View Full Version : engine light on??? help!!


jhchowchow
10-21-2004, 10:41 AM
I just bought a brand new rx-8 grand touring auto this past monday. After putting 160 miles on it, the engine light turns on! Anyone here experience this before?? Should I be worried?? Please reply. Thanks.

G8rboy
10-21-2004, 11:04 AM
I just bought a brand new rx-8 grand touring auto this past monday. After putting 160 miles on it, the engine light turns on! Anyone here experience this before?? Should I be worried?? Please reply. Thanks.

More than likely it's not a big deal, but it could be many things, so unless you have a scan tool that can pull the code and let you know what the CEL is for, head to you dealer (and have them make sure your car is updated with the latest software flash... which they should have done already). About the only easy to check thing I can think of is to check if your gas cap is on tight... the evap system can trigger a CEL if it's not properly pressurized. (nice little trick to do if you /need/ a CEL : )

nosubstitutec4s
10-21-2004, 11:07 AM
unless you have a can-scan tool, you should bring it into the dealer and see which code is being brought up. it could be nothing, but it might be something.

my guess, based on very limited info, is that you might have a bad cat or o2 sensor. what else could go wrong on a car with 160 miles on it?

Reeko
10-21-2004, 12:15 PM
Remeber that the CEL comes on if the gas cap is loose.
But, unless he recently added gas, that probably isn't it.

If it was the gas cap, the CEL doen't reset until several restarts after it has been tightened.

jhchowchow
10-21-2004, 12:53 PM
I guess I wont have a choice but to schedule an appointment with the dealer. I'm still breaking the car in so I havent driven her hard at all. I'm just worried that it can be something serious. If anyone has any other ideas please reply. Thank you all.

G8rboy
10-21-2004, 01:12 PM
I guess I wont have a choice but to schedule an appointment with the dealer. I'm still breaking the car in so I havent driven her hard at all. I'm just worried that it can be something serious. If anyone has any other ideas please reply. Thank you all.

Did you check your gas cap as we suggested? Just a little loose is all it takes to throw a CEL...

snap-on
10-21-2004, 01:20 PM
The problem will be very difficult to troubleshoot online.

Get the car on back to the dealer and please let us know what the code was..

(so I can sleep)

Tayninh
10-21-2004, 01:35 PM
"Take it back Jack"

alnielsen
10-21-2004, 06:47 PM
Same thing happened to me when I picked up mine. One week after picking up the car, the check engine light comes on. The only thing the dealer did was to reset the ecu and give it the M flash.

zoom44
10-21-2004, 06:52 PM
I guess I wont have a choice but to schedule an appointment with the dealer. I'm still breaking the car in so I havent driven her hard at all. I'm just worried that it can be something serious. If anyone has any other ideas please reply. Thank you all.

if it was something really serious then you would get a FLASHING cel. then you would have to get it to a service center immediately-just like the manual says. please tell us the code they found when you get it checked.

G8rboy
10-21-2004, 08:01 PM
Same thing happened to me when I picked up mine. One week after picking up the car, the check engine light comes on. The only thing the dealer did was to reset the ecu and give it the M flash.

They didn't tell you what code they pulled?

This is one of the reasons I bought a CanScan tool- as well as to check for pending codes before they throw a CEL.

jhchowchow
10-21-2004, 09:31 PM
i'm going to bring the car in first thing tomorrow morning. the light was not flashing. i didnt even know it was able to flash. i'll let you guyz know what happened. btw, love this forum. i've used it to research this car for over 6 months now. thanks again.

DOMINION
10-22-2004, 04:52 AM
I just bought a brand new rx-8 grand touring auto this past monday. After putting 160 miles on it, the engine light turns on! Anyone here experience this before?? Should I be worried?? Please reply. Thanks.
Sounds like your RX-8 needs to be FLASHED.

zoom44
10-22-2004, 12:09 PM
i'm going to bring the car in first thing tomorrow morning. the light was not flashing. i didnt even know it was able to flash. i'll let you guyz know what happened. btw, love this forum. i've used it to research this car for over 6 months now. thanks again.


READ YOUR MANUAL. it has much information that you need to know.

jhchowchow
10-22-2004, 02:45 PM
just got back from the dealer. nothing serious. just found out that my car never got the M flash?? shouldn't all cars be flashed before being sold to customers? service tech said that this car was not flashed with any ECU updates. weird. oh well, i'm happy it wasnt anything serious. my mpg might even increase. thanks for the help.

Tayninh
10-22-2004, 03:28 PM
Great!!! enjoy that RX-8 Let it shine let it shine!

snap-on
10-22-2004, 04:54 PM
just got back from the dealer. nothing serious. just found out that my car never got the M flash?? shouldn't all cars be flashed before being sold to customers? service tech said that this car was not flashed with any ECU updates. weird. oh well, i'm happy it wasnt anything serious. my mpg might even increase. thanks for the help.

If there is any way possible I'd STILL like to know what the code was.

As far as I know the basic function of the "M" was to prevent floods.

Unless you car was WAY BACK on the "J" and never even had the P0128 flash

snap-on
10-22-2004, 07:30 PM
Mine wasn't either. I don't think they really do "updates" to dealer stock unless there's a recall or you request it.

This is for reference:

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/rx8/docs/

I'm taking mine in for brake pad squeal.


In the case of a simple update..I agree

When the TSB became a MSP dealers were told to update all the stock units.

salituro64
10-28-2004, 11:30 AM
Mine is at the dealer today - CEL after 60 miles. I did the gas cap trick , but still NG. I'll let you know the outcome

zoom44
10-28-2004, 11:32 AM
it often takes several on-off cycles to clear a cel.

LTABA
10-28-2004, 11:39 AM
Same deal when mine was new last spring. A couple hundred miles on it--dealer replaced catalytic convertor. Build date: June 03.

salituro64
10-28-2004, 08:24 PM
Well my resolution was a faulty catalytic converter and it needed the flash upgarded