First, the service engine soon light being on is telling you that there is a problem. It is tied into the vehicle's powertrain control module(PCM) or engine control module(ECM). You also have a transmission control computer which may or may not be physically part of the PCM. There is a computer for the body/chassis which encompasses the security system(if equipped), the entertainment portion(radio/DVD), and Heating/Ventilation/AirConditioning. The body computer should not trigger the service engine soon light however. Your vehicle has On Board Diagnostics, Generation 2 (OBDII). This means that it has the ability to process information, reconize faults, store those faults in the form of a code, and freeze frame information. Freeze frame information is information about the enviornmental situation when a trouble code was set. For example, if your P2701 code was set, then freeze frame information would explain what was happening at that moment. It allows the technician to recreate the problem and see if the code would set after a repair has been made. The computer may indicate that the engine was running at 1575 RPM, coolant temperature was at 142 degrees, the throttle position sensor indicated 18 percent throttle, and the whole system was operating in Open Loop mode when P2701 was set. There are many more items that are listed in freeze frame information, but the few I gave are the most common, though there are many more parameters that can be stored. I hope this gives you a little more information about whats going on. But here is my personal opinion: For one, I looked up that code P2701 and could not find it anywhere, however, that does not mean that it is not a valid code. Just double check that P2701 is in fact what the dealer pulled. Anything from P1000 on up is manufacturer specific. I just didn't think that OBDII "P" codes had reached into the 2000's yet. Highest I'd seen was like P1968 Check out
www.troublecodes.net for more information. As for how you can get these codes, you need to have an OBDII scanner. The problem is that the scanners that are sold through your local parts stores, only have the ability to read codes and erase them. They are the bare bones scanners. To access the full system you have to have the dealer GM Tech 2 scanner or its aftermarket equivalent like Snap-ON, Matco, or OTC. Also you need to check to see if there are any Technical Service Bulletins(TSB's) that apply to your vehicle, the dealer should have information on this and most of the time should be addressed free of charge as long as your vehicle is still under warranty. You can also check your VIN at this GM website to see if there are any outstanding computer updates available to you.
http://calid.gm.com/vci/VINEntryPre.do Hopefully you can get to the bottom of this, because you should not be having problems this early in your ownership of your new car. Post what you find out. Oh and last your Change Oil light is different from your Check Engine light. Your owners manual should tell you what the procedure is to reset your Change Oil light. If I can be of any more help, feel free to shoot me a private message. -Chris 96 Z71 5.7L All Stock
