Lexus NX300 Check Engine Light Codes
The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that tiny light on your vehicle’s dashboard abruptly 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 known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your NX300. There are hundreds of detectable codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a tiny patience, tackling decisive diagnostics will give you available 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, detectable and available 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:
- Computer output circuit issues
- Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
- Emissions controls issues
- O2 Sensor
- Fuel and air metering systems problems
- Old Battery
- Transmission issues
- Bad Spark Plugs
- Ignition system faults
This is why it is gigantic for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. If the engine light comes on due to a risky concern, you risk damaging your car additional by not repairing the issue right away. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out abruptly by a certified Lexus mechanic. Call Nalley Lexus Smyrna at 7706187908 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!
What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?
One of the most normally misunderstood lights or indicators in your Lexus NX300 is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in innumerable further ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light brightens 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 variety of things for your Lexus NX300. Some of these include shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, controlling engine speed, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a range of disparate things. It can be as natural as your gas cap being loose or as hazardous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Lexus NX300, contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna. Contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna today! Our Lexus service department can help you learn what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is twinkling.
What could cause the check engine light to come on in a Lexus NX300?
When your check engine light comes on, this could be as pure as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a adequate problem that could cause adequate damage to your engine and come with a big repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A persistent glow commonly means something fewer adequate but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in adequate trouble and service is imperative immediately. If your check engine light is flashing in your Lexus NX300, we extraordinarily endorse not to commute the vehicle and schedule Lexus service today. Below is a list of the most normal reasons your check engine light can come on:
- One of the most normal and bountiful cause is that your Lexus NX300 gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Lexus NX300 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 bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is old 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 instantly after you put gas in your Lexus NX300, first thing you should check is to make sure the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
- New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are crucial for your Lexus NX300. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel mixture 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 bad or old, you will experience scanty 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 damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, main to more expensive repairs.
- Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or distinctive item can wreak havoc on your Lexus NX300 if it’s not installed correctly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can drain the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound cognizant, bring your NX300 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 little bit more but could save you money from having to get scanty work and damage caused by scanty installation work corrected.
- Your Lexus NX300 has a vacuum leak. Every Lexus NX300 has a vacuum system that performs a wide mixture of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower 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 notable heat or extreme cold.
- Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Lexus NX300 is what determines how much fuel is crucial 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 coherent changes, like altitude. If your Lexus NX300 is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a precipitous change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
- The battery is low or dead. The battery in your Lexus NX300 is every notable. Without a automobile battery, your automobile won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s automobile batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't absolutely require maintenance. The estimate of a new one depends on the type of Lexus you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
- Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Lexus NX300’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 commonly 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 Lexus NX300 will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your automobile may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause distinctive problems from overheating.
- 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 reasonable 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 damage to your catalytic converter and your Lexus NX300's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to mean the right mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a automobile to fail an emissions test.
Lexus NX300 Check Engine Light
A flashing light expresses that the problem is hazardous and if not taken care of urgently may result in major damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your Lexus NX300 starts flashing, that means that the problem needs hasty attention and your Lexus should be brought in urgently. This blinking light commonly suggests a relentless engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be ejected into the exhaust system. There it can abruptly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is probable, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can exactly be the cause. A bad, erstwhile or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Nalley Lexus Smyrna immediately 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 highly expensive repair.
Lexus NX300 Check Engine Light Flashing
Although there are copious capability causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are countless natural causes including something as simple as a loose gas cap. Substitute natural reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, faulty head gasket, or defective spark plugs to name many. 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 essential 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 serviced.
Every Lexus NX300 was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its crucial systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control department. If the electronic control department detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is liable 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 Highly Qualified Service professional.
Will the check engine light reset itself?
The check engine light on your Lexus NX300 will frequently 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 persuasive, 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 Lexus NX300 light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you travel to work over that reward and the light is still on, you will need to deliver it in to Nalley Lexus Smyrna so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.
How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?
The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is hard to predict how ample miles you can drive with the warning light on. If you check engine light is flashing, we endorse that you pull over and contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna to help choose if your vehicle is reliable to drive in or if we endorse a tow truck.
Check Engine Light Service Lexus NX300
What do you do when you’re driving along in your Lexus NX300 and suddenly, a yellow light lights up 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 cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your Lexus NX300 checked as soon as attainable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing major damage to costly engine components.
When your Lexus NX300's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the high-tech control system that it can’t apt, 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 learn with an electronic diagnose 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 determine that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced technical to advise the issue and repair it.
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 rigid failure like a harmful catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it incredible to get the suitable code reading and diagnosis. The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is commonly between $88 and $111. The incredible news, Nalley Lexus Smyrna offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help mean the cause of your check engine light.
Is it safe to drive your Lexus NX300 with the check engine light on?
This question is not very visible because it all 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 often indicated by a steady glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more alarming problem. If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a alarming issue and it is recommended to service your Lexus NX300 rapidly. Call the mentors at Nalley Lexus Smyrna by dialing 7706187908 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your Lexus to our certified mechanics as soon as attainable.