Possible money saving tip to share!

[dakcp2001]

I tend to get ripped off by mechanics.I learned something new yesterday that I think will help! Did you know that if one of your dash lights comes on (check engine etc) that Autozone can plug in your car and see what is triggering the light for FREE? I think this could be a huge money saver for those of you that suspect we are getting hosed by our mechanic/dealership. I hope this helps someone.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I did not know that. I willd definitely keep that in mind. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mjkacmom]

I was always told that these didn't mean anything was wrong, but the dealership programs in either a date or mileage, and it automatically comes on. My regular mechanic shuts it off (he happens to be a close family friend, so I don't have to worry about being ripped off).

 

[mommymeg]

I only just recently learned this secret myself. This is an absolute money saving tip considering most chains (Midas, Maaco etc..) charge about $100 for "diagnostics"... every time we have car trouble we come out of pocket for at least $300 since neither of us know a thing about automobiles... Will definitally use this if and when the time comes for another costly repair...

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I was always told that these didn't mean anything was wrong, but the dealership programs in either a date or mileage, and it automatically comes on. My regular mechanic shuts it off (he happens to be a close family friend, so I don't have to worry about being ripped off).

Actually it depends on your vehicle, you should check the manual. I've been reading up on this because the check engine light recently came on in my town & country. The manual says it could be an easy fix such as the fuel cap is loose or there's bad gas in it, or the O2 sensor. It said if it's just on it is still driveable, but should be checked out, if it starts blinking it needs to be parked immediately because it's serious and may break down.

I did know that about Autozone, but that's a great tip to pass along OP I'm going to ask DH to take mine there next week.

 

[ceecee]

I did this on my van several times. It showed a diagnosis code as well, so you knew what it could be. Several times on my old car it came on for no reason that they could find, the dealership said they sometimes will do that.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I guess maybe it would save money....except if the problem IS the check engine light!! My last car started having problems all of a sudden. Strange things with nothing seeming "wrong" with how the car ran. Sometimes the mechanic would check it and say nothing was wrong with the car....sometimes they "fixed' it ...grrrrr. Several months later I got a notification in the mail of a recall of the check engine mechanism.....problem solved.

 

[flamom]

thanks for the info OP. Autozone is great they also test car batteries for free.

 

[dakcp2001]

I just got back, they told me it is an eg valve or something, he printed out the part, the numner, price & diagnosis which was super helpful. He also said not to buy the part yet, cuz it might just be the gasket. I love them.

 

[kellia]

Just be careful, dh is a mechanic and some of his biggest jobs are after people have gone to Auto Zone and had those guys "dianose" their problem incorrectly and then they tried to fix it! The guys at Auto Zone are NOT mechanics (though a lot of them thing they are), their job is to sell you parts!!

 

[dakcp2001]

Just be careful, dh is a mechanic and some of his biggest jobs are after people have gone to Auto Zone and had those guys "dianose" their problem incorrectly and then they tried to fix it! The guys at Auto Zone are NOT mechanics (though a lot of them thing they are), their job is to sell you parts!!

I must have got lucky, this guy tolf me not to buy it yet, cuz it might not need total replacement.

 

[Cibahwewah]

That's so nice to know. I've paid $100 for a "diagnostic."

 

[3boymthr]

I knew about Autozone. We've used them more than once. You can confirm the code that comes out and what it means by googling it. They are all available on the internet.

I was always told that these didn't mean anything was wrong, but the dealership programs in either a date or mileage, and it automatically comes on. My regular mechanic shuts it off (he happens to be a close family friend, so I don't have to worry about being ripped off).

Oh, they definitely mean something is wrong, but it's usually something very simple - I've had it come on multiple times after I've had the gas tank filled and they left the gas cap loose. Other times it means something is seriously wrong. Mine has come on a couple of times when something was seriously wrong. Once at the same time my car started bucking wildly. It was because the computer that controls my emissions controls had gone bad And another time it came on then all the other lights in came on the dashboard computer chip had gone bad.

 

[SandrA9810]

Generally if you do a diagnose with a mechanic, they'll take that charge off if you have the work done with them.

But it's nice to know before hand going into a mechanics what the general issue is. I trust the guys at Car Care, and they've been more than helpful to me on many occasions. So I never feel ripped off by them.

Although in the past 6months to a year, I've noticed certain things they used to just do for me, they started charging me for it (any other person would've been charged to). Their business is slow and hurting too, so I understand the need to charge me for it.

 

[jmminarik]

You should also check on line to see if there's a way to extract the code without a spiffy code reading tool. Our mid-90's chrysler products have some magic with the ignition key that would cause the engine light to flash.. count the flashes, check the code. Wound up with bad downstream O2 sensor's, got the replacement instructions, fixed it myself in about 20 minutes once the part came in. But, I'm ornery like that. I figure if some guy who didn't graduate highschool can fix something, I ought to be able to figure it out as well.

 

[DVCBELLE]

My oil change place will run the diagnostic for me...then they turn the light off and tell me that if it is really a problem - it will come back on within a day or two. Otherwise it is nothing. I have only had mine come on twice and both times - it was nothing.

 

[mistymouse5001]

I have one of these widgets in my van so if your in my area I can do it for free too

 

[mombare]

Actually it depends on your vehicle, you should check the manual. I've been reading up on this because the check engine light recently came on in my town & country. The manual says it could be an easy fix such as the fuel cap is loose or there's bad gas in it, or the O2 sensor. It said if it's just on it is still driveable, but should be checked out, if it starts blinking it needs to be parked immediately because it's serious and may break down.

I did know that about Autozone, but that's a great tip to pass along OP I'm going to ask DH to take mine there next week.

We recently did the Autozone thing and it saved us quite a bit of money! My husband is quite mechanically inclined, so we felt pretty confident the "reading" we got was accurate. Our Town and Country needed the spark plug replaced - causing the sensor to come on (misfire in cylinder ??). We ended up needing some actual work by a mechanic (a friend) done on it a month later for something completely unrelated, and he confirmed that is what the problem was.