I have a 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT. About 3 weeks ago, the check engine light came on. We checked the oil and it was fine. We checked the transmission oil and it was rather low.

We took it oo the dealer a couple of weeks ago and got the transmission flushed and the light went off. We also had the dealer do a tuneup at the same time. They said there was nothing wrong wit hteh car. (I even had the recalls fixed)

Well, a few days ago, the check engine light came on again. I checked the oils again and the transmission one was kind of low. I added a little bit that we had bought at the dealer, hoping the light would go off. It did not.

We regularly change the oil with Oil Can Henry's and have them do the other preventive maintence that they do as well.

We were wondering if it might possibly be an electrical short? We were thinking that because it has one of those keyless remote things and the last few months after we unlock it w/ the remote, it tends to relock itself on a rather annoying continual basis.

Might anyone possibly have any idea what this may be or experianced this problem? Or should we take it back to the dealer?

Thanks

Easy first step: Park your car in a garage with a fairly clean floor and spread clean newspapers underneath the entire chassis. Then check in the morning for signs of leaking. If there are leaks, note the position relative to the frame and the color of the liquid. Report to dealer.

Two weeks seems like way to soon to have to top up transmission fluid.

Do you have a SAM (Smart Auto Management) kiosk near you? For $15 you can run a diagnostic test to get an idea as to what the problem might be.

thanks, bab. I think you are right. 2 weeks is awfully early to have to fill the transmission fluid. I just may have to take it to the dealer.
Would something like that be covered under the warrenty?

Georgia, I checked out the SAM website and unfortunatly, there aren't any in my state. But thanks, though

I was having a problem with my car. Picked up a “Code Reader” at AutoZone so could check it myself and reset the light. If you can’t find one around home or on-line, try JC Whitney below.

It was around $60 and well worth it. I have an older car, 1999 and it seems that when the weather makes a drastic change, I get an engine light. This may or not be your problem but it is mine.

Not a big problem and cheaper then taking it in for service and they can’t find the problem and charge me $75 just to hook up the “Code Reader” and reset it.


JC Whitney

Just a thought-My 'check engine' light went on a couple of weeks ago, took it in for an oil change and check out. Nothing wrong. It turns out that I was not clicking the gas cover closed enough. When you turn the cover, make sure it clicks at least 6 times. Then disconnect and reconnect the battery. See if the light goes off. It won't cost you anything to try it.

quote:

It turns out that I was not clicking the gas cover closed enough. When you turn the cover, make sure it clicks at least 6 times.

When I bought my new Honda a couple years ago, the dealer made a big deal about this. Apparently the lack of a vacuum in the fuel system causes the engine to think something is wrong. He also said to turn of the engine before I opened removed the cap.

The first thing I thought when I saw this topic was “gas cap!!!” The check engine light kept coming on in my 2000 Jeep Cherokee and the first time it happened we took it in and got charged $70 some odd dollars for them to tell us my gas cap was loose. Great. It happened a couple more times, even though I really was tightening the gas cap, so we bought a new cap and never had the problem again.

But the check engine light can mean any number of things. It went on in my Pontiac Vibe a few weeks ago. This time it was an oxygen sensor. My husband took the car to Auto Zone (I think) and they did a diagnostic for free. There might be a place around you that does it for free, or cheap, and then you could know what you’re dealing with before you take it to the dealer.

Whether it’s covered under your warranty will depend on the warranty, of course, but also on what kind of a fault it is, I believe. Leaving the gas cap too loose (or having a gas cap that just won’t tighten) is not, but the oxygen sensor is covered.

So, if you can get a cheap or free diagnostic done, at least you’ll have a better idea of what you’re in for.

Gee I'm glad I still drive my 1990 Toyota pickup, standard transmission, no air bags, no computerized stuff. My husband, though, is still in love with his 1953 Chevy. Every year he puts a wreath on its grave on the anniversary of its final spontaneous disintegration into a pile of rusty dust.

Well, we called the dealer yesterday. They told us that it very well could be the gas cap. The mechanic guy said that the next time we're in town,(where the dealer is) we can bring it into the dealer and they can run a diagnostics test in the parking lot that will tell them what it is. Whether it's the gas cap, an electrical problem or maybe we just got bad gas put in the car.

So, we will see what it says.

