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2018 Ford F-150 Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that scant light on your vehicle’s dashboard promptly 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 noted as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your F-150. There are hundreds of private codes that your check engine light can imply. While that sounds daunting, with a scant patience, tackling fundamental diagnostics will give you attentive knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Regrettably, discernable and helpful vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of attainable OBD codes, there are also hundreds of attainable reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is critical 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 immediately by a certified Ford mechanic. Call Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg at 3177903264 today or schedule your check engine light service online today! If the engine light comes on due to a forceful concern, you risk damaging your automobile further by not repairing the issue honest away.

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

If you check engine light is blinking, we recommend that you pull over and contact Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg to aid favor if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we recommend a tow truck. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is laborious to predict how frequent miles you can drive with the warning light on. The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly.

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2018 Ford F-150?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as pure as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a stern problem that could cause stern damage to your engine and come with a big repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow consistently means something less stern but a blinking check engine light suggests that your vehicle’s engine is in stern trouble and service is essential expeditiously. If your check engine light is blinking in your 2018 Ford F-150, we exceptionally recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Ford service now. Below is a list of the most humane reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2018 Ford F-150 is every astonishing. Without a vehicle battery, your vehicle won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s vehicle batteries last much longer than they did a few decades ago, and they don't certainly require maintenance. The rate of a new one depends on the type of Ford you drive, but check our current service coupons and specials.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be changed. The mass airflow sensor in your Ford F-150 is what determines how much fuel is decisive to run your engine efficiently by measuring the reward of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to certain changes, like altitude. If your Ford F-150 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 harmful mass airflow sensor.
  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be changed. The Oxygen sensor, affectionate as the O2 sensor, measures the reward of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less coherent 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 2018 Ford F-150's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to represent the correct mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A harmful O2 sensor can also cause a vehicle to fail an emissions test.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or additional item can wreak havoc on your 2018 Ford F-150 if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket components and accessories can eject the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound affectionate, bring your F-150 to Ford and have our team 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 components first place might cost a slight bit more but could save you money from having to get scanty work and damage caused by scanty installation work corrected.
  • Your 2018 Ford F-150 has a vacuum leak. Every Ford F-150 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 barren out and crack, especially if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme speedy.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are decisive for your 2018 Ford F-150. 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 harmful or former, you will experience scanty performance and reduced power. In a few 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, leading to more costly repairs.
  • One of the most normal and several cause is that your 2018 Ford F-150 gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2018 Ford F-150 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 harmful 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 costly. If your check engine light turns on at this moment after you put gas in your 2018 Ford F-150, first thing you should check is to make fearless the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your catalytic converter is harmful or going harmful. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2018 Ford F-150’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 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 serviced, your 2018 Ford F-150 will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your vehicle may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause additional problems from overheating.

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 properly tightened to a more serious failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it satisfying to get the useful code reading and diagnosis. The average price for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is consistently between $88 and $111. The satisfying news, Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help favor the cause of your check engine light.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most ordinarily misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2018 Ford F-150 is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few distinctive 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 variety of things for your 2018 Ford F-150. 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 advocate a variety of distinctive things. It can be as authentic as your gas cap being loose or as risky as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2018 Ford F-150, contact Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg. Contact Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg today! Our Ford service department can help you learn what code is turning your check engine light on or audit why your check engine light is shining.

Check Engine Light Service 2018 Ford F-150

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Ford F-150 and suddenly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Ford 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 car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2018 Ford F-150 checked as soon as feasible. Ignoring that warning could end up causing heavy damage to expensive engine parts.

When your 2018 Ford F-150's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t factual, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is commonly 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 Ford auto repair mechanics at Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg. There are also a number of relatively economical 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 prefer the issue and repair it.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2018 Ford F-150 will commonly 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 lot 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 2018 Ford F-150 light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that sum 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.

Is it safe to drive your 2018 Ford F-150 with the check engine light on?

This question is not very 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 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 big problem. If the check engine light is twinkling, this means that there is a big issue and it is recommended to service your Ford F-150 rapidly. Call the consultants at Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg by dialing 3177903264 so you can describe the issues. Or lower your speed and bring your 2018 Ford to our certified mechanics as soon as available.

2018 Ford F-150 Check Engine Light

If the check engine light in your 2018 Ford F-150 starts flashing, that means that the problem needs abrupt attention and your Ford should be brought in suddenly. A flashing light indicates that the problem is harsh and if not taken care of suddenly may result in gargantuan damage to the vehicle. This blinking light usually indicates a rigorous engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can quickly hike the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is likely, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can strictly be the cause. A bad, old 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 team of automotive consultants at Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg quickly by calling 3177903264.

2018 Ford F-150 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 accepted causes including something as clear as a loose gas cap. Extra accepted reasons for a Check Engine Light are dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty emissions control part, faulty head gasket, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged oxygen sensor, 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 mandatory 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 2018 Ford F-150 was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the car on its distinguished systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control team. If the electronic control team 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 exactly is inaccurate 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 Exceptionally Qualified Service professional.