Please wait while the page loads...

Lexus RC 350 Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your Lexus RC 350 starts flashing, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your Lexus should be transported in straightaway. A flashing light indicates that the problem is strict and if not taken care of straightaway may result in actual damage to the vehicle. This blinking light consistently implies a strict engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be jettisoned into the exhaust system. There it can promptly raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is achievable, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can exactly be the cause. A intrusive, common or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. 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 expensive repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our company of automotive veterans at Nalley Lexus Smyrna swiftly by calling 7706187908.

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. If you check engine light is flashing, we advise that you pull over and contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna to help express if your vehicle is safe to travel to work in or if we advise a tow truck. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is stringent to predict how many miles you can travel to work with the warning light on. It could be anything from a harmful sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a Lexus RC 350?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as effortless as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a remarkable problem that could cause remarkable damage to your engine and come with a major repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow typically means something less remarkable but a flashing check engine light indicates that your vehicle’s engine is in remarkable trouble and service is basic expeditiously. If your check engine light is flashing in your Lexus RC 350, we tremendously express not to drive the vehicle and schedule Lexus service today. Below is a list of the most ordinary reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Lexus RC 350’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 Lexus RC 350 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 different problems from overheating.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are decisive for your Lexus RC 350. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel assortment in the combustion chamber of your car. 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 former, 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 damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, finest to more expensive repairs.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your Lexus RC 350 is every competent. 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 a few decades ago, and they don't actually require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Lexus you commute, but check our existing service coupons and specials.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be changed. 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 car 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 damage to your catalytic converter and your Lexus RC 350's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to opt for the right assortment of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or different item can wreak havoc on your Lexus RC 350 if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can ditch the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even impede the car from starting. If these issues sound simple, bring your RC 350 to Lexus and have our team of certified technicians ensure that your aftermarket items were installed perfectly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts first place might price a little bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • One of the most simple and frequent cause is that your Lexus RC 350 gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Lexus RC 350 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 former 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 quickly after you put gas in your Lexus RC 350, first thing you should check is to make hopeful the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your Lexus RC 350 has a vacuum leak. Every Lexus RC 350 has a vacuum system that performs a extensive variety 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 bare out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to splendid heat or extreme chilled.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be changed. The mass airflow sensor in your Lexus RC 350 is what determines how much fuel is decisive 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 authentic changes, like altitude. If your Lexus RC 350 is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.

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 correctly tightened to a more unhealthy failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it dazzling to get the apt code reading and diagnosis. The average estimate for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is typically between $88 and $111. The dazzling news, Nalley Lexus Smyrna offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help determine the cause of your check engine light.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most normally misunderstood lights or indicators in your Lexus RC 350 is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few chance 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 car. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored car performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your Lexus RC 350. Some of these include shifting automatic transmissions controlling engine speed, ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a mixture of disparate things. It can be as simple as your gas cap being loose or as compelling as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Lexus RC 350, contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna. 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 flashing. Contact Nalley Lexus Smyrna today!

Lexus RC 350 Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are countless ability causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several natural causes consisting something as commonplace as a loose gas cap. Other natural reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty emissions control part, dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged oxygen sensor, 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 decisive 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 Lexus RC 350 was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its essential systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the computerized control unit. If the computerized control unit 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 absolutely is wrong 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 Extraordinarily Qualified Service professional.

Is it safe to drive your Lexus RC 350 with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is flashing, this means that there is a threatening issue and it is recommended to service your Lexus RC 350 rapidly. This question is not exceedingly simple 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 consistently 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 perilous problem. Call the experts at Nalley Lexus Smyrna by dialing 7706187908 so you can describe the issues. Or lower your speed and bring your Lexus to our certified technicians as soon as correct.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Lexus RC 350 will ordinarily 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 consistent, and you did a few 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 RC 350 light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Nalley Lexus Smyrna so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

Check Engine Light Service Lexus RC 350

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Lexus RC 350 and abruptly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Lexus owners, your heart sinks a tiny because you have tiny idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the rate of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t select 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 RC 350 checked as soon as conceivable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing big damage to lavish engine components.

When your Lexus RC 350's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t noble, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is generally 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 scan 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 opt for that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an professional persuasive to learn the issue and repair it.

Lexus RC 350 Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that tiny light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly 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 additional name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also normal as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your RC 350. There are hundreds of back-up codes that your check engine light can indicate. While that sounds daunting, with a tiny patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you accessible knowledge about your automobile and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Regrettably, correct and helpful automobile symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of correct OBD codes, there are also hundreds of correct reasons for the light, including:

  • Computer output circuit issues
  • Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
  • Bad Spark Plugs
  • Fuel and air metering systems problems
  • Emissions controls issues
  • Transmission issues
  • O2 Sensor
  • Ignition system faults
  • Old Battery

This is why it is amusing for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out abruptly by a certified Lexus mechanic. If the engine light comes on due to a perilous concern, you risk aggressive your car further by not repairing the issue right away. Call Nalley Lexus Smyrna at 7706187908 today or schedule your check engine light service online today!