What could cause the check engine light to come on in a Jeep Wrangler?
When your check engine light comes on, this could be as simple as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Again, the check engine light could also be a warning of an essential problem that could cause serious damage to your engine and come with a hefty and pricey repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady and continuous glow ordinarily means something less serious but a flashing check engine light reveals that your vehicle’s engine is in meaningful trouble and helpful service is needed promptly. If your check engine light is flashing in your Jeep Wrangler, we very propose not to drive the vehicle and schedule Jeep service today. Below is a list of the most regular reasons your check engine light can come on:
- Your Jeep Wrangler has a vacuum leak. Every Jeep Wrangler has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system still helps lower adverse 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, particularly if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme cold.
- New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your Jeep Wrangler. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber of your car. 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 undergo a noticeable 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 blocked catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, leading to more pricey repairs.
- One of the most regular and frequent cause is that your Jeep Wrangler gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Jeep Wrangler serves various purposes. It prevents hazardous gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps cultivate pressure within the fuel tank. What hits if you have a broken 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 pricey. Luckily, to change a gas cap isn't pricey. If your check engine light turns on swiftly after you put gas in your Jeep Wrangler, 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.
- 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 instantly and your car will be less efficient when it comes to fuel economy. So what hits if I don’t change your O2 sensor? A broken sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause serious damage to your catalytic converter and your Jeep Wrangler's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to determine the precisely right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A broken O2 sensor can still cause a vehicle to fail an emissions test.
- Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Jeep Wrangler is what determines how much fuel is needed 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 Jeep Wrangler is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden fast replace in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a vital sign of a broken mass airflow sensor.
- Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak extreme havoc on your Jeep Wrangler if it’s not installed accurately. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the car from starting. If these issues sound familiar, bring your Wrangler to Jeep and have our team of skilled certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed accurately and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, particularly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a little bit more but could assist you save substantially from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
- Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Jeep Wrangler’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is ordinarily caused by regularly neglected maintenance, which is why Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Avondale offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Jeep service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your Jeep Wrangler 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 perilous problems from overheating.
- The battery is low or dead. The battery in your Jeep Wrangler is every 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 Jeep you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
Will the check engine light reset itself?
The check engine light on your Jeep Wrangler 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 quickly turn itself off. Still, 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 Jeep Wrangler 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 Chrysler Jeep Avondale so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.
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 multiple 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. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Avondale to help determine if your vehicle is secure to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck.
Jeep Wrangler 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, again known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Wrangler. There are hundreds of different codes that your check engine light can accurately represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you advantageous knowledge about your vehicle and will again allow that vital Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, obvious and helpful vehicle symptoms do not consistently accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of possible OBD codes, there are again hundreds of possible reasons for the light, including:
- Ignition system faults
- Computer output circuit issues
- Emissions controls issues
- Old Battery
- Bad Spark Plugs
- Transmission issues
- Fuel and air metering systems problems
- Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
- O2 Sensor
This is why it is essential for someone who does not have a lot of predominant automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. Call Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Avondale at 6232637341 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out promptly by a skillful certified Jeep mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a serious concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue right away.
Jeep Wrangler Check Engine Light
If the check engine light in your Jeep Wrangler starts flashing, that means that the problem needs attention quickly and your Jeep should be brought in expeditiously. A flashing light reveals that the problem is very serious and if not taken care of quickly may result in major and significant damage to the vehicle. This blinking light usually indicates a severe engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can promptly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an costly and extensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can precisely be the cause. A damaged, 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 expensive repair. If your check engine light is repeatedly flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Avondale promptly by calling 6232637341.
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 Chrysler Jeep Avondale offers entirely free 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 correct code reading and diagnosis.
Jeep Wrangler 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 many regular causes including something as simple as a loose gas cap. Other usually regular reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, dirty mass airflow sensor, broken oxygen sensor, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Jeep Certified Mechanics and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and completely repair it as required to restore factory specifications. When this occurs, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Jeep issue was entirely fixed.
Every Jeep Wrangler was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its critical systems. The fast sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending important 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. Nevertheless, unfortunately 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 Chrysler Jeep Avondale provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Extremely Qualified Service professional.
What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?
One of the most frequently misunderstood lights or indicators in your Jeep Wrangler is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the vital onboard diagnostics system, and displays in an assortment 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 car. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored car performance since the 80s and do an assortment of things for your Jeep Wrangler. Some of these essential duties include controlling engine speed, ignition timing, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing security control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of different things. It can be as simple as your gas cap being loose or as unpredictable as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Jeep Wrangler, contact Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Avondale. Our Jeep 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. Contact Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Avondale today!
Is it safe to drive your Jeep Wrangler 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 secure to drive. This is typically indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, 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 suggested to service your Jeep Wrangler immediately. Call the experts at Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Avondale by dialing 6232637341 so you can describe the issues. Or lessen your speed and bring your Jeep to our certified mechanics as soon as likely.
Check Engine Light Service Jeep Wrangler
What do you do when you’re driving along in your Jeep Wrangler and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Jeep owners, your heart sinks extremely because you may have specifically 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, peaceful breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is advised that you get your Jeep Wrangler checked instantly. Ignoring that warning could end up causing significant, considerable damage to pricey engine components.
When your Jeep Wrangler'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 typically 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 quickly 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 Jeep auto repair mechanics at Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep Avondale. There are again a number of comparatively 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 specifically correct issue and repair it.