Check Engine Light Issue - how worried should I be?

[RIP]

rimfire22 - you must be blessed to have such an honest and caring dealership near you.

FWIW - Here's my logic on " local shops vs dealerships". A mechanic at a dealership screws up or performes prescribed unethical practices, they've got all the power and finances of "big brother" and a sales division behind them to save their financial and legal butts. A local shop does the same and they are on their own. Logic tells me a local shops reputation would be much more near and dear to them. Certainly that logic gets bent all the time but, the odds are you're better off with a local shop - IMHO.

...and if it's a family run shop ie, son, daughter, mom at the counter; dad, brother, uncle in the garage; so much the better. You can't get any more American than that.

[rimfire,22]

Originally Posted by RIP

rimfire22 - you must be blessed to have such an honest and caring dealership near you.

FWIW - Here's my logic on " local shops vs dealerships". A mechanic at a dealership screws up or performes prescribed unethical practices, they've got all the power and finances of "big brother" and a sales division behind them to save their financial and legal butts. A local shop does the same and they are on their own. Logic tells me a local shops reputation would be much more near and dear to them. Certainly that logic gets bent all the time but, the odds are you're better off with a local shop - IMHO.

...and if it's a family run shop ie, son, daughter, mom at the counter; dad, brother, uncle in the garage; so much the better. You can't get any more American than that.

RIP,

Don't get me wrong. There's dealerships that are liers and cheaters too out there so everyone has just try them and see how they are. My dealership hasn't given me any BULL to alert me of any wrong doing because they have a "AAA" office located on the property. If I believe I'm being taken for a ride all I have to do is report them and they can lose the support of "AAA". In the long run they stand to lose more than I do. On the other hand their are fantastic/honest private mechanics too. One just has to feel each one out and go from there. All I'm saying on her is to be careful.

rimfire,22

[RIP]

rimfire.22 - No arguement, just opinion. Finding decent mechanics can be a real crap shoot at times.

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by RIP

rimfire22 - you must be blessed to have such an honest and caring dealership near you.

FWIW - Here's my logic on " local shops vs dealerships". A mechanic at a dealership screws up or performes prescribed unethical practices, they've got all the power and finances of "big brother" and a sales division behind them to save their financial and legal butts. A local shop does the same and they are on their own. Logic tells me a local shops reputation would be much more near and dear to them. Certainly that logic gets bent all the time but, the odds are you're better off with a local shop - IMHO.

...and if it's a family run shop ie, son, daughter, mom at the counter; dad, brother, uncle in the garage; so much the better. You can't get any more American than that.

How about if they only worked on ford, chevy, and dodge. no imports.

JOET/CAMRY

[rimfire,22]

Originally Posted by RIP

rimfire.22 - No arguement, just opinion. Finding decent mechanics can be a real crap shoot at times.

RIP,

Yes it can be a crap shoot many times over!! One just has to know their Toyotas well enough so that when the private/dealership suggests a repair he/she can decide if their being taken for a ride. For Yelena I feel for her cuz I've been burned too but I'm a much better man now just for the experience. Now when I hear "BS" I walk because it's my money. Besides it's crummy and cheap to take advantage of a lady.

rimfire,22

[RIP]

Originally Posted by JOET/CAMRY

How about if they only worked on ford, chevy, and dodge. no imports.

JOET/CAMRY

Yup, would be nice if it was so cut and dried but, Camrys have been built in Kentucky since about 96 and many Ford, GM, and Chrysler models are built in Canada and Mexico. The other day I was watching a NASCAR race and the announcer said something suprising and very ironic. The only "American" built vehicle represented in NASCAR races is the Toyota Camry. The Ford Fusion is built in Mexico, the Chevy Malibu and Dodge Charger are both built in Canada. It's become that kind of a world.

Got a hunch you know, but when I said "can't get more American than that" I was talking about family run businesses.

