Why is My Hyundai Check Engine Light On?
Not sure why your Hyundai’s digital dashboard display shows a hyundai check engine light? Usually, this light will come on when your car needs to be serviced or when there is a problem with your engine.
Here, North Freeway Hyundai tells you why the check engine light on your Hyundai Elantra or Hyundai Sonata might come on and what you can do to fix it.
And don’t forget that you can always make an appointment with us near Houston to fix any problems that come up.
Hyundai Check Engine Light
If the check engine light on your Hyundai starts flashing, it means that something is wrong and needs to be fixed right away. You should bring your Hyundai in as soon as possible.
A flashing light means that the problem is real and, if not fixed quickly, could cause serious damage to the car. This blinking light usually means that the engine has a serious misfire, which lets unburned fuel go into the exhaust system.
There, it can quickly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where it is likely to be damaged and need an expensive repair. Some owners ask if the check engine light flashes because of the spark plugs. This is a very likely reason.
Misfiring can be caused by a bad, old, or dirty spark plug. If you don’t fix the problem or keep driving, it can spread to the spark plug wires, the catalytic converter, or the ignition coils, which can be very expensive to fix.
Reasons Why Hyundai’s Check Engine Light Comes On
Has your Hyundai Elantra, Accent, Sonata, Kona, or Santa Fe’s check engine light come on? When you have never seen an engine warning before, it can be scary to see it pop up on your dashboard. Here are the most common reasons why a check engine light comes on.
Loose Gas Cap: The gas cap on your car is loose, broken, or missing. Problems with the gas cap can lower fuel pressure and let fuel vapours escape. This makes the car use more gas and put out more harmful emissions.
Faulty Catalytic Converter: Your catalytic converter can get clogged up over time, especially in cars that have been driven a lot. The carbon monoxide is taken out of the air by the catalytic converter, which is an important part of the emissions system.
Spark Plugs or Spark Plug Wires Have Gone Bad: After a while, you will need to get new spark plugs or spark plug wires. Your spark plugs make a hot spark that ignites the mixture of air and fuel in the cylinder. This lets your engine start and run.
Faulty Oxygen Sensor: If your oxygen sensor has been exposed to hot exhaust gas for a long time, it may need to be replaced. The oxygen sensor gives the ECU important information about the mixture of air and fuel. If your car’s oxygen sensor is broken, the computer might give the engine too much or too little fuel.
Faulty Mass Air Flow Sensor: If the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor is exposed to dirty or particle-rich air, it could stop working. Like the oxygen sensors, the MAF sensor measures how much air is going into the engine.
What to do if the “Check Engine” light comes on in your Hyundai
When your Hyundai check engine light comes on, no matter what’s going on, we always recommend stopping by our service centre so one of our skilled technicians can figure out what’s wrong and fix your car. Our service technicians have the most up-to-date diagnostic tools and can quickly read Hyundai OBD-II Trouble Codes.
The check engine light only comes on when these things happen: If your check engine light only comes on sometimes, pay attention to any changes in how your car runs when the light is on. If you do notice a change, try not to drive your car as much as possible until you can get it fixed.
The engine check light is always on: The diagnostic system in your car has found that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Even if your car seems to be working fine, it’s best to have it checked out as soon as possible to avoid more problems.
The check engine light is on and the car isn’t running as well as it should: If your car’s performance keeps getting worse even though the check engine light is on, it may have gone into a “limp-mode” to prevent further damage. In this case, you should bring the car right to our service centre or have it towed so that the engine doesn’t get hurt.
When driving, the check engine light blinks: If your check engine light is constantly blinking, it usually means there is a big problem with your car and you should pull over as soon as it is safe to do so. This is different from the first situation, in which the light would sometimes flicker. If you are not close to our service centre, we suggest having your car towed here just to be safe.
How to Turn Off the Check Engine Light on Your Hyundai
If you’ve already taken your Hyundai to the North Freeway Hyundai service centre and you’re sure there’s nothing wrong with it, you may need to reset the check engine light on your Hyundai by hand.
One way to do this is to take the battery out of your car and wait a few minutes before putting it back in. You might have to drive a few more miles until the light goes out.
If this doesn’t work, you can always come back to North Freeway Hyundai and have one of our certified technicians reset the light for you.
How far can you go when the check engine light is on?
The safest thing to do is figure out what the code means and then plan your strategy based on that.
Since each check engine code is different in how serious it is, it is hard to say how many miles you can drive with the warning light on.
If your check engine light is flashing, you should pull over and call Nalley Hyundai. They can tell you if your car is safe to drive or if you should call a tow truck.
It could be a bad sensor or that the plug wires need to be changed.
Hyundai Check Engine Light Codes
When the check engine light comes on, it can be scary to see that little light on your car’s dashboard light up all of a sudden. However, you shouldn’t run away in fear right away.
If you hear the term “diagnostic trouble codes” (DTC), it just means “check engine light codes.”
