WHY HAS MY ‘CHECK ENGINE’ LIGHT COME ON?

Your ‘check engine’ light has come on, is this something you need to worry about and is it a major or a minor issue? There can be a number of reasons why your ‘check engine’ light has come on, so we have listed some reasons below:

1. Your mass airflow sensor needs replacing. Your mass air flow sensor determines how much air flow is entering your engine to establish how much fuel is needed to run your engine at its best. If the sensor is damaged you will experience reduced performance (rough idle, trouble starting) and poor fuel economy  and it may damage other components of your engine such as spark plugs.
2. You may need to replace your spark plugs, spark plug leads or ignition coil packs. The spark plugs ignite the fuel/air in your combustion engine and the spark plug leads/coils deliver the spark from the ignition coil. If any of these are damaged you will experience reduced performance (engine misfire, hesitation under heavy acceleration) and poor fuel economy and it can damage other components of the engine.
3. Your catalytic converter has failed. Your catalytic converter looks after your car’s emission controls, it converts the harmful carbon monoxide from the combustion engine process into carbon dioxide. It is a fairly simple part and with regular maintenance failure can be avoided, which is good news because to replace one of these can be an expensive task.

Of course there are other reasons why your ‘check engine’ light may come on as there are multiple sensors on your vehicle, so it is best to call your local mechanic to work out a time to take your car in, so they can determine what the problem may be. And hopefully you can avoid spending too much money on fuel or experiencing expensive problems down the track.

If you have any questions or would like to book your car in either email us or call BP Workshop on 3207 2224