Thanks everyone for your replies

~Heather

Here's an idea I read about recently, whereby you can diagnose "check engine" problems yourself: The Car Doctor Is In

quote:

Having recently bought a new car, I was eager to try a device similar to those used by mechanics to diagnose the problems that trigger the check engine light. Offered by CarMD, a year-old firm based in Fountain Valley, Calif., the $90 tool retrieves data from the onboard computer of any vehicle sold in the U.S. after January 1, 1996. The device, which won an innovations award at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, will not outdo a mechanic's diagnostic equipment, but it will tell you what might be wrong in more understandable terms and how much it might cost to fix the problem. Besides, you could confidently tell the mechanic to check for a leaking exhaust manifold--even if you have no clue what a manifold is.
...
Today's automobile contains myriad sensors, explains Keith Andreasen, CarMD's director of technical services. In the mid-1990s, he says, a vehicle contained "maybe 13 to 15 sensors"; now there are "thousands in a modern-day car." Those sensors keep tabs on the emissions and relay the readings to the car's computer. For instance, if a sensor detected fumes escaping from a balky fuel gasket, it would inform the computer, which would store the data and turn on the check engine light. The computer assigns the problem a "diagnostic trouble code," such as "P0430." (Most codes start with a P, for power train; other prefix codes are B for body, C for chassis and U for the vehicle's communications network.) OBD-II employs several hundred codes, and the readers that extract this information from the computer have become indispensable to both the professional and weekend grease monkey.

Now the bad news:

quote:

To communicate with the onboard computer, the handheld tester plugs into the vehicle's data-link connector--a rhomboid-shaped, 16-pin socket reminiscent of the parallel ports of yester decade. The hardest part about using CarMD, in fact, is finding the connector: I had to search online to learn the port's location in my 2006 Mini Cooper S. It was underneath the dashboard, to the left of the steering column, an area that forces you to twist your neck to the breaking point to get a direct view.

...which is routine with automotive gadgetry.

when we got into the car to go to work last night, the check engine light never came on. And it stayed off driving to work and driving home from work this morning.

damn piece of...

Its a new "weird fault " on Me Dislike all these electronics...I'm good with the "basics" which are still there under all this Junk

I'd look at how the thick rubber seal on the Cap is seating against the filler hole...Must be flush! And clean any grit from around the area (does build up over time!)

Wheres Dodgecity? He may have another suggestion?

ha ha my stupid car does that too and the dealer said the spark plugs were bad so i changed them guess what the stupid light is still on. it goes off for a day then the next day it will come on. its a 2003 kia. i know its a censer some where thats got a bad connection.
i just keep on driving. warranty is just about up so its time to trade it in for a new one.
I like my old pickup, no censors no gizmo's just a plain old simple v-8 with a plain old trans that gets about 4 miles to the gallon of gas on a good day.(thats if i can keep my foot out of the carb) ha ha i got a real heavy foot most of the time its a bad connection somewhere . you might try removing the gas cap the reinstall it. or maybe its leaking air and it needs to be replaced. i just drive my car(er the wifes car) and dont worry about it till its time for smog. here in sunny calif new cars done need smog checks but its getting old so its best to trade it in. my car only had 5 year warranty and 50000 miles its 43000 now so its about time. I call them throw away cars because its darn near imposable to get it fixed cheaply. you can get one of those diagnostic readers and find its something simple.

Yeah, my light keeps coming on and going off. It went off a few days ago and has stayed off. I have a 7 year/100,000 mile warranty on mine. I still have a couple of years left on it.

And yes, when I had my tune-up, the spark plugs were replaced. (I was shocked when I found out my car has platinum spark plugs. I have never heard of that in a car before.)

I'm not going to worry about it unless the engine decides to blow up or something. But there isn't really any change in driving aside from the "boost" it got from the tune-up.

Esencia, It’s probably not a big thing but you really shouldn’t wait until “the engine decides to blow up” to have it checked out.
If you have an Auto Zone or Pep Boys or what-have-you near you, you should call and see if they do free or cheap diagnostics. Then at least you will have a better idea what it is. Your dealer might charge you the full price if it is just the gas cap.

another thing it could be is that there is a sensor in the throtle boby that gets dirty and it too will throw a code then when fresh air pass,s and clears the dust it will work again.
(did i say i hate those dern lights)