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

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

Ford Focus Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are many conceivable causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are a few typical causes encompassing something as easy as a loose gas cap. Different typical reasons for a Check Engine Light are faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged oxygen sensor, 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 Ford Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as crucial 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 Ford Focus was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its troublesome systems. The sensors are continually detecting conditions while sending data to the mechanical control unit. If the mechanical 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 absolutely is wrong 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 Excessively Qualified Service trained.

Ford Focus Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that little light on your vehicle’s dashboard abruptly flashes, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear equitable 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 Focus. There are hundreds of divergent codes that your check engine light can represent. While that sounds daunting, with a little patience, tackling natural diagnostics will give you conducive knowledge about your car and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is genuinely supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, coherent and conducive car symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of likely OBD codes, there are also hundreds of likely reasons for the light, including:

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

This is why it is essential 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 straightaway or schedule your check engine light service online today! If the engine light comes on due to a active concern, you risk damaging your car distinctive by not repairing the issue proper away.

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

If the check engine light is blinking, this means that there is a unhealthy issue and it is recommended to service your Ford Focus immediately. This question is not exceptionally visible 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 consistently 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 unhealthy problem. Call the experts at Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg by dialing 3177903264 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your Ford to our certified mechanics as soon as possible.

What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most commonly misunderstood lights or indicators in your Ford Focus is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a bit different 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 Ford Focus. Some of these include controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a little. With that being said, the check engine light can imply a variety of precise things. It can be as plain as your gas cap being loose or as important as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your Ford Focus, contact Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg. Our Ford service department can help you find out what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing. Contact Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg today!

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

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 exacting problem that could cause exacting damage to your engine and come with a generous repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow typically means something less exacting but a glaring check engine light implies that your vehicle’s engine is in exacting trouble and service is needed immediately. If your check engine light is glaring in your Ford Focus, we hugely recommend not to drive the vehicle and schedule Ford service straightaway. Below is a list of the most daily reasons your check engine light can come on:

• New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are needed for your Ford Focus. 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 former, 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, dominant to more expensive repairs.
• Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or further item can wreak havoc on your Ford Focus if it’s not installed properly. These aftermarket parts and accessories can deposit the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound traditional, bring your Focus 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, incredibly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM parts authentic place might price a little bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
• The battery is poor or dead. The battery in your Ford Focus is each splendid. Without a automobile battery, your automobile won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s automobile batteries last much longer than they did assorted 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 current service coupons and specials.
• 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 positive 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 Ford Focus's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to read the decent mixture of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a automobile to fail an emissions test.
• One of the most traditional and many cause is that your Ford Focus gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your Ford Focus 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 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 expensive. If your check engine light turns on straightaway after you put gas in your Ford Focus, authentic 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.
• Your Ford Focus has a vacuum leak. Each Ford Focus has a vacuum system that performs a wide 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 dry out and crack, incredibly if they’re exposed to important heat or extreme cold.
• Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your Ford Focus’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 each Ford service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it repaired, your Ford Focus will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your automobile may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause further problems from overheating.
• Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Ford Focus 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 certain changes, like altitude. If your Ford Focus 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.

Check Engine Light Service Ford Focus

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Ford Focus 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 Ford Focus checked as soon as practical. Ignoring that warning could end up causing splendid damage to lavish engine components.

When your Ford Focus'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 regularly 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 select 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 inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you pick that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced technical to select the issue and repair it.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your Ford Focus will mostly 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 practical, 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 Ford Focus light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you drive over that amount 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.

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

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

Ford Focus Check Engine Light

A flashing light implies that the problem is exacting and if not taken care of immediately may result in competent damage to the vehicle. If the check engine light in your Ford Focus starts flashing, that means that the problem needs abrupt attention and your Ford should be delivered in immediately. This glaring light usually indicates a draconian engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be ditched into the exhaust system. There it can hastily raise the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where break is likely, requiring an pricey repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can explicitly be the cause. A aggressive, long-established or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If the problem is ignored or you continue to commute, 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 twinkling, please contact our unit of automotive specialists at Bill Estes Ford Brownsburg abruptly by calling 3177903264.