Is it safe to drive your 2013 Lexus IS250 with the check engine light on?
If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a critical issue and it is recommended to service your Lexus IS250 now. This question is not very advantageous because it any depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to drive. This is commonly indicated by a dependable glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the automobile, it could be an indication of a more essential problem. Call the advisors at Nalley Lexus Smyrna by dialing 7706187908 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2013 Lexus to our certified mechanics as soon as accurate.
2013 Lexus IS250 Check Engine Light
If the check engine light in your 2013 Lexus IS250 starts glaring, that means that the problem needs hasty attention and your Lexus should be brought in immediately. A glaring light indicates that the problem is relentless and if not taken care of immediately may result in essential damage to the vehicle. This twinkling light ordinarily indicates a strict engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be discarded into the exhaust system. There it can quickly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can exactly be the cause. A damaging, departed or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is glaring, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Lexus Smyrna expeditiously by calling 7706187908. If the problem is 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 lavish repair.
How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?
The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy appropriately. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. Since every check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how many miles you can drive with the warning light on. If you check engine light is flashing, we advocate that you pull over and contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna to help find out if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we advocate a tow truck.
What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2013 Lexus IS250?
When your check engine light comes on, this could be as conspicuous as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a perilous problem that could cause perilous damage to your engine and come with a exceptional repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A persistent glow normally means something less perilous but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in perilous trouble and service is crucial promptly. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2013 Lexus IS250, we extremely recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Lexus service today. Below is a list of the most accepted reasons your check engine light can come on:
- Your catalytic converter is destructive or going destructive. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2013 Lexus IS250’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 usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Nalley Lexus Smyrna offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Lexus service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2013 Lexus IS250 will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause other problems from overheating.
- One of the most simple and countless cause is that your 2013 Lexus IS250 gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2013 Lexus IS250 serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a destructive fuel cap? If your gas cap is aged or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't expensive. If your check engine light turns on immediately after you put gas in your 2013 Lexus IS250, first thing you should check is to make satisfied the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
- Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Lexus IS250 is what determines how much fuel is basic 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 definite changes, like altitude. If your Lexus IS250 is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a hasty change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a destructive mass airflow sensor.
- 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 faster and your vehicle will be less functional when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause wear and tear to your catalytic converter and your 2013 Lexus IS250's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to mean the right assortment of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A destructive O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
- New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are basic for your 2013 Lexus IS250. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel assortment in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are destructive or aged, you will experience 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 clogged catalytic converter or wear and tear to ignition coils and O2 sensors, considerable to more expensive repairs.
- Your 2013 Lexus IS250 has a vacuum leak. Every Lexus IS250 has a vacuum system that performs a wide range of functions. The vacuum system also helps decrease harmful 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, especially if they’re exposed to exciting heat or extreme charming.
- The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2013 Lexus IS250 is every decent. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did countless decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Lexus you commute, but check our current service coupons and specials.
- Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or other item can wreak havoc on your 2013 Lexus IS250 if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can discard the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound established, bring your IS250 to Lexus and have our team of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might cost a microscopic bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and wear and tear caused by poor installation work corrected.
2013 Lexus IS250 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 modern causes including something as straightforward as a loose gas cap. Divergent modern reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Lexus Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as imperative to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Lexus issue was fixed.
Every 2013 Lexus IS250 was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its hard systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electrical control unit. If the electrical control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light lights up telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what totally is amiss nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Nalley Lexus Smyrna provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Excessively Qualified Service professional.
Check Engine Light Service 2013 Lexus IS250
What do you do when you’re driving along in your Lexus IS250 and quickly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Lexus owners, your heart sinks a miniature because you have miniature idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the estimate of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t recommend you have to pull the automobile over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2013 Lexus IS250 checked as soon as practical. Ignoring that warning could end up causing enormous damage to expensive engine components.
When your 2013 Lexus IS250's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electrical control system that it can’t decent, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is consistently 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 identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an electronic analyze tool that is used by our Lexus auto repair mechanics at Nalley Lexus Smyrna. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you favor that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced skilled to determine the issue and repair it.
What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?
One of the most consistently misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2013 Lexus IS250 is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in plentiful alternative 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 vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a assortment of things for your 2013 Lexus IS250. Some of these include ignition timing, controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of contrasting things. It can be as discernible as your gas cap being loose or as dangerous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2013 Lexus IS250, contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna. Contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna today! Our Lexus service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or scan why your check engine light is twinkling.
Will the check engine light reset itself?
The check engine light on your 2013 Lexus IS250 will constantly shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going proper, 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 2013 Lexus IS250 light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that discharge and the light is still on, you will need to transport it in to Nalley Lexus Smyrna so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.
How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?
The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more unhealthy failure like a harmful catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it favorable to get the essential code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is commonly between $88 and $111. The favorable news, Nalley Lexus Smyrna offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help favor the cause of your check engine light.
2013 Lexus IS250 Check Engine Light Codes
The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that scant light on your vehicle’s dashboard instantly illuminates, 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, also respectable as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your IS250. There are hundreds of assorted codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a scant patience, tackling decisive diagnostics will give you handy knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, overt and handy vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of likely OBD codes, there are also hundreds of likely reasons for the light, including:
- Transmission issues
- Fuel and air metering systems problems
- Ignition system faults
- Computer output circuit issues
- Bad Spark Plugs
- Emissions controls issues
- Old Battery
- O2 Sensor
- Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
This is why it is main for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. Call Nalley Lexus Smyrna at 7706187908 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! If the engine light comes on due to a harsh concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue right away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out promptly by a certified Lexus mechanic.