Dodge Journey Check Engine Light

Dodge Journey Check Engine Light

A flashing light signifies that the problem is very serious and if not taken care of promptly may result in major and significant damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your Dodge Journey starts flashing, that means that the problem needs attention promptly and your Dodge should be brought in rapidly. This blinking light ordinarily signifies a severe engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can expeditiously raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an costly and major repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can explicitly be the cause. A faulty, old or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is entirely ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a very pricey repair. If your check engine light is invariably flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson quickly by calling 5205940717.

Is it safe to drive your Dodge Journey with the check engine light on?

This question is not very simple because it all depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is usually indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the car, it could be an indication of a more serious problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a serious issue and it is advised to service your Dodge Journey quickly. Call the experts at Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson by dialing 5205940717 so you can describe the issues. Or lessen your speed and bring your Dodge to our certified mechanics as soon as possible.

Dodge Journey Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several common causes including something as simple as a loose gas cap. Other often common reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, dirty mass airflow sensor, damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, broken head gasket, or damaged spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Dodge Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and completely repair it as necessary to restore factory specifications. When this occurs, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Dodge issue was entirely fixed.

Every Dodge Journey was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the car on its vital systems. The quick sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending essential data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. Yet, sadly that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is wrong nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Exceedingly Knowledgeable Service professional.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is generally between $88 and $111. The good news, Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson offers totally complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to assist determine the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not perfectly tightened to a more serious failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it good to get the appropriate code reading and diagnosis.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a Dodge Journey?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Still, the check engine light could again be a warning of a serious problem that could cause serious damage to your engine and come with a hefty and expensive repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady and continuous glow generally means something less serious but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in meaningful trouble and useful service is required immediately. If your check engine light is flashing in your Dodge Journey, we highly suggest not to drive the car and schedule Dodge service today. Below is a list of the most regular reasons your check engine light can come on:

• Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, known as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns more quickly and your vehicle will be less efficient when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t change your O2 sensor? A defective sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause meaningful damage to your catalytic converter and your Dodge Journey's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to determine the absolutely correct mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A defective O2 sensor can again cause a vehicle to fail an emissions test.
• The battery is low or dead. The battery in your Dodge Journey is each important. Without a vehicle battery, your vehicle won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s vehicle batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't genuinely require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Dodge you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Dodge Journey’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A broken catalytic converter is ordinarily caused by repeatedly neglected maintenance, which is why Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson offers a complimentary multi-point examination with each Dodge service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your Dodge Journey will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your vehicle may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause other dangerous problems from overheating.
• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are required for your Dodge Journey. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run smooth. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or old, you will endure a evident poor performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause obstructed catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, leading to more pricey repairs.
• Your Dodge Journey has a vacuum leak. Each Dodge Journey has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system again helps lower harmful emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can dry out and crack, exceptionally if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme cold.
• One of the most regular and frequent cause is that your Dodge Journey gas cap is loose, broken or missing. The gas cap for your Dodge Journey serves multiple purposes. It prevents dangerous gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps cultivate pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a defective fuel cap? If your gas cap is old or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump and be more costly. Luckily, to change a gas cap isn't pricey. If your check engine light turns on quickly after you put gas in your Dodge Journey, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak extreme havoc on your Dodge Journey if it’s not installed accurately. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even impede the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound familiar, bring your Journey to Dodge and have our team of accomplished certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, exceptionally aftermarket parts and accessories, or utilizing OEM parts first place might cost a little bit more but could support you save substantially from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Dodge Journey is what determines how much fuel is required to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to certain changes, like altitude. If your Dodge Journey is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden speedy change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a vital sign of a defective mass airflow sensor.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most usually misunderstood lights or indicators in your Dodge Journey is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the vital onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a wide range of different ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a wide range of things for your Dodge Journey. Some of these essential duties include controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, and implementing security control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean an assortment of different things. It can be as simple as your gas cap being loose or as perilous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Dodge Journey, contact Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson. Contact Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson today! Our Dodge service department can assist you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

Since any check engine code has its own level of severity, it is ordinarily difficult to predict how numerous miles you can be secure in driving with the warning light on. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson to support determine if your vehicle is secure to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly.

Check Engine Light Service Dodge Journey

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Dodge Journey and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Dodge owners, your heart sinks drastically because you may have exactly idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep, calm breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is suggested that you get your Dodge Journey checked quickly. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major, extensive damage to costly engine parts.

When your Dodge Journey's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t correct, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is usually labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that can immediately identify the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic scan tool that is used by our Dodge auto repair mechanics at Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson. There are again a number of essentially inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you select that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to determine the definitely right issue and repair it.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Dodge Journey will ordinarily shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For instance, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will instantly turn itself off. Again, if your catalytic converter is working accurately, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your Dodge Journey light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

Dodge Journey Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating, particularly to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminate, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Journey. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can properly represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you helpful knowledge about your car and will also allow that vital Check Engine Light to do what it is genuinely supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, clear and helpful car symptoms do not constantly accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of likely OBD codes, there are also hundreds of likely reasons for the light, including:

• Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
• Fuel and air metering systems problems
• Bad Spark Plugs
• Ignition system faults
• O2 Sensor
• Transmission issues
• Old Battery
• Emissions controls issues
• Computer output circuit issues

This is why it is vital for someone who does not have a lot of prevailing automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out swiftly by a proficient certified Dodge mechanic. Call Larry H. Miller Dodge RAM FIAT Tucson at 5205940717 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! If the engine light comes on due to a serious concern, you risk damaging your vehicle further by not repairing the issue right away.