immediately. If your check engine light is glaring in your Toyota Sienna, we exceptionally indicate not to drive the vehicle and schedule Toyota service immediately. Below is a list of the most prevalent 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 Sienna is what determines how much fuel is mandatory 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 authentic changes, like altitude. If your Toyota Sienna is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a immediate change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are mandatory for your Toyota Sienna. 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 transport the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or common, you will experience low 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, essential to more expensive repairs.
• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. 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 effective 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 Toyota Sienna's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to designate 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.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Toyota Sienna’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 consistently 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 Toyota Sienna 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 substitute problems from overheating.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your Toyota Sienna 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 assorted 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 contemporary service coupons and specials.
• One of the most commonplace and frequent cause is that your Toyota Sienna gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Toyota Sienna 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 common 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 immediately after you put gas in your Toyota Sienna, 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 substitute item can wreak havoc on your Toyota Sienna if it’s not installed correctly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound commonplace, bring your Sienna 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 parts first place might estimate a little bit more but could save you money from having to get low work and damage caused by low installation work corrected.
• Your Toyota Sienna has a vacuum leak. Every Toyota Sienna has a vacuum system that performs a great mixture of functions. The vacuum system also helps cut 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 exciting heat or extreme fast.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Toyota Sienna 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 Toyota Sienna light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive 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.

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

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

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

If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a relentless issue and it is recommended to service your Toyota Sienna now. This question is not excessively plain because it any 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 possible 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 harsh problem. Call the experts at Nalley Toyota Stonecrest by dialing 7706290279 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your Toyota to our certified mechanics as soon as positive.