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Is it safe to drive your Volvo with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is glaring, this means that there is a effective issue and it is recommended to service your Volvo now. This question is not highly authentic 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 active to drive. This is typically 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 dramatic problem. Call the advisors at Volvo of Greenville by dialing 8642077416 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your Volvo to our certified mechanics as soon as potential.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a Volvo?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as authentic as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a dangerous problem that could cause dangerous damage to your engine and come with a vast repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow commonly means something fewer dangerous but a flashing check engine light hints that your vehicle’s engine is in dangerous trouble and service is needed urgently. If your check engine light is flashing in your Volvo, we highly recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Volvo service straightaway. Below is a list of the most plain reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your Volvo. 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 classic, 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, first-rate to more expensive repairs.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or extra item can wreak havoc on your Volvo if it’s not installed appropriately. These aftermarket parts and accessories can ditch the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the car from starting. If these issues sound conscious, transport your to Volvo and have our squad 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 initial place might value a tiny bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • Your Volvo has a vacuum leak. Every Volvo has a vacuum system that performs a roomy variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps cut damaging 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 intense heat or extreme bitter.
  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Volvo ’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 ordinarily caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Volvo of Greenville offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Volvo service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your Volvo 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 extra problems from overheating.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replenished. The mass airflow sensor in your Volvo is what determines how much fuel is needed 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 confident changes, like altitude. If your Volvo 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.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replenished. 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 fewer competent 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 Volvo 's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to learn 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.
  • The battery is poor or dead. The battery in your Volvo is every remarkable. 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 various decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Volvo you drive, but check our ongoing service coupons and specials.
  • One of the most normal and many cause is that your Volvo gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Volvo 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 classic 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 hastily after you put gas in your Volvo, initial thing you should check is to make courageous the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.

Volvo Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are innumerable potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are several plain causes including something as plain as a loose gas cap. Alternative plain reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged oxygen sensor, faulty emissions control part, dirty mass airflow sensor, or defective spark plugs to name a few. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Volvo Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as needed to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Volvo issue was fixed.

Every Volvo was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its big systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control unit. If the electronic control unit detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light brightens 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 erroneous nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Volvo of Greenville provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Extremely Qualified Service licensed.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. If you check engine light is blinking, we recommend that you pull over and contact Volvo of Greenville to aid suggest if your vehicle is safe to commute in or if we recommend a tow truck. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy subsequently. Since any check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how countless miles you can commute with the warning light on.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Volvo will usually 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 functional, 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 Volvo light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that payment and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Volvo of Greenville so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

Volvo Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your Volvo starts flashing, that means that the problem needs abrupt attention and your Volvo should be brought in urgently. A flashing light indicates that the problem is unsafe and if not taken care of urgently may result in big damage to the vehicle. This blinking light ordinarily indicates a rigid engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be drained into the exhaust system. There it can promptly increase the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is conceivable, requiring an pricey repair. A Bit owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can precisely be the cause. A bad, erstwhile 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 lavish repair. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our unit of automotive veterans at Volvo of Greenville abruptly by calling 8642077416.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most commonly misunderstood lights or indicators in your Volvo is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in various precise 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 mixture of things for your Volvo. 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 variety of divergent things. It can be as effortless as your gas cap being loose or as harsh as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Volvo, contact Volvo of Greenville. Our Volvo service department can help you learn what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is blinking. Contact Volvo of Greenville today!

Check Engine Light Service Volvo

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Volvo and suddenly, a yellow light brightens on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Volvo owners, your heart sinks a little because you have little 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 automobile over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your Volvo checked as soon as attainable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing enormous break to expensive engine components.

When your Volvo 's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electrical control system that it can’t careful, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is often 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 scan tool that is used by our Volvo auto repair mechanics at Volvo of Greenville. There are also a number of rather inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you select that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced professional to find out the issue and repair it.

Volvo Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that slight light on your vehicle’s dashboard swiftly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear honest 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 established as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your. There are hundreds of disparate codes that your check engine light can suggest. While that sounds daunting, with a slight patience, tackling principal diagnostics will give you available knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is surely supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, distinct and available vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of conceivable OBD codes, there are also hundreds of conceivable reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is thrilling 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 persuasive concern, you risk damaging your car further by not repairing the issue proper away. Call Volvo of Greenville at 8642077416 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out promptly by a certified Volvo technician.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is frequently between $88 and $111. The good news, Volvo of Greenville offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help mean the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more unhealthy failure like a damaging catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it good to get the exceptional code reading and diagnosis.