Please wait while the page loads...

2013 Ford Explorer Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard immediately illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear good 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 Explorer. There are hundreds of a lot codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a bit patience, tackling principal diagnostics will give you helpful 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, exact and helpful vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of adequate OBD codes, there are also hundreds of adequate reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is fundamental 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 quickly by a certified Ford mechanic. Call Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg at 3177903264 now or schedule your check engine light service online today! If the engine light comes on due to a serious concern, you risk damaging your car additional by not repairing the issue feasible away.

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

Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is not simple to predict how many miles you can drive with the warning light on. If you check engine light is flashing, we recommend that you pull over and contact Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg to help determine if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck. 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.

Is it safe to drive your 2013 Ford Explorer with the check engine light on?

This question is not highly easy 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 constantly indicated by a dependable 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 harsh problem. If the check engine light is shining, this means that there is a harsh issue and it is recommended to service your Ford Explorer instantly. Call the experts at Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg by dialing 3177903264 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2013 Ford to our certified mechanics as soon as achievable.

2013 Ford Explorer Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2013 Ford Explorer starts glaring, that means that the problem needs immediate attention and your Ford should be transported in urgently. A glaring light indicates that the problem is dangerous and if not taken care of urgently may result in major damage to the vehicle. This flashing light usually expresses a relentless engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be discarded into the exhaust system. There it can expeditiously enhance the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an costly repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can absolutely be the cause. A bad, historic 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 exceedingly costly repair. If your check engine light is blinking, please contact our team of automotive experts at Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg hastily by calling 3177903264.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most customarily misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2013 Ford Explorer is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few assorted 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 vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a range of things for your 2013 Ford Explorer. Some of these include ignition timing, controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can mean a variety of distinct things. It can be as authentic as your gas cap being loose or as hazardous as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2013 Ford Explorer, contact Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg. Contact Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg today! Our Ford service department can aid you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or inspect why your check engine light is flashing.

Check Engine Light Service 2013 Ford Explorer

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Ford Explorer and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Ford 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 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 2013 Ford Explorer checked as soon as functional. Ignoring that warning could end up causing basic damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2013 Ford Explorer's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t coherent, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is mostly 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 find out with an electronic scan tool that is used by our Ford auto repair mechanics at Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg. There are also a number of somewhat 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 experienced professional to mean the issue and repair it.

2013 Ford Explorer Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are plentiful potential causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are definitive helpful causes including something as authentic as a loose gas cap. Extra helpful reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty head gasket, dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, or defective spark plugs to name some. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Ford 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 Ford issue was fixed.

Every 2013 Ford Explorer was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its difficult systems. The sensors are mostly 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 specifically is erroneous nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg 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 skilled.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2013 Ford Explorer will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is serviced. 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 assorted 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 2013 Ford Explorer light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that deposit and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2013 Ford Explorer?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as easy as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a astonishing problem that could cause astonishing damage to your engine and come with a colossal repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow consistently means something less astonishing but a shining check engine light illustrates that your vehicle’s engine is in astonishing trouble and service is needed now. If your check engine light is shining in your 2013 Ford Explorer, we extraordinarily recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Ford service today. Below is a list of the most fair reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2013 Ford Explorer’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 Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Ford service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your 2013 Ford Explorer 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 alternative problems from overheating.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are imperative for your 2013 Ford Explorer. 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 poor performance and reduced power. In a little 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, considerable to more expensive repairs.
  • 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 correct 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 2013 Ford Explorer's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to determine the polite mixture 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 all aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or alternative item can wreak havoc on your 2013 Ford Explorer if it’s not installed perfectly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can ditch the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound ongoing, bring your Explorer to Ford and have our company of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed accurately and aren't causing all issue. Getting accessories, especially aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts initial place might cost a little bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Ford Explorer is what determines how much fuel is imperative 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 conclusive changes, like altitude. If your Ford Explorer 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.
  • Your 2013 Ford Explorer has a vacuum leak. Every Ford Explorer has a vacuum system that performs a wide variety of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower down 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 dehydrated out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to remarkable heat or extreme frosty.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2013 Ford Explorer is every gigantic. 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 some decades ago, and they don't really require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Ford you drive, but check our routine service coupons and specials.
  • One of the most familiar and frequent cause is that your 2013 Ford Explorer gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2013 Ford Explorer 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 quickly after you put gas in your 2013 Ford Explorer, initial 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.

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

The average estimate for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is customarily between $88 and $111. The satisfying news, Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help imply 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 efficient failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it satisfying to get the fitting code reading and diagnosis.