CEL - Bad Gas Cap???

[phantom6294]

So, I drove down to my parents' mountain house today; from northeast of Baltimore to the northwest corner of North Carolina. I stopped at an Exxon at exit 128ish on I-81 to fill up. As I begin to accelerate down the on ramp, my CEL flashes then goes steady.

Since I had just filled up, I thought for sure it was gas cap related. I stopped on the on ramp, got out, unscrewed and rescrewed the gas cap. No joy. Turned the car off and tried again, cranked her - CEL stayed on. Tried one more time to no avail.

The engine was idling like normal; very smooth, no apparent vibrations (e.g. misfires) or odd sounds. I called Mazda Roadside assistance, but didn't like the prospect of waiting for a tow truck to basically tow the car to a Mazda dealership -- assuming of course they would and having no clue where the nearest Mazda dealership is. I also had my two labs with me which would have seriously complicated things. I decide to chance it, and finish my drive of which I had about an hour left. As I pull onto the interstate, the boost seems fine, she pulls normal, and everything seems okay -- except of course the CEL.

I finished the drive without incident. So, since I had JUST filled up, I am leaning towards the gas cap being bad? I would say bad gas, but the car seems fine - I also checked the receipt and I did in fact get premium gas (93 octane). I checked fluid levels and everything looked good.

So, if it had been the gas cap (which I am pretty sure was tight the first time), does the CEL stay on even after properly tightening the cap? Any other ideas? It would appear the nearest Mazda dealership to my parents' house is about 71 miles away in Winston-Salem.... ugh!

BTW - the car is bone stock and had about 2050 miles when the CEL came on; okay, I did remove the side moldings and adjusted the HIDs... surely those aren't the cause! LOL!

 

[TRXSandRacer02]

what is your vin, some of the mazda 3 have a tsb for defective gas caps. Otherwise tighten yoru gas cap and let it sit, if you shut the key off and take it off then tighten it, you may be making it worse. Some Mazda evap systems test when key is off.

 

[phantom6294]

Thanks for the response. I don't have the VIN on me, but it was a May '08 production. I ended up getting up early this morning and drove to the Mazda dealership in Winston-Salem; Bob King Mazda. They were kind enough to work me in and put up with my two labs.

CEL ended up being the 'Random Cylinder Misfire' code - which seems to be pretty common from reading some of the threads here. They checked the plugs and coils and everything checked out fine. They cleared the code and it hasn't come back on yet.

So, here's to hoping it stays off.

 

[dread]

Unless your cel is blinking you are ok to drive.

 

[phantom6294]

Unless your cel is blinking you are ok to drive.

Thanks -- I got that impression from reading some threads last night (after I arrived at my destination). If you ask me, they need two types of lights... one for 'OMG, pull over now, turn the car off and don't you dare crank it again' and another for 'no biggie but at your next possible convenience, take your car to a dealer.' Maybe that's flashing versus solid?

Maybe it was a fluke. Since I've got a warranty until 7years/100k, I am not overly concerned about it.

 

[dread]

My tech mentioned to me once that misfires are common on this car and the best way to avoid them is to run it hard to burn off the carbon deposits. Not sure if there is any truth to that but he highly recommended I not baby the car.

 

[MikeHTally]

So your CEL has been "lab tested"?

 

[coololddude]

my 2006MX5 needed to have the gas cap replaced twice. the cel was the gas cap and a bulletin was issued by mazda. freaks you out when the light comes on. you think the world as we know it, will now come to an end!! you dont think it is something that simple. all the technology put in the new MX5 (miata) and they let the bosses son design the gas cap!! hasnt happened on my MS3 yet.

 

[yager]

My tech mentioned to me once that misfires are common on this car and the best way to avoid them is to run it hard to burn off the carbon deposits. Not sure if there is any truth to that but he highly recommended I not baby the car.

This must have some truth to it. I reflashed to the mscia 101 and have been going easy on the car and all of a sudden I keep getting p0300. I have sparkies on order but SU said that it could be a coulple of weeks. Should I go romp on her for a bit?