C
catchup
...just came on.? what should I do? it came on before but there was not a problem.
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it is either a 1997 or 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix the service engine soon light...
B
BWes
get it checked out as soon as possible. i just paid $4000.00 to fix that. my light would come on and my dad would undo the battery for a few minutes and then reconnect it and tha light would be off. come to find out, the O2 sensor needed to be replaced and ended up burning the primary catalytic converter. It started breaking into pieces and would go to the secondary catalytic converter and get stuck to the walls. the pieces that didn't get stuck came out of the exhaust and the car started shooting out white smoke. caused one of my lifters to collapse, so i needed a new engine ($1,800). installation and new motor mounts made the total $3,000. Add a $500 primary converter, $300 O2 sensor, and a $250 secondary converter, and tha total was $4000. Definitely get that taken care of. Luckily for me, I only had to pay a 1/3 of it since my folks paid for it. GOOD LUCK.
B
bob
Always get a check engine light diagnosed quickly. A large percentage of the time it can be a small problem or even something as simple as a gas cap that is on loose. But other times it can be serious.
Example 1: A coworker with a '99 Bonneville and 3.8L engine had the light come on for a misfire. Turned out the intake had corroded/burnt through by the EGR valve and coolant was being sucked into the engine. It wouldn't have taken much driving and the engine would have been ruined.
Example 2: A roommate and I were leaving for work when the light came on 2 miles from home. We turned around and got a different car to go to work. That night we drove 10 miles to the parts store and it showed a code of low fuel pressure. Two miles later we were calling a tow truck because the fuel pump had completely died.
Many parts stores can run a diagnostic on it for free but they may not know the exact code or reason why. Remember...they are getting paid $6-10 an hour. If they knew that much about a car they could work for a shop and earn more. I used to work at a parts store and was amazed at how much bad advice was given.
Example 1: A coworker with a '99 Bonneville and 3.8L engine had the light come on for a misfire. Turned out the intake had corroded/burnt through by the EGR valve and coolant was being sucked into the engine. It wouldn't have taken much driving and the engine would have been ruined.
Example 2: A roommate and I were leaving for work when the light came on 2 miles from home. We turned around and got a different car to go to work. That night we drove 10 miles to the parts store and it showed a code of low fuel pressure. Two miles later we were calling a tow truck because the fuel pump had completely died.
Many parts stores can run a diagnostic on it for free but they may not know the exact code or reason why. Remember...they are getting paid $6-10 an hour. If they knew that much about a car they could work for a shop and earn more. I used to work at a parts store and was amazed at how much bad advice was given.