Check Engine Light.......

[lunchbox16]

today my check engine light came on and was on all day. so i bring it to a local dealership. the counter woman keeps telling me that oit may not be covered under warrenty (2008 speed3 with 26k), and if not just the test will run me $80. they run the code but were closing at 5pm. so she tells me they want me to bring it in first thing tomorrow. the comp shows an error but they don't know what it is. tomorrow they want to rip apart the intercooler to start looking around.


should i be worried at all????

 

[MS3_KIDD]

dont authorize any work untill they give you more info

ask what the code was, what it means to them (not what it means to you as the owner) this will tell you how they are interpreting it and how knowlegeable they are to begin with which goes into question 3, what their plan of diagnosis is

these are very important questions to ask
so give them a call b4 you head over and post up and we can go from there

having the light on will not cause any damage and it isnt necesarry to rush over first thing and let them tear anything apart. ask thoes 3 questions first

another thing to ask is to speak with the technician, not the service writter
ask questions and be persistant

 

[slowtege5]

Should've went to autozone to have them tell you the code, it could be somethin simple

 

[lunchbox16]

i will check with them tomorrow and ask what the code was.
there was another guy there who went to autozone and had them check his car out , speed6, then went to the dealership. they told him there was damage in the rear of the car that was causing the check engine light to come on. they said there was damage done by mice. he called mazda directly because they refused to do any work under warrenty. he had them re-install everything so he could look at the damage. no idea what the out come was he was still there when i left.
i'm not too concerned about the light staying on i just want to know what the reason is for it being on.

 

[MS3_KIDD]

Should've went to autozone to have them tell you the code, it could be somethin simple

its always something simple, any one can fix a car when you just replace part after part untill you replace whats wrong

 

[MS3_KIDD]

i will check with them tomorrow and ask what the code was.
there was another guy there who went to autozone and had them check his car out , speed6, then went to the dealership. they told him there was damage in the rear of the car that was causing the check engine light to come on. they said there was damage done by mice. he called mazda directly because they refused to do any work under warrenty. he had them re-install everything so he could look at the damage. no idea what the out come was he was still there when i left.
i'm not too concerned about the light staying on i just want to know what the reason is for it being on.

with out knowing the entire situation with the other guy we cant speculate(sp?) about what his problem was or what the dealer had done but like what was said earlier there are places that can read codes for free

how knowlegeable of OBDII and engine performance are you?

 

[lunchbox16]

i went to the dealer today and they sent me home. turms out ther counter girl was wrongly informed and i didn't have to return.
the tech gave me the code info. turns out there were several misfires. one in cylinder 3 and 4 in cylinder 4. he said it was really quick and was probably just bad gas.
i'm not that knowledgeable on OBDI and know a bit about enginge preformance.
again my concern was not the light coming on but the dealer's reaction to the light.

 

[Hank3]

Glad everything turned out OK. Boo for counter girl.

 

[F430TECH]

May want to put a set of fresh plugs in just to be safe...

 

[Sport6]

May want to put a set of fresh plugs in just to be safe...

Agreed, and if they misfires come back in the same cylinders, take it in to get the ignition coils replaced under warranty.




Edit: I see you are in Mass, so what dealership did you take it to?

 

[Captain KRM P5]

May want to put a set of fresh plugs in just to be safe...

i second this notion

 

[lunchbox16]

Agreed, and if they misfires come back in the same cylinders, take it in to get the ignition coils replaced under warranty.




Edit: I see you are in Mass, so what dealership did you take it to?

i live in wareham so i took it to falmouth ohara mazda. they are a speed dealer. i boight it in norwood at the mazda gallery just didn't feel like driving that far.
i'll change the plugs this week end

 

[Zimmer]

looks like you and I are in the same boat. I've been getting missfires... I just need it to stop raining long enough to check my plug gaps!

 

[MSMS3]

looks like you and I are in the same boat. I've been getting missfires... I just need it to stop raining long enough to check my plug gaps!

Colder plugs on a stock tune, normal boost and no downpipe are not necessary. What happens when plugs are too cold for the application is that they . . . . guess what? . . . . foul easily. Might want to go back to normal heat range if they are fouled. That should stop.

 

[Sport6]

Colder plugs on a stock tune, normal boost and no downpipe are not necessary. What happens when plugs are too cold for the application is that they . . . . guess what? . . . . foul easily. Might want to go back to normal heat range if they are fouled. That should stop.

Yeah hes back on stock plugs again just hasn't taken it out of the signature. But its looking more like cylinder 4 coil

 

[Zimmer]

ya sorry meant to take that out. Car ran smooth with the 1 step colder plugs. Thought might help with all the KR issues nonetheless back to stock. But you're right on the fouling I think Sport you showed that in another post...? I developed an issue very hard / delayed start ups after sitting for a long time (overnight). I've isolated cylinder 4 once. I have pending P0300 codes now no check engine light though.

Still effin raining so the problem will persist I suppose. Wish I had a garage.