[xfeejayx]

This is getting really off topic, but here it is anyway
I believe (not positive) that the camry is second in having most of it made in the US. The only vehicle to beat it: the f series.

[xfeejayx]

I was wrong, it's the third. right behind the f-series and the silverado

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/3258221.html
http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story....=&aff=national

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by RIP

Yup, would be nice if it was so cut and dried but, Camrys have been built in Kentucky since about 96 and many Ford, GM, and Chrysler models are built in Canada and Mexico. The other day I was watching a NASCAR race and the announcer said something suprising and very ironic. The only "American" built vehicle represented in NASCAR races is the Toyota Camry. The Ford Fusion is built in Mexico, the Chevy Malibu and Dodge Charger are both built in Canada. It's become that kind of a world.

Got a hunch you know, but when I said "can't get more American than that" I was talking about family run businesses.

Yea RIP, I know what you were talking about. I was just joking around.

Your definitely right when you say a small family run buisness would have alot more to loose than the big dealerships if they were treating their customers bad by overcharging and doing sh_tty work.

I personally like to stay away from auto repair buisnesses whenever possible. I do most of my own work on my 1989 Camry. some things I cant do such as rebuilding a transmission, rebuilding an engine, front wheel alighnment, pressing in front wheel bearings, etc. then it's time to break out the wallet or credit card.

BTW my 1989 Camry was built in the good old U.S.A. I believe it was in Kentucky. I think 1989 was the first year the Toyota Camry was built in the U.S.A. and built in Japan.

Regards,
JOET/CAMRY

[RIP]

Great info guys. Looks like Fox Sports was wrong on the Malibu. Learned something about the 89+ Camrys too.

Hey Yelena! I appologize for the hijack. Hope your car is purrin without that light. Be safe on your trip.

[Yelena]

I stopped recieving e-mails that someone had replied to this post, so I apologize for not getting back to you guys!

I dealt with the manager who apologized for the mistake and said he would ask the mechanics if they remember anything about it, as they didn't have the code on record. (Of course the jerk I dealt with the day before didn't record it) He called me back a few hours later, and said while the mechanic doesn't remember the exact code, it had to do with emissions and likely the oxygen sensor. The light hasn't come back on yet, and I've been driving around quite a bit, so I won't worry about the check engine light issue until I come back from the trip.

On a side note, if my light comes back on during the trip, does anyone know how to turn it off just for annoyance-sake? When I had my Corolla and it happened, I'd just have to pull out a green tab labled #15 for a few seconds in my hood, and then pop it back in. Is it the same one for Camrys?

The place I went to was your run of the mill auto center, attached to a gas station. They get the job done, but as I discovered, not well. After the check engine light issue, I also noticed that they overfilled my oil tank, and had to bring it back to get it drained down. A friend recommended a place he goes to, and it looks like a nice, family-owned business like you were talkinf about above. I'll try it out next time I need something done.

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions!

[dosser]

Have you bought a code reader yet? 96 should be an OBD II, and the plug is behind the coin drawer, left side lower dash. If your light comes on and you have your code reader, follow the instructions, read the code, look in the code reader book (should be a list of codes), it will tell you the problem, take note of the problem, then you can clear the light and when you can, you can fix it or take it to someone who can. Good luck, and have a safe trip. Dosser

[Yelena]

Not yet, and surprisingly my light hasn't come back on since they turned it off, which leads me to believe that it was either something minor that they caused in the first place, or a one-time emissions issue. But I will definitely be looking into my own code reader. Thanks for the advice!

[somick]

Originally Posted by Yelena

Not yet, and surprisingly my light hasn't come back on since they turned it off, which leads me to believe that it was either something minor that they caused in the first place, or a one-time emissions issue. But I will definitely be looking into my own code reader. Thanks for the advice!

I do not know if you have Autozone stores in Minnesota but if you do they read your codes for free.
See if other stores can do it for you.

Sam