Service engine soon? Maybe not!
September 30th, 2005 | by mbhunter |The “Service Engine Soon” light on our Chrysler Town & Country came on a couple of days ago.
After popping the hood, my wife noticed that the coolant was at the “minimum” line. So, when we got home, we topped off the coolant. The next morning, the “Service Engine Soon” light stayed on for a while, then went out!
So before you take your car to the shop when that catch-all light goes on, check the basic stuff first to see if it fixes the problem before the mechanic digs into your car — and your wallet.
8 Responses to “Service engine soon? Maybe not!”
By AskMyPaul on Sep 30, 2005 | Reply
Before you take your minivan into the dealership where they will charge you a ridiculous fee (~$75) for just connecting your car to their computer to tell you what the “error code” is, you need to get yourself an incredibly useful tool called the CarChip E/X for about $150. This thing pays for itself very quickly. Basically, you plug it into your minivan and it will tell you why the Service engine light is on. It actually only tells you the error code (what the dealer will do) and you can look up what the error code means on the web. 80% of the time, the check engine light comes on because you have a loose gas cap. No need to pay the dealer $75 to tell you to tighten your gas cap. You can even reset the check engine light. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve saved myself and my friends a needless trip to the dealership because of this gadget. The purpose of that service dummy light was in regards to something called OBD which basically is to ensure your vehicle is not polluting the air. You can read more about it on my blog.
By ncnblog on Sep 30, 2005 | Reply
hey, we own a t/c also…
i never thought i’d get to the point where owning a mini-van was ever an option…
kinda hard pulling off “cool” with 2 car seats in the back…
BUT, it’s paid for…
good tip..
ncnblog.com
By mbhunter on Sep 30, 2005 | Reply
I stopped trying to pull off cool and just basked in my uncoolness
AskMyPaul — the gas cap thing was the first thing we (actually my wife) checked. Since we got the van used from an auction we had a few things to fix, so we’re glad that this time it was easy.
By Andy on Oct 3, 2005 | Reply
If you know its the gas cap (i.e. you left it on the pump or it was screwed in crooked) you can pull the battery and let everything discharge and then reconnect it and it’ll reset the light. It will come back on if that isn’t the problem.
By Matt on Oct 3, 2005 | Reply
Instead of buying anything or paying to have the Service Engine light checked, just go to AutoZone (or probably many other auto parts stores) – they’ll check it for free.
By My Boaz's Ruth on Oct 3, 2005 | Reply
One thing I LOVE about the Saturn dealership. Once I went in in a panic about this light being on. the fellow checked it. Told me to tighten my gas cap and I went on my way — no charges.
A few years later, I’d forgotten that this light on could mean that — and called for an appointment when the light went on. The person on the phone asked “Have you checked that you put your gas cap on last time you filled up?” (pause) “Oh. I forgot”
Sure enough, it was the gas cap.
By Calvin on Jan 16, 2007 | Reply
Where can the service codes for a Chrysler Town and Country be found on the web?
By Jeff on Dec 24, 2009 | Reply
Thanks to this and other forums, let me tell you what worked for me. My father-in-law drove out to California to see us for Christmas and his check engine light came on. I found this forum, and called AutoZone, and found out that it is not allowed for them to check it in California. (??). I called a Firestone auto center, and they wanted $100 flat fee to do a diagnostic check. But on another forum, I found that if you turn the ignition on-off-on 3 times, ending with on, within 5 seconds, it will display the code where the odometer reading is. Sure enough, that worked, but NO CODE was displayed, just “donE”. I found another forum that said they checked gas cap, and fluid levels. Gas cap was fine, but coolant was about an inch above Min. Also Power Steering fluid was right at the bottom of the fill range. So we topped off both fluid levels, and by the time we got back from the gas station, the light went off. $14 worth of fluids, and saved $100. Hope this helps you too!