These are computer codes for cars that are stored by the ECM, which is also called the “on-board computer diagnostic system” (OBD) in your car. There are a lot of different things your check engine light can mean. Even though that sounds hard, if you take the time to do basic diagnostics, you’ll learn useful things about your car and be able to use the Check Engine Light as it was meant to be used: as a guide.
Unfortunately, the Check Engine Light does not always come with clear and helpful signs that something is wrong with a car. Since there are hundreds of possible OBD codes, there are also hundreds of possible reasons why the light is on.
- O2 Sensor
- Transmission issues
- Fuel and air metering systems problems
- Ignition system faults
- Used battery
- Bad Spark Plugs
- Emissions controls issues
- Computer output circuit issues
- Gas Cap is Loose or Missing
What Does the Light That Says “Check Engine” Mean?
The check engine light on your Hyundai is one of the most commonly misunderstood lights or indicators.
The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system and can show up in a few different ways. It could say “Check Engine,” it could be a picture of an engine, or it could be both.
This light can be either yellow or red, and it is part of your vehicle’s diagnostics system. Since the 1980s, onboard computers have been controlling and monitoring vehicle performance more and more. They can do a lot for your Hyundai.
Some of these are controlling the speed of the engine, the timing of the ignition, shifting automatic transmissions, and setting up stability control, just to name a few.
So, the check engine light can mean a number of different things. It could be as simple as a loose gas cap or as serious as a knocking engine.
If your Hyundai’s “Check Engine” light is on, call Nalley Hyundai. Our Hyundai service department can help you figure out what code is making your check engine light come on or why your check engine light is flashing. Get in touch with Nalley Hyundai now!
Hyundai Check Engine Light Blinking
There are a lot of things that could cause the Check Engine Light to come on, but after years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service, we know that there are a few common ones, like a loose gas cap.
A Check Engine Light can also be caused by a problem with the fuel injection system, a dirty mass airflow sensor, a faulty head gasket, a damaged oxygen sensor, a faulty emissions control part, or bad spark plugs, just to name a few.
No matter what is causing the Check Engine Light, we have the Hyundai Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to find the problem and fix it to factory standards. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you know that the problem with your Hyundai has been fixed and you can leave the service centre.
Every Hyundai was made with a high-tech performance monitoring system that includes a computer and a set of sensors placed in key places around the car to track its most important systems.
The sensors are always looking at the environment and sending information to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit sees that the data is not within factory limits, the Check Engine Light will come on to let you know there is a problem.
But that’s the problem with the Check Engine Light: it won’t tell you what’s wrong or how to fix it. That’s where we come in. Nalley Hyundai offers a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that finds the root of the problem and gives you advice on what to do next from a Highly Qualified Service professional.
Is it safe to drive your Hyundai with the check engine light on?
This question is not easy to answer because the answer depends on how bad the problem is. If the problem is small, like a loose gas cap, the car should still be safe to drive.
Most of the time, this is shown by the check engine light staying on. If you notice a change in how the car works, it could be a sign of a more serious problem.
If the check engine light is flashing, there is a serious problem and you should take your Hyundai in for service soon.
Hyundai Check Engine Light Service
What do you do when you’re driving your Hyundai and all of a sudden a yellow light that says “Check Engine” comes on?
If you are like most Hyundai owners, your heart sinks a little because you don’t know what that light means or what you should do. Just as stressful can be the fear of the unknown or the cost of the unknown.
But take a deep breath and remember that just because the light is on doesn’t mean you have to pull over to the side of the road and call a tow truck. Instead, you should get your Hyundai check out as soon as you can. If you ignore that warning, it could hurt expensive engine parts in a big way.
When your Hyundai’s onboard computer, the electronic control module (ECM), finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t fix, a computer turns on your check engine light.
This amber or yellow light usually says “Check engine” or “Service engine soon.” Sometimes, the light is just a picture of an engine or the word “check” next to a picture of an engine.
When the light comes on, the ECM stores a “trouble code” in its memory that tells what the problem is, whether it’s a sensor or a broken part of the engine.
Will the check engine light reset itself?
If the problem or code that made your Hyundai’s check engine light come on is fix, the light will usually turn off by itself.
For example, if your check engine light came on because your gas cap was loose, tightening it will turn off the light.
Also, if your catalytic converter is going bad and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, the check engine light may have come on because the converter was use so much.
Most of the time, your Hyundai’s light will go out between 20 and 40 miles later. If you drive more than that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it to Nalley Hyundai so the light and code can be check again and reset.
How much does it cost to have someone check the engine light?
The check engine light can be a sign of problems as simple as a loose gas cap or as serious as a broken catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car’s oxygen sensors, so it’s important to get the correct code reading and diagnosis.
Most of the time, the cost to diagnose and test a check engine light is between $88 and $111.
The good news is that Nalley Hyundai offers free multi-point inspections and diagnostics most of the time to help you figure out why your check engine light is on.
