Dammit! It finally happend.. Got in the car this morning and the check engine light is on! (I checked the regular things, oil cap, fuel door, etc)

Called the dealer and they said "is it solid or flashing", i said solid! "oh don't worry about it, the car is safe to drive unless it's flashing"

She didn't even give me any info at all of the possible cause, which is understandable because it could be anything.. But tell me something! something which will give me some type of confidence my car isn't going to start flashing and blow up!!

I think it's electrical. my day times flash on and off really fast sometimes when my parking brake is up..

Besides that annoying light everythign else appears to be working great.. No loss of power, electrical is all up, no rough idling.. oh well, end of rant


MrJynx

 

Low fuel can cause a check engine light (CEL) sometimes even if you have a quarter tank of fuel depending on what you are doing.

My car once had a CEL due to low fuel. I was starving the fuel because I was doing about 115 mph with only a quarter tank and I was going through a slight bend at the time.

It freaked me out a bit but it eventually disappeared after the car settled down a bit. Now I just make sure that I keep more fuel in the tank if I'm going to do some intense driving.

 

check the gas cap and make sure its on good and tight. i typically turn it until it clicks a few times. but the gas cap not being on tight can throw a CEL. if you know someone with a CANScan, they can probably get the DTC for you and look it up (the codes are explained in the troubleshooting section here) to see what the problem is...or you can take it in and have the dealer look at it for you.

oh, if it is the gas cap, it can take several start ups before the CEL goes off.

 

interesting.. When i checked it earlier the cap did seem a little off. I started/stopped the car a few times since the light came on.. Ah well, thanks for the tips

 

Got my first CEL yesterday - Here's my story - 88 degress outside- humid- A/C on - entering interstate- (half tank of gas) as I am going down ramp on to Intertstate- I am pushing it a bit - not quite red-lining for each shift but more aggressive than normal - I am shifiting into fourth - then determine I am going to push it a little more to get ahead of the traffic- probably doing about 80+ - the CEL starts flashing! - I shift into fifth - and drop my speed to about 65 - still flashing - shift to 6th - slow to about 55 and stay in the far right lane --- look for the next exit - the flashing quits - It was on for about a minute or less - has not come on again - I have called the dealership , and since I am going in for my first oil change tommorrow - they will check it out -

Any thoughts - 04 Lightning Yellow - 6 Speed - 2900 miles ( can't find what my latest flash is - bought the car new at the end of April 05.)

 

Did the CEL come on around 6k rpm by any chance? Did you notice any power loss?

I got my 04 in March 05 with a build date of May 04.

After I broke it in (around 2k miles) in 3rd gear pulling to redline,

I heard what sounded light slight pre-ignition at 6k and the cel started flashing.

I also felt it bog slightly. When I took it to the dealer that afternoon.

they found that it was a slight lean trend. Which was causing a misfire.

I had the L flash. (my salesman told me it was updated to the latest flash

when I bought it... don't trust sales for a tech answer) Anyway,

the tech loaded the N flash, reset the e shaft sensor profile (or something)

Told me to drive it in a spirited fashion to prevent carbon build up and lean

misfiring. Runs smooth now and no problems I have 5k miles now.

 

my aunt had this problem on a grand prix she used to have. and the dealer told her that it could take as many as 50 cycles before the light went off. granted, that was an older car (mid 90s), and a different make, so it might not take you 50 per se, but it might take quite a few.

good luck in that its not something else

 

I think it was a little above 6K - did not notice any power loss - I shut off the A/C right away - and turned down the music to hear the engine more clearly - the CEL may have started flashing going between 3rd and 4th - - I did not notice for sure- My build date was 6/04 - to be honest I knew nothing about flashes- until looking around this forum - I will make sure the dealer at least finds out what my latest update is - and update my 8 if needed.

So far this is the only problem I have had - I Love the car!

 

I hope it's minor...hope the best!

 

If it's the gas cap it can take a week or more for the light to go off. So if it's still on in like 2 weeks, you have a real problem.

 

Hehe, had mine for 1 year, 27500KM later and this is my first hiccup.. I'm sure it's minor, tested the car this morning and everything seems fine(even full throttle)..

Is it possible some of the fluids might be low? Like coolant?

But that damn yellow light is annoying me, i look down and BAM, it's staring right at me.

and the checkengine light should be shapped as a triangle

 

random misfire.

 

Thanks for the thoughts!

 

Taking my 8 in for the second CEL in two months. Hmm, hope they get it fixed before I drive to South Beach next week.

 

fotofreddy:

I'm sure you've ruled out that it might have been the issue with the oil? I remember when I first got my car, there was a light (CEL or Oil low? Can't remember off top of head) that would come on under acceleration as the oil sloshed in the oilpan. The sensor would think the oil level was low. There was a Recall (IIRC) that gives you a new oil pan with baffles in it to prevent the rapid movement of oil.

If your car was a new 04, it may not have had that recall done yet?

MrJynx:

I believe if it was a gas cap issue, it takes 6 cycles of the engine(on>off>on>off>on>off>on>off>on>off>on) before the CEL resets itself.

 

My CELs (ast four occurances) have been misfires. Upon dealership inspection it turns out the coils' spark is arcing to the block.
New coil packs and some used ones with some die-electric grease on the bottom of them have not solved the daily recurring issue. (don't ask me what they were thinking in trying die-electric grease... lol )

 

Sorry to ressurect an ancient thread, but... is this true?

My CEL just popped on when I started the car after putting fuel in. I'd run it down to the point where the Low Fuel light had come on. I checked the filler cap when I got home and it wasn't tight, though it wasn't exactly dangling loose either.

I've never had a CEL in 30,000ish miles. I'm guessing it MUST be a fuel cap issue since it came on when starting it after putting fuel in. I see the manual lists both running it low on fuel and a loose cap as possible causes.

It DIDN'T go away after one restart... so is it verified it'll take SIX restarts to make it go off? You'd think it'd go away as soon as it detected no problems, ya know?

 

FWIW, just to close my particular issue, the CEL went off after 4-6 restarts. Yay!

 

It could also be a slightly warped gas cap. Happened to me last month, CEL light came on mysteriously one morning. Took it into the dealership, techs checked it out and found (through some sort of pressure test) that the gas cap wasn't forming a full seal when tightened. They replaced it and never had a CEL since.

 

Today I came to idea that may be my new gas caps not well too, CEL (EVAP leak) is torturing me and two dealers for a month already, all checked, new cap etc. Today I took one more rubber ring from old cap and put it on new, with double rings I feel well the tightening moment. I wait another couple days to check is it work and awaiting for answers and help from European Mazda office to clear up what is wrong with my case. I'm the first here with that symptoms! European RXs doesn't have evap leaks!