Help! Gas Cap CEL???

[WalksInDarkness]

Hi All,

I think I have the infamous CEL due to not having my gas cap on tight enough (hand)!!! I know, a really lame mistake! I noticed today that my CEL was on, and remebered I gassed up in a hurry on Friday. I remembered hearing about this problem on other 3's caps. I checked, and sure enough the cap wasn't all the way tight. My wife was driving the car all weeked and probably never noticed the light.

Anyhow, is it easy to clear the error? Can I just disconnect the battery to clear it? Do I have to reset the Computer, and can it be done manually and where is it located ? (my '99 Maxima had a little switch or button right on the "computer" that I reset once).
Also, if this is something I can't do myself, will the dealer charge me for resetting it?

TIA,
Will

 

[splitvizion]

I had the problem but no one had an answer so I just took it to the dealer and they fixed it for free. It took a couple of days to get the CEL but they gave me a rental and I was on my way.

 

[WalksInDarkness]

Thanks for the reply. But I am confused, you said "It took a couple of days to get the CEL". Did it take them a while to figure what the code was? Because resetting the computer should not take them that long.

Confused,
Will

 

[goldwing2000]

Thanks for the reply. But I am confused, you said "It took a couple of days to get the CEL". Did it take them a while to figure what the code was? Because resetting the computer should not take them that long.

I think he means it took a couple days of having a loose gas cap before the CEL came on.

Actually, since you have fixed the problem, the CEL should go away on its own after a while.
If it doesn't, then you could either have the dealer shut it off or, like you said earlier, just disconnect the battery for a few minutes.

If your car is still under warranty, the dealer shouldn't charge you anything to clear the code.

 

[splitvizion]

It took them awhile to figure it out. Also my evac. system was going a little crazy so maybe that was why they were lost. Besides the fact that they were very short on Mazda techs. Needless to say that I only take my car to a Mazda specific dealership for service these days. I think that they all have to be just mazda now. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[WalksInDarkness]

Update! Update! Update!

In the meantime, before "goldwing2000" posted, I ran outside and did the battery disconnect trick. This definitely fixes the CEL for this issue. (yes) Only downside: it took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to reset the clock!!! If I only had the common sense to read the owners manual on that one! LOL!

Thanks for the quick replies.

Take care,
Will

 

[FreeStyLinDrive]

(cabpatch)I always wanted to change my gas cap. Been lookin at nice ones on Ebay.