Trying To Help My Mom

[jro909]

Hey all, my mom recently notified me her service engine soon light came on..its an 03 buick century with the 3.somethen eco tec in it..i do not have the codes at the moment, i'm working on them. She said it came on after she got gas which i quickly went and tightened her gas cap but the light is still on. I also asked if she topped off the tank(thinking evap canister) and she said no. Any other no brainer things i'm missing to do to attempt to resolve the light? i'm trying to save her from paying the diag at fee at the dealer..i know this is like pissing in the wind with no codes lol

[Jsdirt]

Just have her go to Advance Auto or Auto Zone, etc. ... they'll scan it for free so you at least have a start. These days, that damn light could be anything.

[jro909]

i told her to do it, but i have no idea if she is going to or not...i'm thinking its something emissions as the car apparently runs fine, the car only has maybe 70k on it and is serviced at a dealer

[Jsdirt]

The only thing I can think of -- only because it happened after a fillup -- is possibly a vent solenoid in the evap. But that's a wild guess.

[asc08]

Was it the Service Engine light / indicator, or the check engine light? May just need to have the oil changed. In my wife's car, there is a message that pops up saying Service Engine Soon, when the mileage gets close to an oil change. There is a way to reset it, similar to resetting the oil life message.

[jro909]

i haven't seen it, she said the dic said "service engine soon" and i believe she said the check engine light is on...

[jro909]

The only thing I can think of -- only because it happened after a fillup -- is possibly a vent solenoid in the evap. But that's a wild guess.

 

 

yes i was thinking that also, or maybe an o2 sensor

[jro909]

P0442 is the code, i tightened the gas cap and had it cleared...so far so good